To fit the brief, Scarlett left much of the joinery on the ground floor in place, just adding extra storage here and there – such as in the dining room – or adding new colour to cupboards whose wood was of good enough quality to retain. She had a bespoke mahogany television cabinet built to sit on the right-hand side of the fireplace, which blended with the older joinery. ‘It actually looked quite antique when you set it beside all the other antiques and furnishings in the room.’ Inherited furniture became a through-line, too, with antique pieces reupholstered and reconditioned, including some by George Smith. A Murano glass pendant which was the client’s grandmother’s was kept in place, offering a touch of vintage individuality and continuity – but also something a little different to the rest of the room, which was smartened up considerably.
The drinks cart is by Eicholtz, and the curtain is in De Le Cuona linen with a Haywood trimming braid on the leading edge. The armchair is the client’s own, upholstered in Studio Atkinson’s ‘Chequerboard’ in Toffee.
Simon Brown
Colour was deployed with vigour to enliven spaces which otherwise underwent relatively minimal changes, in particular a soft blue from Farrow & Ball called ‘Oval Room Blue’. In the living room, which was already wallpapered in a de Gournay design of some 10 years, Scarlett freshened up the paint and replaced a roughly 15-year-old carpet, which ‘completely changed the life’ of the room. The floor on the ground floor was kept as a herringbone pattern, but Scarlett and the client opted for a browner tone than the reddish floor that was in situ. The client took a little more persuading to agree to the colour of the kitchen island – a light-pink rhubarb tone – but eventually took the plunge.
Where fittings and furniture needed refreshing, they were recontextualised with textiles: Colefax and Fowler, Studio Atkinson, Beata Heuman. The client loved animal print and was keen to incorporate it in the house, but otherwise Scarlett had a broadly free hand. ‘They told us what sort of colours they liked,’ she explains, ‘but they did give us quite a lot of free rein in terms of exactly what fabrics to use.’ In the end, ‘a little bit of leopard print’ made it into many of the rooms of the house, albeit subtly thanks to contemporary prints from Colefax and Fowler and Schumacher.
The fireplace fender is upholstered in Zak & Fox’s ‘Rapscallion’.
Simon Brown
A Julian Chichester ‘Calender’ side table sits next to an existing George Smith sofa which was reupholstered in GP&J Baker’s ‘Racing Stripe’.
Simon Brown