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James and Sarah’s Notting Hill Home

Written by

Claire Bock
Claire Bock
Claire lives in San Francisco by way of a SoCal childhood and 6 years in London. With a background in photography and interior design, her current creative obsessions include sewing, calligraphy, and anything neon.
updated Feb 20, 2019
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(Image credit: Sarah Bernard)

Name: Sarah Bernard, husband James, and stepson Edward (on weekends)
Location: Notting Hill, London
Size: 1,100 square feet
Years lived in: 2 years; rented

Sarah’s home has a modern, graphic style and a laid-back vibe that makes guests feel immediately at home in their colorful surroundings. Nothing is staged or forced. If you’ve been a reader for a while, you may recognize some of the colorful furnishings from Sarah’s supremely stylish West Village NYC home – now see how Sarah’s style has transformed across the pond…

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(Image credit: Sarah Bernard)

Sarah moved from New York City to London, and didn’t think that storage could get any worse than in the places she had lived in NYC. Unfortunately, London has got New York beat for worst storage. Sarah has taken this problem in stride, and items usually hidden away are transformed into stylish art pieces in her home. Things like skis and bicycles hang proudly on the wall, contributing to this lovely home’s laid-back, comfortable vibe.

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(Image credit: Sarah Bernard)

Apartment Therapy Survey:

My Style: I love the cleanness of white and the warmth of wood, mixed with pops of color. I want my home to be a light and bright respite on gray London days. And comfort is a must.

Inspiration: Scandinavian designs, graphic patterns, color, and Pinterest.

Favorite Element: Our garden. We live right on Portobello Road, which can get quite noisy and crowded on weekends. Our garden is a quiet sanctuary where we can relax and entertain friends. The wisteria vines growing overhead make it feel like you are sitting in a leafy living room.

Biggest Challenge: Lack of storage. I never thought I would live somewhere with less storage than New York, but London takes the cake. Our few closets are dedicated to our clothes, and our suitcases are shoved under our beds. Luckily we were able to mount our bikes and skis on the wall and turn them into “art”.

What Friends Say: What’s for dinner?

Biggest Embarrassment: The tile covering the floor and walls of the master bath looks and feels like corrugated cardboard. It makes me cringe.

Proudest DIY: Mounting the skis (evenly). Killed two birds with this one: solved the storage issue and thrilled James by displaying his prized possessions prominently (and tastefully, I hope) in our living room. I love the bright colors and patterns against the white wall.

Biggest Indulgence: Our coffee table. We brought the majority of the furniture with us from New York, but we needed a new coffee table to bring together the living room. I knew I wanted something glass to balance out our hulking couches. Tom Faulkner created this table with a custom gold finish to match our vintage lamps.

Best Advice: If you are moving (especially overseas), buy some graph paper. We combined two New York apartments into one London flat. Before we moved across the Atlantic, I made scale drawings of all our furniture to see how it would fit into our new home. This helped us figure out what to leave behind and also helped the movers position everything where we wanted it. It made the move much easier and more efficient on both ends.

Dream Source: I would love to remodel a home with found pieces and wood from a great salvage yard.

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(Image credit: Sarah Bernard)

Resources of Note:

LIVING ROOM

  • Couches: Crate and Barrel and Room and Board
  • Rug: Madeline Weinrib
  • Art: Allen Whiting
  • Coffee Table: Tom Faulkner
  • Pillows: Etsy, Hable Construction, Anthropologie
  • Curtains: IKEA
  • Yellow Lamps: Vintage
  • Console: IKEA
  • Baskets: West Elm

DINING ROOM

  • Table and Benches: handmade by Robert Sherman
  • Wall Sculpture: Kevin Box
  • Yellow Chairs: Frame from Junk in Brooklyn, fabric from Hable Construction
  • Bar: theshabbyhouse.net via Craigslist
  • Mirror: Frame from Brooklyn Flea
  • Lamps: Vintage

KITCHEN

  • Table and Bench: Olde Good Things
  • Chairs: Tolix
  • Photograph: Gabriela Herman
  • Bike Wall Mount: Cycloc
  • Trunk: Barn Antiques Centre

MASTER BEDROOM

  • Chandelier: Summit Antiques Center
  • Dresser: Vintage
  • Basket: Summerhill and Bishop
  • Rug: John Robshaw
  • Cupboard and Mirror: Handmade by Robert Sherman
  • Photographs: Self taken
  • Rabbit Drawing: Barbara Morse
  • Lamps: Robert Abbey
  • Nightstand: Artifacts by Elise

EDWARD’S BEDROOM

  • Bed: Aspace
  • Bedding: Land of Nod
  • Bookcase: IKEA
  • Bins: Target
  • Rug: West Elm
  • Lamp: Crate and Barrel
  • Dinosaur Prints: Etsy (nevedobson)
  • Ski Posters: vintage

GUEST ROOM

  • Table: IKEA
  • Mirror: Billy’s Antiques
  • Blanket: Anthropologie
  • Gold Pillows: Dwell Studio
  • British Flag: handmade by Robert Sherman

HALLWAY

  • Mirror: Vintage
  • Frames: West Elm, Pottery Barn, and John Lewis
  • Rug: Crate and Barrel
  • Skis: Vintage
  • Elephant Head: Anthropologie

GARDEN

  • Teak Furniture: Neptune via Closa
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(Image credit: Sarah Bernard)

Thanks, Sarah!

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