The influential interior designer – whose mother was the antiques dealer Hilary Batsone – grew up near Oxford. After studying philosophy at University College London, she went to work for a furniture restorer, where she says she was constantly exposed to beautiful things.
What she can’t have known then is that this first job would set in motion a monumental career. She has spent a lifetime collecting, creating, selling and decorating with similarly beautiful things. In 2010, she bought the Pimlico premises for the shop and design studio that continues to thrive today. Last September, she opened a second showroom, devoted to textiles, opposite. She is, she insists, ‘just getting started’.
In addition to her retail business and sought-after design service, she has five children and a beloved poodle. If her methodical approach, exquisite taste and obsession with detail serves her well in this bustle, her serenity must be an even greater gift.
The White Company founder Chrissie Rucker, who has worked with Uniacke on two projects, says: ‘Pared-down can be cold, but with Rose it isn’t. She sometimes talks about her taste being slightly monastic, but it’s not like that for me. She can be quite beautiful and delicate, she mixes old and new, and she has such a great eye for antiques. There’s almost nothing she’s put in front of me that I haven’t liked.’
Uniacke recently summed up her ethos in the FT thus: ‘Whether it’s a house, a room or a shop, it should make you feel good. My role is to ensure there’s harmony and an ease of living that makes you want to spend time there.’
Here, we show you the Uniacke style and some crafty ways to get it.
Look One
Uniacke’s own kitchen is a high-end mixture of textures in which reclaimed wood shelves and cupboards sit harmoniously with a gleaming marble worktop and splashback.
Get The Look
West Elm sells smart floating reclaimed wood shelves of different sizes, with prices starting at £92. Line up your cookbooks – and voila!
Look Two
In this peaceful hallway, a giant gold mirror, set against Uniacke’s signature chalky white walls, dominates proceedings.
Get The Look
Pooky’s Vulpo Bevelled Mirror (£325) packs the same sort of punch.
Look Three
Rose’s on-brand sitting room, a room it would be hard to leave, is a mesmerising combo of bare floorboards and pale fabrics.
Get The Look
You can find a similar bobbin side table in one of two ways. If you’ve got time on your hands, trawl the online antique sellers’ sites. If not, snap up one of the Classic Bobbin Side Tables (£99) from John Lewis’s brilliant ANYDAY Range.
Look Four
Here Uniacke showcases how well she curates a pretty little corner: good light, great paint, a nice picture and the footstool of dreams.
Get The Look
While we can’t help with the light and height of your property, we can guide you towards Oka’s lovely Coleridge Footstool (£695).
Look Five
With customary flair, Uniacke takes outdoor entertaining to the next level in this supremely elegant set up.
Get The Look
Head straight to Zara Home to for a similar white linen tablecloth and napkins.
Look Six
Even Uniacke’s office, where every item is both useful and beautiful, is stunning and highly stylised.
Get The Look
Look no further than Anglepoise for a jet-black desk lamp like hers.
By Becky Ladenburg
September 2022
