Monday 5 January 2009

Notting Hill isn't always Notting Hell


Stucco town houses in Stanley Gardens, W11

Long before Notting Hill became synonymous with that godawful movie and the banker-wanker (and their status anxiety riddled wives) it had an association with artists and bohemian culture since the 1820s.

Part of the allure, undoubtedly, is its large light filled Victorian houses; originally designed as single family dwellings with room for some live in help. By the 1950s, the majority had been hacked into bedsits and, later on, flats. The boom of the late 90s saw a great many of them restored to single family dwellings. Some have even had their basements dug lower to accommodate lap pools. Needless to say, the long time residents find this akin to heresy. I tend to look on it much the same as Mrs. Parrish looked on a steak and lobster dinner, so Hollywood.

There are still some pockets of interesting people. It has been my good fortune to work for one of them. Here are some snippets of the late night room I did for him.



Mirrors needn't always go in the most obvious of places. A particularly good Icon of John the Baptist hangs above a woodpecker by Rowland Ward from the Benacre Hall sale.




Two more pieces of taxidermy by Rowland Ward from the Benacre Hall sale.




A Billy Baldwin Nantucket sofa, the body done in leather with the cushions done in mohair. The throw across the back is an antique Sammi quilt. Four versions of Saint Apollonia (patron saint of dentists), purchased to bring the rest of the religious art into a more current context, gaze out from above the sofa.




Early 19th Century Podicherry angels with instruments hang above the fireplace. While the client liked them, they rose even higher in his estimation when he found them far superior to the ones in the Mayfair offices of Air India.




Notting Hell

Hilarious because it is ridiculous yet cringingly real.


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Now playing: Sarah Vaughan - Deep Purple
via FoxyTunes

14 comments:

Pigtown-Design said...

extraordinary house. just gorgeous!!!

HOBAC said...

P-D - thanks. Hope you are feeling better.

Suzy said...

Beautiful! I love that wall colour...

mamacita said...

Very nice. Was the art his own or did you bring it with you?

mamacita said...

Oh sorry -- I just reread. Disregard my question.

Cote de Texas said...

beautifu - that wall color! wow!! what is it???? and I love your work on the walls - the two boxes. plus the neighbor is so beautiful - I don't know any of the "bad stuff" I just know that is a gorgeous street. Why aren't there ones like that in Houston - you should see our townhouses, p-u!!!

Beautiful work, just beautiful.

columnist said...

How clever to place the glass taxidermy boxes on top of wall brackets. That really works for me.

Ms. Wis./Each Little World said...

Be still my heart! Purple and brown — you are the only one who would dare, let alone turn it into a work of art. I have a night room (red with olive green trim) so I appreciate the concept. But the Saint Appolonia prints are a real education. We have taxidermy mixed with 17th and 18th C. Chinese polychrome wood figures but our contemporary items are abstract or sculptural. Now you've shown me how to pull it together. Are any of the rooms in Peter Vitale's "Divine Home," your work? This color sense is more sophisticated than most things in that book — though it is a good and somewhat rare take on the subject.

Leroy Fish said...

Amazingly sophisticated and stylish. Could you possibly share the wall colour? Thank you for posting your work.

HOBAC said...

LF - it is Farrow & Ball's Brinjal.

HOBAC said...

Mamacita - thanks, most of the art was already there I just provided the highlights and a little cohesion.

Suzy - thanks!

HOBAC said...

CdT - Farrow & Ball's Brinjal. It is the best purple I have ever seen. To think the room was a pale lilac before. Now, none of the taxidermy was provided by us — we merely restored it.

The neighbourhood has the feel of San Francisco - there are even hills!

HOBAC said...

Ms. Wis. - thank you. I love red and olive together! Most are too afraid to attempt it, and yours sounds just lovely.

I really must get things photographed properly. Oddly enough there are also two Regency armchairs covered in olive raffia, and a banquette covered in a ravishing Alidad fabric that is red/purple/olive. The carpet is an antique Donegal in purple with an overlay of olive. I have always believed, that a room will let one know what it needs.

No, but thanks for the tip on the book. I think Mr X would really enjoy it.

HOBAC said...

Columnist - thanks, it was a gamble!