When actors Dichen Lachman and Maximilian Osinski first stumbled upon their future home in the leafy, historic neighborhood of Chiswick in west London, they were not actually house-hunting. Instead, they were in the middle of a routine workout at a local gym. Lachman happened to spot an online real estate listing for a property located just a four-minute walk away. Prompted by casual curiosity, she decided to slip away to check it out. "Oh, I will just go have a quick look—I will be right back," Lachman recalls telling her husband.
It was certainly not love at first sight in the conventional sense. The three-bedroom Victorian property had barely been touched or updated since the 1970s. Osinski describes the interior as having been "the complete opposite" of the colorful, joyful, and character-filled home that stands in its place today. However, Lachman, who stars in the horror film Other Mommy, immediately possessed the vision to look past the dated decor and see the underlying architectural potential.
As chance would have it, the couple already had a connection to an ideal collaborator. They knew architect and designer Charlotte Lilford, a parent at their daughter Mathilda’s school, who had previously renovated another period house down the same street. Lachman took Osinski to visit that completed project to provide him with inspiration. The visit was convincing enough for Osinski to make a major life decision without even stepping foot inside the house they were ultimately purchasing. "I thought, If we could have something like this, I would be so happy," Osinski says. "I trusted the end result, and the footprint is the footprint."
The resulting undertaking was part thorough renovation and part complete reimagining. Lilford, a French designer and mother of five who splits her time professionally between London and Paris, extended both the loft space and the ground floor. She comprehensively reworked the 1,779-square-foot layout and breathed new life into the neglected period architecture. Her strategy focused on carefully retaining original Victorian details where they still survived and reinstating others that had been stripped away during decades of previous alterations.
Lilford’s philosophy prioritizes architecture first—she insists on understanding how a family actually functions within a physical space before making any decisions about its aesthetic appearance. "I like designing spaces that are practical," she explains. "I cannot design a space if it makes no sense in terms of the usage."
For Lachman and Osinski, who share the home with their daughter and their dog, Whisky, the interiors had to accommodate a lifestyle that is rarely static or predictable. Their permanent relocation across the Atlantic was initially intended to be entirely temporary. Osinski had landed the role of the flamboyant, larger-than-life footballer Zava in the hit television series Ted Lasso, which required him to spend months filming in Richmond. Concurrently, Lachman was filming the mind-bending workplace thriller Severance, in which she portrays the multifaceted characters Gemma Scout and the enigmatic Ms. Casey. What began as a short-term relocation from Los Angeles gradually and organically transformed into a permanent move as the family fell deeply in love with the tight-knit, community-focused feel of west London.
The house reflects this transatlantic transition gracefully. Furniture and decorative pieces brought over from their former home in Los Angeles now sit comfortably alongside objects carrying deep family history and personal heritage. Lachman brought a treasured 19th-century tapestry that originally belonged to her Tibetan grandmother. Born in Kathmandu, Lachman lived in Nepal until the age of seven before her family relocated to Adelaide, Australia, and those early formative years remain an essential anchor to her cultural roots.
Similarly, Osinski’s collection of vintage Polish circus posters grounds the modern interior in his own family background. Handmade rugs crafted by Lachman’s grandfather, along with various family mirrors and sentimental objects, were carefully incorporated into the new design because they carried irreplaceable memories. "We have this funny little ritual," Lachman smiles. "When we go to a new city or country, we always buy a Christmas decoration. I know it is very cheesy and touristy, but our tree is really eclectic now and carries beautiful memories. I think that is what makes a home." Osinski adds, "Our style is not very cookie-cutter, and neither is Charlotte’s."
The journey into the home begins at the entrance hall, where warm terracotta-toned walls bring an immediate sense of welcome and contrast against a durable terrazzo floor. A bespoke mustard-colored banquette doubles as a clever storage solution, while a vintage Danish brass Kastor pendant light designed by Jo Hammerborg for Fog & Mørup adds a sculptural overhead note. "It is good to take your time to build your environment and vibe because then things have certain meaning to them; it is not just stuff," reflects Lachman.
Moving further inside, the dramatic central stairwell commands attention. "The first thing you see when you step into the house is the stairwell," explains Lilford. "So it had to make a statement. We took the old staircase out and played with the shape to create more space around it."
The main living areas emphasize tactile luxury and comfortable gathering spaces. A white curved sofa from Six The Residence is topped with Margeaux cushions from Soho Home and arranged around the brand’s low Barrel coffee table. Statement lighting and accessories from Pure White Lines include a Pfeiffer marble bowl, Inka side tables, and a glittering Amber Sorrento chandelier. Additional seating options include a blush-pink Pierre Frey Litho armchair, a velvet daybed, and Soho Home’s Vivienne armchair.
The kitchen, constructed by bespoke joinery specialists Julien Austin Giles, features a striking marble counter designed to age gracefully with daily use. "I have clients that sometimes do not want a marble worktop because they are worried about staining, but it is also part of the aging process," explains Lilford. "Those natural materials give real character to your space." Osinski notes that the kitchen has naturally become the primary social hub of the household: "When we have friends over, everyone goes to the kitchen. I have started to feel like if I suggest heading to the living room it is almost an insult," he laughs.
Despite their penchant for bold design choices, the couple admits that Lilford served as an essential editorial anchor. "Charlotte is really good at toning us down," Lachman says. "We are good at pushing back in terms of going a bit darker or wilder." This creative push-and-pull is evident across multiple rooms. Upstairs, a private movie theater is entirely enveloped in a fantastical Matières Végétales jungle wallpaper produced by French design house Élis. "The Fifth Avenue Hotel in New York was a big inspiration in terms of really leaning into the wallpaper and the color," Lachman notes.
Color, pattern, marble, mosaic, and Zellige tiles are deployed generously throughout the residence, often concentrated in impactful moments. The compact outdoor courtyard, for instance, is treated entirely as an additional indoor room. "The smaller the garden, the more money you need to put in it," Lilford observes. "You need to make a real splash." That visual splash is achieved through a sweeping green marble wave mosaic tile pattern from Starel that seamlessly flows from the exterior courtyard into the interior spaces. Outdoors, a travertine coffee table from Pure White Lines is paired with an outdoor brass L-shaped sofa from CB2, alongside mirrors from local garden center Wheelers of Chiswick that reflect the surrounding greenery.
Upstairs, daughter Mathilda’s bedroom features a striking green Gucci Heron print wall covering, complemented by a bespoke peach basin and Starry Night navy blue tiles by Otto Tiles in her bathroom that extend across the ceiling to create a cozy, immersive nighttime atmosphere. The primary and guest bedrooms similarly lean into rich jewel tones and sophisticated textures, featuring wall coverings from Arte and specialized lighting fixtures.
For a couple whose demanding professional careers continue to take them across the globe—such as Lachman’s recent filming stints in New Zealand for The Legend of Zelda and Osinski’s work on the BBC comedy Ann Droid—the Chiswick house has firmly established itself as an unwavering constant. Surrounded by a welcoming neighborhood where neighbors happily watch their dog Whisky and Mathilda plays freely with local friends, the family has firmly rooted their lives in west London. "LA is built for cars," Osinski reflects. "London is very human scale." Their newly reimagined Victorian home may be physically smaller than the California new-build they left behind, but it has ultimately fostered a far more connected, meaningful, and joyful way of living.
