A classic west London townhouse given a colourful new life by Gavin Houghton
'My wife and I have moved a lot - 20 times! This is the longest I have ever lived in a house in my life,' says the owner, speaking about his home in one of west London's most picturesque garden squares. 'When we bought the house six years ago, I said, "I'm done with moving." ' The couple come from very English families who have, nonetheless, over the generations worked and lived abroad. 'My mother was born in India, my father in Malaysia; I was born in Vietnam and grew up in India,' he says. 'So I have always romanticised England.' This feeling propelled them to eventually put down roots, to make a true home and enjoy a few years living in London before their son and daughter (now 20 and 21) would go off to university.
The house is a tall, mid-nineteenth-century white stucco building that they wanted to work well for twenty-first-century family life. 'We were determined to avoid beige "banker chic",' the owner explains. Having looked through the pages of House & Garden in search of suitable interior designers, they found that they admired the work of Gavin Houghton. Their brief to him was to make the house traditional, featuring the best of classic English interior decoration.
However, before Gavin could get going, there was a lot to be done to return the house to its original 1850s state. Simon Hurst of the architecture firm SCHD was the obvious choice to do this. A graduate of what was then the Prince of Wales' Institute of Architecture and a winner of a Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings Scholarship, Simon was recommended by Gavin for his sensitive work restoring the fabric of old houses. Windows, doors and cornices were remade to historically correct patterns, and working with the building firm Sympatico Design & Restoration, Simon also drew up plans to divide the back section of the L-shape drawing room to make a separate study and library area.
The floor in the hall, limestone set with black cabochons in traditional country-house style, sets the mood for the house - a mood that is echoed as you open the door on the right. Here, the rich red damask-hung dining room has eighteenth-century portraits looking down onto the curvy, buttoned-leather chairs gathered around a mahogany Irish hunt table. 'Thanks to the large windows, the house is so bright the room can take this colour in the summer, and in winter it is warm and cosy,' says the owner. From here, tall pocket doors, with mouldings of the correct period, offer direct access to the kitchen, which has Plain English cupboards and an Aga, backed by a sheet of brass with studs serving as a splashback.
Leading up the stairs, some of the owners' extensive collection of pictures is hung on the linen-lined walls, and there are more standing out against the vibrant green walls of the first-floor drawing room. 'A room should be like a vase of flowers, with lots of different things to look at,' says Gavin. These include the pretty Edmond Petit 'Floréal' fabric from Turnell & Gigon chosen for the curtains, Jasper Fabrics by Michael S Smith's large flower-patterned 'Grace' fabric on an armchair and Claremont silk damasks and trimmings for the cushions. 'It needs to look as though it has been acquired over the years,' Gavin adds and indeed the owners had been collecting the rugs, antique furniture and bibelots for quite some time.
The new study and library next door, a tour de force of wood graining by decorative painter Hughie Turner, has a pair of built-in, back-to-back desks, vibrant mustard-coloured felt on the walls and a television incorporated into the mirror above the chimneypiece. While the owners use this room for such decorous pursuits as correspondence and reading, their children can make as much noise as they wish in the basement snug next to the son's bedroom, with its fabric-insulated walls, deep-buttoned corner sofa and audio-visual equipment hidden in a converted Victorian mahogany tallboy.
Calm was the watchword for the main bedroom on the second floor, with Nicole Fabre Designs' 'Laure' fabric used for the curtains and headboard, which, like the ottoman, is deep-buttoned in mid-Victorian fashion. The bathroom next door, with floor and bath surround in Vert Antique marble, has frosted glass doors leading to the loo and shower.
'We kept the spare room pretty small,' says the owner. 'You don't want guests staying too long!' This is exactly contrary to the wishes of the daughter of the house, who loves her little bedroom at the top of the house so much that she declares she will never leave. When you have moved so many times and at last found your perfect home, you want to live in it forever. Who can blame her?
Simon Brown1/16The study has felt-covered walls and a pair of back-to-back desks, which are incorporated into the woodwork.
Simon Brown2/16The desks in the study face bookcases.
Simon Brown3/16The sofa in the study is surrounded by framed prints.
Simon Brown4/16A mirror hangs above the fireplace in the study.
Simon Brown5/16The grey sitting room provides a less formal space.
Simon Brown6/16The grey living area has a framed map on the wall.
Simon Brown7/16The staircase is hung with much of the owners' collection of art, standing out against the soft hue of the paperbacked linen wallcovering from Stereo.
Simon Brown8/16A lantern from Vaughan hangs in the half landing, which has a bookcase designed by Simon Hurst and made by Sympatico Design & Restoration.
Simon Brown9/16A portrait by Betsy Podlach above the Howe fireplace inspired the palette for the main bedroom.
Simon Brown11/16]The portrait that inspired the colour scheme for the room.
Simon Brown13/16The comfortable guest bedroom features a moss green headboard.
Simon Brown14/16The Vert Antique-marble-clad main bathroom.
Simon Brown15/16The monochrome bathroom counter houses the basin.
Simon Brown16/16The garden patio has brick paving.
