London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

This Fairy-Tale Home by Lisa Tharp Was Inspired by Castles

This Fairy-Tale Home by Lisa Tharp Was Inspired by Castles

Yes, there's a turret bedroom!

Lisa Tharp is trying to remember how many window seats are in this house. “So there’s one in the living room. There’s one, two, three, four in the family room. One at the top of the stairs, one in the front entry. I think that’s nine?”

                        

If it sounds like a storybook setting, that’s because it is: The windows overlook a view of the rolling New England countryside and the surrounding grounds designed by Frederick Law Olmsted (when he wasn’t landscaping Central Park, the U.S. Capitol Building, or America’s state parks). Tharp worked with TMS Architects to renovate the 1890s carriage house, taking care to emphasize the indoor-outdoor connection. “It was converted to a house years ago with myriad additions-those were all stripped back to the original footprint, which was then sensitively added onto for this
21st-century family,” she explains. On the keep list? Turrets, nooks, exposed rafters, and fireplaces.

To further compel the clients and their guests to look outside, the downstairs windows forgo treatments and were accented with rough beams that echo the rafters (themselves blasted with a baking-soda abrasion to appear lighter and more in line with the home’s modern additions). Up went more beams, gray cabinets, and live-edge shelves built into a castle-like arch. The overall vibe was “a European stone carriage house married with a Napa Valley winery,” Tharp says.

Lest it all become too sedate, particularly funky light fixtures abound: modern and graphic (in the kitchen), oversize and airy (in the master bedroom), and geometric (in the master bathroom). “When you have vertical height, you have permission to go big,” the designer explains.

All this whimsy peaks in a turret bedroom covered in lilac Phillip Jeffries grass cloth. A window seat is piled high with cushions. “We took the principles from downstairs and went further: Use colors and neutrals, mix patterns, have fun,” Tharp says. “The eaves remind you that you are not in a new house, that you have history. And I think it transports you.”

Living Room


                        

A previously empty bay window got a new seat with a deep French mattress. Window seat: custom, in Norbar (cushion fabric) and Cowtan & Tout (trim) with velvet fabrics from Highland Court (caramel pillows) and Schumacher (rose pillows). Screen and gold chairs: Lisa Tharp Collection. Rug: The Rug Company. Sconce: The Urban Electric Co..

                        

The home’s original rafters were revealed in the renovation, and the fireplace was plastered in icy gray to offset the purple furnishings. Lanterns: The Urban Electric Co. Sofa: client’s own. Ottoman: America Dural. Rug: Alexander McQueen via The Rug Company. Bust: Caproni Collection. Chairs: Lisa Tharp Collection. Mantel art: Masako Kamiya via Gallery Naga.

Kitchen


                        

“When I saw she wanted the stone flooring for the kitchen, that helped define the vision,” says Tharp. Flooring: Exquisite Surfaces. Range: Thermador. Faucet: Waterworks. Designer Lisa Tharp created a custom 18.5-foot-long double island, topped with half stone (for prep work) and half oak (for dining). Island fabrication: Jewett Farms. Island paint: Galveston Gray, Benjamin Moore. Woven stools: found at a global market, customized to counter height, and refinished by Arteriors’s decorative painters. Find similar at Palecek. Settee: Kravet, customized to counter height with a sleigh base added so it can be slid across the floor. Light fixture: Jayson Home. Art: Alice Denison via Gallery Naga.

                        

A new fireplace was placed at counter height and surrounded by antique stone to look a bit older. Wallpaper: Queen of Spain, Schumacher. Sconce: Vaughan. Art: Masako Kamiya via Gallery Naga. Cabinet hardware: Ashley Norton.

Landing


                        

“The original windows framed this gorgeous tree, and I thought that was a really special spot to add interior architecture,” says Tharp. Sconces: The Urban Electric Co. Window seat: custom, in Ralph Lauren Home fabric. Drinks table: Noir.

Window Seat


                        

Positioned to look out on the landscape, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. Shutter paint: Pitch Black, Farrow & Ball. Sconce: Mathias Hahn Design Studio. Drinks table: Profiles. Cushion: custom, in China Seas fabric.

Porch


                        

Arches on the screen porch inspired Tharp to add more of them throughout the house. Leather chair: vintage, Reside. Pink pillows: custom, in Peter
Dunham Textiles. Wicker seating: similar at Palecek. Coffee table: similar from Mecox. Light: similar from Robert Abbey.

Master Bedroom and Master Bathroom


                        

“A Lucite ottoman, an Italian midcentury lamp, abstract art-these were incredibly important to balance the more rustic elements,” says Tharp. Chandelier: Lowcountry Originals. Screen: Charles Spada Antiques. Rug: The Rug Company. Ottoman: Reside. Bed: Cisco Brothers.

                        

The client located a wall tile she loved (Walker Zanger’s Contessa Amalfi) so Tharp placed it floor-to-ceiling for greater impact. Mirrors: Noir. Sconces: The Urban Electric Co. Cement sinks: custom. Vanities: sourced by client.

Bedroom


                        

                        

A mattress-size cushion can seat multiple people at once. Grass-cloth wallcovering: Phillip Jeffries. Feather pendant: Umage. Window seat cushions: custom, in Peter Dunham Textiles (top layer) and Seemakrish (bottom two layers and pillows) fabrics. Café curtains: custom, in China Seas fabric. Sconces: Circa Antiques. Floor lamp: vintage. Carpet: Williston Weaves.

Outdoors

            

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×