John Boyd Bedroom Furniture
It is as unexpected and exhilarating as a curtain rising at the theatre. Push open the tall and narrow front door in the rather stern, classic red-brick frontage of a smart London street and you walk straight into a space full of light – and art. A place where you would like to live, but in which you also want to pause and wonder at the paintings on the walls.
Designer Ann Boyd, who worked on the project with the architects John Langley and Charles Browne-Cole, looks around with some pleasure. 'It was very dark before, with heavy furniture, and the staircase was at the back,' she says. 'There was no through view at all, so we opened it up. I wanted this house to be something the client could be proud of and where you could be comfortable in any room. I've been to grand houses and wondered where the owners sit.'
In this house, transformed over four years, you would be spoilt for choice. Take the entrance hall, for example, which opens into a spacious family room separated by a wall of Crittall windows. The contemporary chimneypiece is off-centre and a long shelf above it extends its sleek lines across the whole wall. A grey sofa from Ben Whistler curves in front of it.
The entire room is a tranquil mixture of greys, browns, subtle yellows and greens. 'I wanted it to be an uplifting, inspiring place to come home to, but also somewhere you could just fling yourself down and relax,' she continues. What defines the mood is not just Ann's impeccable taste, but also the artwork on the walls: an Idris Khan to the left of the front door, so deep and black you could lose yourself in its murky depths; above the fire, a Robyn Denny collage. Abstracts by Tess Jaray and Jeremy Moon hang on the facing walls. The corridor nearby boasts a bright painting by RB Kitaj and a Richard Hamilton print of a toaster. Though all different, they complement each other, engaging in their own silent conversation.
This is clearly the home of someone who has bought art – all British – for some time, with discrimination and enormous pleasure. It is definitely not purchased by the yard. 'I was lucky enough not to have inherited a collection, so I had blank walls to fill,' explains the owner, who has been buying for some 20 years. 'I have always chosen paintings I love and, if you buy them for that reason, you want to have them on display.'
Ann has renovated and designed a number of houses for him over the years and it is clear that she does not regard the art as a hindrance, although nor is it central to her plans. That said, what client and interior designer have achieved in this unlikely but happy alliance is the creation of a home that contains art, but is not a gallery. The paintings fit within Ann's overall scheme, rather than dominating the design.
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As far as she is concerned, the key to the success of the entire renovation is the staircase – handmade in limestone, cantilevered and curving in a sophisticated oval through seven floors from sub-basement to just below roof level. Its introduction not only brought an airiness to the whole interior, but also creates a soft semi-circle of space that is used differently on each level: on one, a drinks room and kitchen; on another, a dressing room; on another, a marble bathroom.
The building, constructed in around 1885, was originally two houses, both owned by an artist. The staircase, therefore, has the added function of joining the two halves – one of which he used as his studio. With its double-height window, this is now the main sitting room and it, too, is filled with art. Happiness: The Case Against, a contemporary work by Harland Miller, hangs above the chimneypiece next to a painting by RB Kitaj from the Sixties.
The colour tones blend beautifully, but Ann has worked hard to avoid anything obvious. 'I am not keen on matching things,' she says. So, in the sitting room, pyramid lamps picked up in an antique shop are paired with intricately decorated ceramic vases by Alice Corbett. In an inspired melding of art and design, the artist Richard Wright has created a stained-glass interior window of blue geometric shapes, which rises from the sitting room to the mezzanine level above. That space, in turn, has pillars covered in hand-stitched leather, a seaweed-green sofa, shelves filled with art books and more paintings by pioneering British Pop artists. The mood is profoundly restful.
The bedrooms reveal the same attention to detail and a certain serendipity in the choice of art. Ann had placed a powder blue chair and a dusky pink cushion on the bed in a spare room, before the owner added two Malcolm Morley paintings of rooms with billowing curtains and pastel sofas that evoke the same tranquil feel. 'This is a gentle room and they are not going to jump out at you,' she says.
In the children's bedroom, a David Shrigley print, with an ice-cream cone held aloft announcing that Life Is Fantastic, strikes a more youthful note. In the main bedroom, delicate works by Richard Hamilton and a calm Bridget Riley full of circles sit alongside beautiful handmade furniture. Near the gym and the wave pool in the basement, a wall of limited-edition prints commemorating the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics brings energy and colour to this space.
The entire house feels like a labour of love – which is certainly what the art collection is for the owner. Though he loans to museums and galleries, he always imagines the paintings on his walls. 'I buy everything to display in the house,' he says. 'The works are often by artists I have met. You need to love the picture and it's more personal if you know the artist.' As for Ann, she is satisfied that her own vision – and her desire for perfection – has been fulfilled. 'It was an amazing project because the owner trusted me, which was slightly unnerving, but also the greatest compliment'
Ann Boyd: ann@annboyddesign.com
Source: https://www.houseandgarden.co.uk/gallery/ann-boyd-house-london
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