An 1850s villa in South Hampstead, London, with an unusually rich cultural history, has come to market for the first time in more than 20 years. The Victorian residence was the former London home of singer-songwriter and record producer Lynsey de Paul, who bought the property in 1995. Now, it's listed for £4.85 million (approximately $6.548 million).
For Lynsey, the house offered privacy. Hidden behind high brick walls, the Italianate villa became a retreat from the attention that surrounded her career and her high-profile relationships with figures including Sean Connery, Bernie Taupin, and Ringo Starr. It was also a creative space where she wrote music and entertained friends such as Joe Elliott, Suzi Quatro, and Spike Milligan, who famously nicknamed her ‘Looney de Small’.
The house has since undergone a beautiful renovation by interior designer Shalini Misra, who reimagined its 3,807 square feet across four floors. The result is a home that retains its Victorian character, where traditonal decorating ideas meet the contemporary day. Let's take a closer look around.
The ground floor contains the formal reception rooms, where quintessential ceiling heights, original cornicing, and tall pedimented sash windows preserve the elegance of the period architecture. A drawing room centered around a traditional fireplace sits alongside a formal dining room and a study overlooking the leafy street.
The most significant transformation takes place on the garden floor, which has been redesigned as the home’s primary living room.
Misra opened up the layout to create a spacious kitchen, dining, and family area designed around a custom lava-stone island and integrated appliances. Full-height sliding glass doors connect the interior directly to the garden, bringing natural light deep into the lower level.
'Beautifully restored and interior designed by award-winning designer Shalini Misra, this elegant Italianate villa in South Hampstead was, during the 1990s, the London home of singer-songwriter Lynsey de Paul, where she entertained various music, TV and movie celebrities and composed songs,' comments Mark Pollack, the co-founder of Aston Chase, who currently holds the listing.
Design expertise in your inbox – from inspiring decorating ideas and beautiful celebrity homes to practical gardening advice and shopping round-ups.
'Fairfax Road offers the perfect blend of leafy village-style charm and urban convenience. The address is renowned for its stunning Victorian architecture, spacious family homes, superb transport links and top-tier local schools.'
The upper floors are arranged with privacy in mind. The third level is dedicated to the principal bedroom, occupying what was once Lynsey’s own private sanctuary (as seen below), with a bespoke dressing room and bathroom.
Two further ensuite bedrooms occupy the top floor, while a guest suite sits on the garden level, giving each of the home’s four bedrooms its own bathroom and dressing area. Underfloor heating, bespoke joinery, and wood-strip flooring continue throughout the house.
Shop the Look
Wrought Studio Maitreya 1 Light Pendant Light
As Lynsey's home demonstrates, a pendant light is one of the easiest ways to make a bedroom feel more considered, and this one has a beautifully soft presence. The rippled water glass shade gives the light a glow that feels so atmospheric.
Venetian Style Blue Dorsoduro Cabinet
This cabinet is certainly an investment piece, but it's also the kind of furniture that can completely change the feel of a bedroom, and sit as an heirloom piece. Place it in a purple painted bedroom for a look that feels directly inspired by Hampstead.
1913 Bartlett Pear Print
Inspired by the modern pear artwork above the bed, this piece offers a vintage twist on the beloved fruit. Frame it on your bedroom wall and enjoy its unique backstory (this one is a pomological watercolor of the Bartlett pear, painted in 1913 to document American fruit varieties for the federal agricultural archive).
Outside, the south-west-facing garden is landscaped with birch trees, mimosas, and seasonal pink roses. A detached 132-square-foot pavilion sits at the far end of the lawn, offering space for a music studio, gym, or garden office.
What makes the property so special is the way it combines two distinct histories. It remains recognizably Victorian in its proportions and architectural detailing, but it also carries the imprint of the figure behind its history.
More than three decades after Lynsey chose the address for its sense of seclusion, the house still feels remarkably private, despite being only moments from busy Swiss Cottage. It's a North London dream.