We always get a little excited when we get the chance to work on a villa and this project was even made even more special by our client’s love of classical design and penchant for botanically themed fabrics. We interviewed Anna Kouwenhoven Deavoll (Interior Design Consultant at McKenzie & Willis) who worked with our client to create this beautifully styled heritage home.
Tell us about the project. What was the interior design brief?
This home was a stunning heritage villa in need of a facelift. It had great bones but needed new curtains, blinds, wallpaper and a lick of paint to freshen it up. The client wasn’t sure if she would continue living there or if she would eventually rent it out so we decided to keep the style classic to please a range of tastes. Our aim was to create an interior design scheme that was sympathetic to the era with timeless appeal.
How was McKenzie & Willis involved in the interior design process?
Our client came to us after having difficulty finding the perfect wallpaper. We helped her choose a lovely wallpaper that tied in with with a paint colour she liked and matched the traditional yet timeless look we were going for. We started with the wallpaper and worked from there to help her choose fabrics for her curtains and blinds as well as paint colours for the other rooms.
It looks as if this home had lots of beautiful character to begin with. Can you tell us about how you worked with the existing heritage features?
Along with choosing fabrics and wallpapers that complimented the traditional look of the home we also looked for ways to emphasise and highlight the existing features. One way we did this was to bring the wallpaper to underneath the top dado rail. This allowed for space around the arches and cornices and accentuated the height of the hallway.
Which fabrics and wallpapers did you use?
The wallpaper was a classic stripe design from James Dunlop (Jd Calino, Porcelain). We wanted something that stood out but wouldn’t take away from the period details so went for a silvery grey with a touch of blue. I also really love how the vertical lines worked to create the illusion of height. For the curtains and blinds we went for a botanical theme, choosing a range of traditional prints and embroideries including fabrics from Celia Birtwell and Sanderson to name a few.
Do you have a favourite part of the scheme?
It’s too hard to choose! There were so many beautiful fabrics and wallpapers in this interior design scheme however I did really love the blind made out of the Celia Birtwell fabric. It was a bit of fun to add a splash of red to the otherwise soft and muted colour palette and it tied in really well with the gorgeous red front door and leadlights. The Sanderson Figs and Pears design is beautiful as well, a gorgeous new fabric and one of the stand out designs from the new Art of the Garden collection. I think this design will be a new Sanderson classic!
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