Celebrity Shoe Designer Sophia Webster on How She Created a Stunning and Fashionable Home Inside a Former London Church

Celebrity shoe designer Sophia Webster has opened the doors to her stunning East London home that was transformed from a church into a private estate—and still boasts many of the historic design details from its former life as a religious venue.

The 40-year-old mom of five founded her shoe and accessory brand in 2012, and her designs quickly became a must-have among celebrities who clamored to secure a pair of her fairy tale-style products.

Webster became known for her butterfly-wing shoes and playful designs, which have been worn by a host of A-listers, including Beyonce, Katy Perry, Nicole Scherzinger, Oprah Winfrey, and many others.

The entrepreneur has been praised for her meticulous attention to detail in her shoes and accessories. Now, she has revealed that this dedication to the tiniest of design details can not only be found in her high heels—but also in her home, while opening up about how she and her husband, Bobby Stockley, almost lost the house of their dreams.

Webster and Stockley, who tied the knot in 2013, have welcomed fans inside their sprawling abode, which is the same spot where the creative guru designs many of her shoes.

In the latest installment of the Realtor.com® Celebrity Sanctuary segment, Webster showcased her kitchen, which was once the chapel of the church and is adorned with stained-glass windows and is the backdrop of her shoe-sketching sessions.

We moved in eight years ago, in 2015. Before that, we had viewed the house but didn’t really have the money when we viewed it.

I really liked it, but Bobby liked a different house, which ended up selling. However, six months later, it went back on the market, so we were going to buy it—but it didn’t work out.

And so I said, “We have to go back to see [the church] house now,” and we viewed it again and it was the most perfect day when we went. The sun was shining through and I knew we had to buy it.

The original kitchen was an Edwardian style; it was an Arts and Crafts house. So you can’t really do too much to it. If you’re doing anything on the exterior, you have to get permission, but inside, we can pretty much do what we want.

From the front, it looks like a little cottage; but from the back, you only see part of it, so it’s like Snow White’s hidden house.

Originally, the kitchen was in the side building that was connected to the house and it was in an L shape.

During the pandemic lockdown, we knocked through a wall and turned what was once the chapel room—so it has these beautiful, original chapel windows—into our kitchen.

I like to work here because the light is really beautiful. All the glass windows are original. I love it when the colors come in, it’s so inspiring.

In the kitchen, there are the original stained-glass windows from when a chapel was built as an annex to the house. 

I have become a bit obsessed with stained glass since we bought this house. I love how it adds color and a beautiful glow when the sun shines through but still feels traditional.

All of the door handles are original and then I have my pink sink, which I love.

And I found these really gorgeous butterfly tiles that have butterflies, dragonflies, and bees on them.

I’ve tried to incorporate it all over the house wherever I can. If you know my shoes, you know I love butterflies, so there are a lot of butterflies to be found in the decor. Even the kitchen tiles from Fired Earth have little butterflies on them. They make me happy.

We ended up tiling them with my collection. I love how unique and personal it makes the space.

Although I love to work in the kitchen, I also love to cook when I can.

During the week we eat really simply—usually fish or meat with a salad but at the weekend, I will always  cook a traditional British Sunday roast where I invite friends and family to join us.

My best friend in the kitchen is definitely my coffee machine to start the day.

Because we have five kids altogether from the age of 2 to 19, so it’s never a dull day, especially when school friends are around. It’s like a full-on party! We tend to all hang out in the kitchen most evenings, but now that it’s summer, we try to get out in the garden as much as we can.

I may sound biased, but I think by many Londoners’ standards, my home is pretty special. 

It’s in a busy part of East London but tucked away behind the main streets. My house was built in the Edwardian Arts and Crafts era, and there are a lot of original features like wooden paneling and tiles on the wall.

They’re not necessarily what I’d choose myself, but I really love that they had an important place in history, and I have a huge respect for this, so I wouldn’t change it; but I try to incorporate some details that add a bit of personality.

My favorite period is Art Nouveau, which overlapped with Edwardian in the early 1900s. I have collected tiles from that era, which I never had any plan for until we knocked through the wall to renovate the kitchen and built-in steps.