This is Tamsin’s family home.
Discovered at a time when she yearned for the countryside but also the convenience and culture of the city, the house’s large garden and close proximity to both, offered the opportunity to enjoy the best of both worlds. Tamsin set about completely reconfiguring the internal layout, focusing on the views of the natural world outside and, in so doing, attempting to capture its light, energy and spirit. She extended both out and up, ensuring the additions were a natural extension of the house’s original design and the local vernacular.
Storage was meticulously planned – cupboards are tucked into every void, appliances are hidden, and internal work rooms/ storage spaces are concealed. True to Tamsin’s philosophy of making use of what already exists rather than buying new, the house is furnished entirely with vintage pieces collected over many years. It is elegant but simply furnished and practical – a modest family home which offers a sense of shelter, an opportunity to retreat and re-energise and reconnect with nature away from the ‘busyness’ of the modern world.
Watch Tamsin take a tour of her home with House & Garden here.
“On a warm summer’s day with the doors at the back of the house open onto a tunnel of velarian. It feels like we are living in a cottage in the middle of the country.”
TAMSIN SAUNDERS
Match boarding on the walls is painted white, and the oak parquet flooring is reclaimed. Natural stone worktops and functional wooden chairs serve as a backdrop for Tamsin’s eclectic mix of books, ceramics and art and keep the dining area feeling fresh and simple.
“Tamsin Saunders of Home & Found has to be one of the most enchanting houses I’ve ever had the pleasure of stepping into. It has that authentic, lived-in feel thanks to layers of vintage textiles, thrifted pottery and her children’s artworks lining the walls. It also has the most considered rear extension.”
OLIVIA LIDBURY, THE SUNDAY TIMES STYLE MAGAZINE (JULY 2023).
The house quietly celebrates the beauty of natural materials – whether in their natural state or crafted, smoothed or polished. Vintage glass, plants, and natural finds on window sills, paintings and studio pottery propped on book-filled shelves combine to create a relaxed and personal space which feels true to us and who and what we love.
“Colours are bright and fresh but never garish and echo the colours of the garden outside; fabrics are frequently vintage or woven. Tamsin largely sources furniture that is old and gently restored or reupholstered which she combines with a mixture of art, books and a layering of pattern to create a home that feels organic.”
LIZ ELLIOT, HOUSE AND GARDEN (DEC 2022).
The compact kitchen lies literally at the heart of the house. Tamsin designed the joinery to feel like it had always been there – the handles are reclaimed, and the unit is hand-painted in four shades of green, grey and brown inspired by walks along the coast in winter.
Pots full of utensils occupy a raised shelf above the cooker, and pans and colanders are stored on shelves on either side of the extractor – a storage solution which is not only visually appealing but practical. Shelving units recessed into the wall are filled with Tamsin’s collection of pottery and ceramics, which the family uses daily. ‘I don’t believe in keeping anything for best’.
“I see this house as a conglomeration of places that I feel are part of me.”
TAMSIN SAUNDERS, HOUSE & GARDEN (SEPT 2024).
Vintage furniture and textiles are used throughout the house. The children’s rooms are bold and bright, decorated with one-off finds and treasures that speak of the children’s imaginations and creativity and will continue to evolve as they grow up.
In keeping with the house’s modest utilitarian aesthetic, the family bathroom is simply decorated with white wall tiles and natural stone on the floor. A dividing wall was removed, and windows positioned on either side of the basin to afford views out over the garden – natural light bounces off the Venetian mirror, which fortuitously fits perfectly above the bath.
“Tamsin has created her own approximation of a coastal Eden in her west London garden.”
FIONA MCKENZIE JOHNSTON, HOUSE & GARDEN (SEPT 2024).
The relaxed interior of the house is enhanced by the garden that Tamsin designed to surround it. What was once a rather depressing barren plot covered in crumbling creosote-soaked sheds and crazy paving is now a lush oasis filled with wildflowers, scented climbers and fruit trees.
When designing the layout of the house, Tamsin positioned doorways, windows and furniture to maximise and frame the views of the garden. Now bursting with variety and looseness, the colours in the garden inspire and interact with the decoration inside, ensuring the house feels rooted in the garden and the surrounding landscape.
In the guest bedroom, walls are decorated in hand-block printed wallpaper in a bespoke soft nut brown colour. 1950s wall lights in their original yellow paint sit above each bed, and a beautifully patinated hand-carved 19th-century chest of drawers from Sweden fits snuggly under the window in between. The signed Swedish mid Century flat weave rug (probably a private commission), and vintage Welsh tapestry blankets add bold colour (putty, butter yellow and chocolate) and gentle pattern.
Completed in 2018. Kensington, London.
Featured on the cover and in House & Garden.
Richmond Film
In this little film by House and Garden Tamsin speaks about the refurbishment of her house in to a magical country cottage.
Completed in 2022. Richmond, London.
Featured in House & Garden, Design Notes | The Telegraph | Monty Don’s British Gardens (episode 4) | The New York Times | TOAST Magazine | House & Garden, Simon Cherry & Tamsin Saunders | Inigo.
Shop the look
Speckled Glaze Celadon Porcelain Vase from Rosenthal, 1930s
Robert Picault Plate
Upholstered Stool
Blue studio pottery lamp
19th-Century Windsor Chair
Majolica plate with foliage design
A pottery lamp with faux marble decoration
