Western Aesthetics Infused with Eastern Design Principles Inside Alice Crawley’s Home
Get Inspired by Alice Crawley’s Unique Home in Central London
Photography Ursula Armstrong
Influenced by a decade spent in Southeast Asia, interior designer Alice Crawley has transformed her Notting Hill house, where she lives with her husband and their three children, into a vibrant and captivating space. Her London home narrates the tale of her experiences in Hong Kong and Vietnam while also reflecting her unique design philosophy. For Alice, the essence of design goes beyond mere functionality or aesthetics; it lies in the ability to breathe life into every space. She believes a room’s purpose extends beyond its basic function or appearance; it resides within its character. By infusing Western aesthetics with Eastern design principles, Alice brings a distinctive and original touch to her approach. Her remarkable talent lies in her ability to transform any empty canvas into a vibrant and inviting home.
Tell us about your home?
Our home is a terraced 5-bedroom Georgian townhouse in the heart of Notting Hill on a quiet leafy street just minutes from the busy Ledbury Road/Westbourne Grove crossroads. A stone’s throw from Portobello Road and the vast green expanse of Kensington Gardens, it was initially the location that drew me to this area, but as soon as I set foot in this house, I had that feeling that we can all relate to when you know this is it. It was not a straightforward purchase by any means. I had my offer accepted and then declined due to the unpredictable course of covid, and just as I was about to move back from Hong Kong with my two daughters, I was approached again by the seller and jumped at it. We completed it ten days before our arrival back on English soil!
The house itself had recently undergone a lot of very clean and practical renovation. Since we had to move straight in, I primarily focused on the interior decoration with few structural changes. The only thing I did immediately was to close off the open-plan ground floor into a drawing room and a study – I have a slight (personal) phobia about everything being open-plan when you have a young family, we need walls and our own space to hang out! The rest of my energy was dedicated to bringing colour and life (the entire house was painted Farrow & Ball’s ‘Pointing’) to our home, spending money on fun stuff like joinery and marble, wallpapers and lighting.
In what way does your personality reflect your home?
Someone told me the other day that you tend to live around the colours that you dress in, I’m not sure whether that means I wear a lot of pink and red, but I would certainly say my interior style at this stage of life and in this home is quite bold and playful much like my dress sense! Walking around our house, you get a very clear story of where we have lived and journeyed through the last few decades, namely Hong Kong and Vietnam. So much of my love of bamboo and antique Asian furniture has been drawn from these travels and experiences; chinoiserie and chintz sit side by side everywhere you look, with an East meets West aesthetic running through the house’s veins.
What was your favourite room to decorate?
It’s a hard one, as I would say in this particular house, it was probably the lower ground floor which is basically three rooms in one (kitchen, dining room, and sitting room) and therefore posed quite a challenge in terms of giving each area a clear function and definition. That being said, my favourite room to decorate by far was the master bedroom which has all of my favourite things – rattan furniture, an Asian day bed, lacquered bamboo lamps, traditional English chintz fabric paired with a strong (more masculine) stripe and some antique Chinese hand-painted mirrors.
How do you think about an interior when decorating your home and others?
My approach to design stems from a simple belief that every space needs to be brought to life. A room’s purpose is not just its function or how it looks but its character – and it’s bringing that character to life that makes a space a home.
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My favourite room to decorate by far was the master bedroom which has all of my favourite things – rattan furniture, an Asian day bed, lacquered bamboo lamps, traditional English chintz fabric paired with a strong (more masculine) stripe and some antique Chinese hand-painted mirrors.
A chest of drawers by Trove by Studio Duggan, ”Pink ground” by Farrow & Ball as wall color.
Chairs surrounding the dining table from Vietnam.
Tell us about an art piece or object that means a lot to you?
There are so many things in this house that mean a lot to me for various sentimental reasons, but I would have to say that my most treasured item(s) would be the pair of antique Chinese mirrors with hand-painted figurines on the glass. These were a wedding gift from my mother-in-law, and they hang either side of our bed – the man on my husband’s side and the woman on mine.
What are you looking for at auctions?
I’m always on the lookout for Chinese wedding cabinets and Chippendale dining chairs, as well as beautiful porcelain and china plates.
What was the latest thing you bought at an auction?
A set of Henning Kjærnulf Razorblade dining chairs.
Your top three favourite spots in London?
The Serpentine lake (and gallery) in Hyde Park, Summer House restaurant on the canal in Maida Vale and Portobello Road on market days.
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My approach to design stems from a simple belief that every space needs to be brought to life. A room’s purpose is not just its function or how it looks but its character – and it’s bringing that character to life that makes a space a home.
The sitting room is painted in custom paint colour by Rachel Chudley Color Studio. A central painting by Lynn Chadwick.
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Someone told me the other day that you tend to live around the colours that you dress in, I’m not sure whether that means I wear a lot of pink and red, but I would certainly say my interior style at this stage of life and in this home is quite bold and playful much like my dress sense!
Any book you recommend for the summer?
I have just finished reading the most fantastic book called “The Choice” by Dr Edith Edgar, which is an astonishing story of a woman’s survival during the holocaust and how she managed to free herself from her trauma through the power of choice and positive thinking, making it her life mission to help as many people as possible choose freedom and halt the cycle of psychological suffering. It’s an unbelievable story focusing on the power of thought, and there is something we can all take from that.
To Alice’s instagram
