Inside the Spirited London Home of a French Fashion Designer

Kerry Pieri

January 8, 2025 at 8:00 a.m.·11 min read

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“Caroline is the chicest girl in London,” designer Peter Mikic says of his client, French fashion designer Caroline Sciamma. “We have this rather unique understanding of each other.” For her part, Sciamma says, “I first met Peter at a lunch, and it was love at first sight with us. I was completely seduced by his energy and his standards.” Consider it a Britain-based globally minded admiration society. Australian-born talent Mikic and Sciamma came together to create the interiors for a sprawling home in west London—a project that was a staggering seven years in the making.

Sciamma and her husband purchased the property upon realizing she was pregnant with the couple’s now eight-year-old son and that they were one bedroom short in their current abode. (She also has a 16-year-old son and shares two stepdaughters, 18 and 25, with her husband.) It took negotiating London’s notoriously prickly rules and bureaucratic hurdles for historic homes, but after four years and a new architect, the renovation was finally underway.

Caroline Sciamma poses in the drawing room in front of a de Sede DS-600 Snake sofa, over which hangs an art piece by Daniel Buren. The sculptural floor lamp is by Vincenzo De Cotiis.
Art: © DB - ADAGP, Paris / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2025

Paris-born Sciamma chose a single space to channel the reigning style of her home city, keeping the drawing room “very neutral and very relaxing” with custom light gray plaster walls. It features a bespoke sofa and rug by Peter Mikic Studio, coffee table and chandelier by Vincenzo De Cotiis, and a floor lamp by Lara Bohinc Jesmonite.
Art: © Stephen Parrino

The red tape began to feel more like a blessing than a boundary. “It’s a Grade II–listed house, which means in the UK it’s a protected home. So all the doors, floors, the corner sinks, and the ceilings are protected,” explains Mikic, who worked with architecture firm Rundell Associates and contractor 800 Group. “But when Caroline, [her husband], and I walked through the house, we thought that all of these original features are so beautiful…you want to retain them anyway. The ceiling in the main sitting room had 50 years of paint on it, so it was all stripped off and repaired.”

That ceiling lives in the visually arresting yet soothingly monochromatic drawing room. “Sometimes as Parisians, we’re very black, white, and gray,” Sciamma explains. “I wanted to have one room that was very neutral, very relaxing. Because it’s so beautiful, it’s the only room I kept very Parisian.” Along with the ceiling, the parquet floors and a large raw wood door are original, and the walls were finished in a dove gray polished plaster with a distressed finish, “so it sort of looks like an old palazzo,” Sciamma says.

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The most neutral room in the home is accented by standout pieces like a Jean Prouve Scal daybed, a Francois Monnet chair, and a sideboard by Vincent Dubourg.

The room is punctuated by the sort of mix the owners and Mikic favor—newly acquired finds and long-loved vintage pieces from the couple’s collection like a De Sede sofa, Gio Ponti cabinet, and a Francois Monnet chair, balanced with gallery pieces like Vincenzo De Cotiis lamps. “You already have all these textures and materials,” Mikic says, “And Caroline did a wonderful job by going to Paris,” he says, referring to Sciamma’s frequent trips to France’s famed markets throughout the renovation. “I love furniture,” she says. “If it’s trendy or not, I really don’t care. It’s just about my feelings toward the piece and what it brings to me.” A large art piece by Daniel Buren featuring graphic yellow stripes lends a small dose of color to the room.

The dining room features standout orange Loro Piana fabric on the walls, offset by Yves Klein blue artworks, as well as a sculptural Ferro Vitro Chandelier by Cox London, and a bar by DFace.
Art: © Succession Yves Klein c/o Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris 2025. Barthélémy Toguo/Bandjoun Station. © Anish Kapoor. All Rights Reserved, DACS, London/ ARS, NY 2025. Harland Miller.

“Because Caroline entertains so much, we wanted a rather magnificent kitchen,” Mikic explains. “We immediately went to this stainless-steel finish with curved brass corners.” The pendant light is custom by Peter Mikic Studio based on a design he created for his own home. The marble is Esmerelda and the bar stools are by Morentz.

Sciamma considers the custom banquette and table designed by Peter Mikic Studio in the kitchen “perfect for small dinners at home with the kids.” The armchairs are by Boris Tabacoff and the picture light is by PSlab.
Art: Axel Hütte/GALERIE WILMA TOLKSDORF

Far more saturated shades can be found elsewhere throughout the spaces. Bold orange Loro Piana fabric lines the dining room walls, offset with Yves Klein’s Venus Bleue, a favorite work. Shades are muted but no less impactful in the primary bedroom. “We chose this beautiful olive green, which we used on the walls on silk wallpaper,” Mikic says, contrasted by a curved pink upholstered sofa and brass canopy bed repurposed from the couple’s former home. An adjoining primary bath is done up in deep jade green onyx. “I love colors, and I wanted to have different vibes in each room. But you can still feel the essence of it,” Sciamma says, “There is a link and a signature throughout.”

For the primary bedroom, Mikic explains, the couple wanted “something a bit moody and more calm.” It features Shantung Sage wallpaper by Altfield. The ceiling pendant light is by Porta Romana, the coffee table is by John Tomjoe for Portuondo, and the sconces are by Gio Ponti.

The primary bath mirrors the serene, moody palette of the primary bedroom, anchored by Artfield wallpaper in Shantung Sage. The chandelier is by Porta Romana.

Sciamma’s dusty pink dressing room is outfitted with a push-door system so she can decide whether to have her wardrobe on display or tucked away. The carpet is by Peter Mikic Studio, the wallpaper is Phillip Jeffries in Desert Rose, and the vintage pendant light was sourced from the Les Puces antiques market in Paris.

A pièce de résistance of the home is Sciamma’s dressing room, a vision drenched in soft pink. Calling Sciamma pleased with how it turned out would be an understatement. It’s become a closet, an occasional office, and a cozy meeting space when friends stop by. “That was the dream room that I’ve never had before,” she says. “Peter really understood what I was looking for.”

Part of that mind meld comes from a shared history in the fashion world. Mikic is a graduate of RMIT, a fashion school in Australia, and he built a career under major designers before pivoting to interiors, while Sciamma came up at Vogue Paris before launching her prêt-à-porter leather brand SKIIM. “One of the reasons why we work well together is because we both come from fashion, but we have an understanding of interiors. We know what we like, and we understand what we don’t like,” Mikic says. Sciamma’s styling career continues to inform her approach to interiors. “I learned from the best because I was working with Carine Roitfeld,” she says, “She taught me so much about aesthetic, beauty, and fabrics, that materials that do not necessarily match will go together. I like the unpredictable, the unobvious, and that’s how I’m aiming to live my life. Peter really understood that—and he also pushed me out of my comfort zone.”

An iconic Campana Brothers Cake stool created out of stuffed animals makes a playful statement in the hallway that leads into the children’s rooms.

The children’s playroom has a circus theme, with bold red and white stripes adorning the ceiling, a pendant light by Hakola Hanna Anonen, rug by Turnberry Rug Works, and a multi-activity train table by Melissa and Doug. The sofa is by Peter Mikic Studio.
Art: © Peter Blake. All rights reserved, DACS / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York 2025

“I’ve always dreamed of having this kind of thing for myself,” Sciamma says of the playful Mathy By Bols Montessori Treehouse in her son’s room. The pendant light is by Servomuto.

The children’s bathroom is elegant, with a little whimsy thanks to blue accents like striped wallpaper by Ottoline and Otura tile by Bert & May.

The children’s bedrooms join the rank of bold choices throughout, with circus-themed stripes and a charming house bed structure for the couple’s young son, and a bold mustard-hued room with a photo of Kate Moss dressed as David Bowie that anchors the bedroom of one of Sciamma’s stepdaughters. Even with so much familial attention, playing host remains one of the couple’s favorite pastimes. “Every time I see someone, they say, ‘Oh, we were Caroline’s last night,’” Mikic says with a laugh.

Mikic was tasked with creating a fun but sophisticated room for one of Sciamma’s stepdaughters. An eye-catching portrait of Kate Moss is flanked by a pair of gold leaf cabinets by Talisman. The mustard yellow wallpaper is by Vescom in Gonzu and the ceiling light is by Design for Macha.
Art: © Mert Alas & Marcus Piggott

The gathering place for guests is more often than not an old conservatory reimagined with a pink onyx and burgundy leather bar, set over a wood floor inlaid with marble leftover from another room in the home—with doors that open to an impressive garden. “Instead of doing a library there, I said, ‘Let’s have a bar,’” Sciamma says playfully.

The area is ideal for the intimate, salon-like get-togethers of 10 to 15 people that the couple frequently host—with a guest list that often includes Mikic. “I think the house itself really captures their spirit. It has a wonderful, eclectic feel to it,” the designer says. “Seeing them love it means so much to me. I’d say they’re the dream clients.”