French antique furniture and delicate accessories give the pristine interior of Jane Uglow's London home an ethereal quality

Asign outside Jane Uglow's Victorian terraced house that reads “chien lunatique” is the first clue to the French-inspired look that the interior designer has chosen for her south London home. Add to that a pretty white gate and painted shutters, and Jane has achieved a touch of French country life in the heart of the city.

Lovingly cared for by the previous occupants, the house was a far cry from the wrecks she usually bought and restored, but it was a chance she couldn't pass up and she moved to the property 18 months ago with her three daughters. “It ticked all the boxes in terms of light and space, with the right number of rooms. I knew I could decorate it to my taste. The standard of carpentry was good, with beautiful skirting boards and shutters, and it had the original radiators. It was just perfect for us.”

Jane bought the house from Simon and Sophie Eadie, who own The New England Shutter Company. “It was the shutters that initially attracted me to the property,” she remembers. The couple have since become her friends and business colleagues. “We were talking shop before I even looked round the house,” says Jane.

The Eadies had decorated the property with small children in mind, but as Jane's three girls were in their teens and early twenties, she didn't have to worry about fingermarks on walls and surfaces. So one of her first tasks was to replace the dark decorative scheme with the off-whites and pale colours she loves. “I am known to my friends as 'Mrs Taupe',” she says, “but neutrals are peaceful to live with.”

The light shades create the perfect backdrop for Jane's antique furniture. She has designed the interiors of houses all over the world, but her own taste is inspired by classic French style, which she mixes with contemporary accessories and colours. “I love mixing old with new, and French pieces go well with today's neutral interiors.” Mirrors in every room heighten the feeling of light and space. Part of Jane's design philosophy is that one room should flow gently into another, so each mirror is positioned to give a view of the rooms beyond.

Jane's design ideas assert themselves most strongly in the kitchen. The brightest room in the house, it features modern units with open shelving for Jane's French kitchenware. A central island doubles as a breakfast bar and the floorboards have been painted pure white.
From the kitchen, French doors open up on to a miniature garden where Jane has planted fast-growing climbers for the boundary fences and added huge box balls and spirals to the paved area. “Using dramatic pieces in small areas makes a bold statement,” she says. There is a pretty summer house, which she plans to turn into an art studio, but which at the moment is “more of a clutter studio”.

On the upper floors, the five bedrooms and three bathrooms are all decorated in the same warm, off-white tones as the downstairs rooms. “Bedrooms and bathrooms should be havens of warmth and tranquillity,” says Jane. So roll-top baths take centre stage in the bathrooms and crisp white bedlinen covers the beds. Natural light creeps in through wide-slatted shutters. “Shutters offer privacy, and I love the filtered-light effect they give, which is so serene.”

The house now reflects Jane's talent for creating a chic and tranquil family home. “At the end of the day when the front door is closed,” she says, “it's where my children and I love to be.”

“The house ticked all the boxes in terms of light and space, with the right number of rooms. I knew I could decorate it to my taste. It was just perfect for us”

SOURCEBOOK
ANTIQUES The Blue Door. Drummonds Architectural Antiques. MA Harley Antiques, (020) 7610 2694. FABRIC Ikea. Percheron, (020) 7349 1590. FURNITURE Atelier, (020) 7978 7733. The Conran Shop. Estilo Home, (020) 8946 0533. Habitat. Harrods. Magis. Marston & Langinger. Sofa Workshop. INTERIORS Jane Uglow Interiors, 07860 235047; info@janeuglowinteriors.com. PAINTFarrow & Ball. Sanderson. SHUTTERS The New England Shutter Company, (020) 8675 1099.