How a shared love of craftsmanship guided the design of Tess and Alfred Newall’s characterful Notting Hill apartment.

As creative duos go, a decorative artist and a furniture maker sounds like a match made in interior design heaven – one whose home, you might imagine, would strike just the right balance between flair and functionality. You’d be right. Enter St Stephen’s Gardens, a Notting Hill apartment owned and designed by Tess and Alfred Newall. Both accomplished creators in their respective fields, the couple’s passion for craftsmanship shines throughout.

“As craftspeople ourselves, we take pleasure in designing and making thoughtful pieces for our own home,” says Tess, a decorative artist known for her bespoke murals and hand-painted homewares and fabrics, as well as collaborations with the most in-demand of interior designers from Beata Heuman to Lonika Chande and Ben Pentreath. “It was important for us to use natural materials in the home, with raw wood, plaster and brass fittings that will stand the test of time.”

From the canvas of the walls themselves to the collection of furniture within – much of which has been handmade by Tess’s husband, Alfred, at his eponymous Sussex workshop – everything has been designed with longevity in mind. Uniting the couple’s passion for traditional objects and creative processes with modern-day practicalities, St Stephen’s Gardens has a timeless, honest feel.

Under the couple’s watch, original features have been restored throughout, from the cornicing to the wooden floorboards. “We immediately loved the feel of the space, with its high ceilings and light, airy feel,” recalls Tess of the open-plan reception room and kitchen elevated by floor-to-ceiling sash windows out to a terrace that “provides a wonderful indoor-outdoor atmosphere”.

The combined effect of natural light, period proportions and heritage features bring a sense of grandeur to a living space that’s aesthetically pleasing without compromising on practicality. Utility comes to the fore, particularly in the newly installed mezzanine level, which makes for an ideal sleeping area for visiting guests while adding a cosier dimension to the soaring volumes.

Inspired by the lofty studio apartments of Paris, the couple explains that they wanted the raw plaster walls to “give a textured backdrop” to their artwork collection. “We also wanted to give space to the grand proportions of the architecture, allowing light to flood through the sash window and high ceilings,” adds Tess.

Mission accomplished, there’s arguably a lingering sense of Parisian charm here, even though the home remains firmly rooted in its London setting. “The apartment is in our favourite neighbourhood, quietly nestled between Westbourne grove and the antique shops of Golborne Road,” notes Alfred, who cut his cabinet-making teeth at Plain English Design before founding his own studio in 2010. “We wanted to create a comfortable atmosphere, a calm oasis away from the hustle and bustle.”

Much like at the couple’s countryside cottage, they were determined to bring a similarly “earthy”, escapist feel to their London home, he declares – to produce somewhere that radiates a comfortable, lived-in atmosphere right down to the smallest of finishing touches. Certainly, there’s a joyfulness in the details. From hand painted lampshades to whimsical hand turned bobbin side tables – Alfred’s contemporary take on 17^th century spool furniture – the components of which are spun and shaped on a traditional wood lathe.

“Giving functional pieces a decorative detailing is something we both do in our work, so practicality and aesthetics are balanced harmoniously in the apartment,” continues Alfred. “This brings pockets of colour and character to the interior.”

Character is the operative word here; Convivial is another. Despite its relatively small footprint, there’s ample room to host at St Stephen’s Gardens, with the added benefit of having the best of Notting Hill on the doorstep, Tess muses. “The home has a spacious, inviting feel,” she notes. “It really is the perfect entertaining space.”

St Stephen’s Gardens is available for short stays from £350 per night.