A New Start; An Alias to Her Past
When Hersov moved in with her two sons, her partner, artist Barry Reigate, and his daughter, she was looking for more than just a space; she was looking for a new start. “It’s a different chapter in my life,” Hersov explains. The designer wanted to imbue the home with a sort of anadiplosis; rather than simply rejecting it all and everything that had belonged to her former life, she gave them new life in fresh circumscription of this home. “My previous house was sophisticated, a bit grand, and perhaps a little more polished. This one feels more liberated-more about who I am now,” she reflects.
Zandberg, a good friend and also godfather to one of Hersov’s kids, welcomed this shift in style by combining an eclectic mix of the designer’s finds with the owner’s personal treasures. The result is the juxtapositions of high and low elements with a streak of rock ‘n’ roll. Unconventional placements abound-the venerable silver candlesticks hidden away in her previous space sparkle unashamedly in a raw industrial dining area; chinoiserie tables double as bathroom vanities, and the antique hand-painted screen receives proud display in the sitting room, alongside Reigate’s Pop Art.
Family History in Design
The home is not simply design choices put together; it is also a canvas for her family history. African textiles and objects are dispersed throughout the house in homage to her life with her ex-husband back in the day, who hails from South Africa. Zandberg also shares the heritage, which informed a lot of the design decisions.
Her grandmother, the San Francisco socialite with exquisite taste, influenced many of the designer’s choices for the house. Artifacts belonging to this matriarch-the silver candlesticks and all the other heirlooms-were used as the major display for the house, which gives a sense of continuity to it and honoring her legacy. Coral and shells scattered throughout the house remind of her grandparents’ beach house, forming a bridge between the then and now.
Constraints of a Design-Great-II Listed Home
Plenty of hurdles stood in the way of the new space. A mid-nineteenth-century Grade-II Listed building, this house had in place strong restrictions regarding any change to the structure. Accordingly, Hersov faced the added burden of either having to restore original plaster moldings and ceilings or build new ones while adhering to the rules of the planning board.
“When purchasing the property it was stripped bare inside, and a year’s approval process had to be traversed before making changes. I wasn’t allowed to move the staircase or make dramatic alterations,” Hersov recalls. “This is the only significant addition-a two-story conservatory, which runs from the back of the house while the kitchen-cum-dining area on the ground floor has been opened up to create a much wider flow of space.” These subtle improvements merge modern functions with the historic structure’s preserved charm.
A Contemporary Art Collection That Feels At Home
Despite all of the restoration efforts, the energy of the interior seems completely artistic. Contemporary site Reigate artist has offered many works to the space and made a life really lived, as if on an evolving canvas. Paintings by Alastair Mackinven, photographs by Pieter Hugo, and a mesmerizing picture by Mat Collishaw cover the walls, seamlessly blending with the family’s personal treasures.
Zandberg refers to his way of curatorial make-up of the space as “a little slapdash,” but tons deep in respect to authenticity. “Art on pedestal removes its essence; if the room is sincere, the art will work,” he says. For Hersov and Zandberg, when it co-exists with some art, the space gains layers-of-meaning, reflecting the people who live there. “It’s like meeting someone true to themselves-you know it works.”
A Home That Tells a Story
Ultimately Hersov’s house is a fitting mirror of just such resplendent activity in her life today: dynamic, creative, and founded on a personal history. The fresher elements of design come together perfectly with objects she has attached fond memories to, making an interior that is as beautiful as it is meaningful. It stands as a reminder of the fact that, in both interior design and living, it is the old and new, the familiar and the surprising, that makes one really feel at home.
Whichever way a grandmother’s silver gives a gift or the erratic contour of a modern artwork induces, this house tells an immensely complicated narrative about family and design over time. More than home, it is an ongoing citing of the life of its owner. Each new chapter builds on the legacy she continues to create with every installment in the life she has woven into this place.