My mother and I scrambled to find my very first flat, a rental on Eaton Terrace. It was a tiny basement space which shook every half hour as it was Tube-affected. Fortuitously, around the corner was Pimlico Road, known as London’s foremost design street. It was another street that I ended up living in for several years. Despite its name, Pimlico Road is in Belgravia, and not in the Pimlico area at all. A minute away from Sloane Square, it is home to London’s finest interior designers and antique dealers. Notable figures in interior design—from Nina Campbell, Rose Uniacke to John Fowler—all have storefronts here.
For years I lived in my R.Soles cowboy boots and pashmina as an Asian Sloaney Pony in the flat above the design office of acclaimed interior design legend Jane Churchill. A niece of Nancy Astor and Nancy Lancaster, known as “The Two Nancys”, Churchill often credits her two aunts for her interest in design.
My best friend at that time worked for Churchill, which made for great fun. I went around showrooms with this friend, a woman whose taste in our generation is exceptional. My friend’s mother, likely the most elegant woman I have spent time with, was a great influence in my personal style. There were a few instances where I found myself organising Churchill’s sample fabric and wallpaper library in an attempt to help my friend so we wouldn’t miss lunch or dinner reservations.
In consequence, I learnt which makers were considered the best in textiles and wallcoverings. The view from my bedroom window was the boutique of then Viscount David Linley, now Lord Snowdon, a furniture maker and designer who is the son of Princess Margaret and the nephew of Queen Elizabeth II. I would often pop by the store, touching everything, just enjoying the feeling of how polished and perfect it was.