A colourful Victorian house in London

By Sophie Hannam

Published: Wednesday, 23 November 2022 at 12:00 am

‘I often have to say to myself, “is this too Trump Towers?”’ laughs Rose Hanson, when describing her attraction to antiques embellished with brass and gold. The TV-producer-turned-antiques-dealer shares her five-bedroom townhouse in east London with her husband, comedian Josh Widdicombe, and their two young children.

It’s a space that she’s filled with a diverse collection of antique and vintage finds, lending an air of comfortable opulence to the traditional Victorian property. Angular brass furniture and shapely ceramic lamps complement the original marble fireplaces and cast-iron radiators, while curved Art Deco mirrors and expressive artworks line the walls.

Rose and Josh purchased their home five years ago, completing the renovations in a hurried six weeks before the arrival of their first child. ‘It was a real baptism of fire choosing the colours for the house,’ explains Rose. ‘I went with my gut and chose shades that I liked, but it was a bit of a gamble.’ The couple’s first house, a Victorian terrace near London’s Columbia Road, was neutral in comparison, so Rose was keen to flood this space with vibrant colour.

Looking to her wardrobe for inspiration, she opted for shades of pink and green, and cloaked the hallway in a sumptuous navy blue – a Papers and Paints hue inspired by a classic Uniqlo jumper. ‘In London, lots of people paint the outside of their houses a dark colour, so I just chose to bring the colour inside,’ she says.

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Growing up in a Victorian property filled with sentimental objects gave Rose an appreciation for interiors with meaning. ‘Everything that my parents owned had a reason for being there,’ she explains. ‘There was always a memory attached to something, rather than “this matches this, and that matches that.”’ She cites her mother, an artist, and her father, a television set designer, as her influences. ‘Lots of the pieces in my childhood home came from sets – our carpet was from This Is Your Life and all our Christmas decorations came from TV specials,’ she says.

This approach to interiors is ingrained in Rose’s personal style, and only a few of the pieces that she owns were bought brand new. ‘Part of the joy of decorating is finding those antique items that bring a room together,’ she says. ‘I like things to have meaning. I’ll find a sofa, or a pair of lamps, and the room will go from there – it’s an organic process.’

Most of Rose’s collection is from years of hunting for antiques at flea markets, antiques shops and on eBay. ‘I like choosing items that wouldn’t normally sit together,’ she says. Whether it’s a petite Victorian sofa upholstered in goddess-print fabric by Beata Heuman, or a polished mid-century palm lamp side-by-side with traditional brown furniture, Rose’s home is a study in the unexpected. A self-confessed magpie, she has an eye for metallics and is drawn to decorative antiques with a glamorous edge.

‘I’ve been over to Palm Springs a few times, and I love Hollywood Regency style,’ she says. ‘I wouldn’t describe myself as a maximalist, but I’ve always been a fan of brass and bold colours.’ It’s this use of polished metals that brings a sense of laid-back grandeur to the family’s home. From the clean-lined vintage Lucite dining chairs and angular Pierre Vandel coffee table, to the elaborate antique French marriage dome displayed above the living room fireplace, the house is filled with pieces that embody the charm of Hollywood’s golden age.

However, when it comes to antiques, Rose’s true passion is for lighting. ‘Lamps are a bit like footwear to me; they need to have character. I like them to be a talking point in a room, rather than something that blends into the background.’ She mentions a pair of mirrored 1950s lamps in the master bedroom, and the oversized rippled glass lamp bases in the kitchen (a bargain from Sunbury Antiques Market), as some of her favourites – though her collection is always growing. This love for lighting, paired with sharing pictures of her home on social media, inspired Rose to start a lockdown business selling antique and vintage lamps, sconces and other decorative pieces on Instagram.

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Rose sources items that are in-keeping with the style of her home: ‘It’s a way of being able to buy things that I really love without cluttering up my house,’ she laughs, ‘and selling on Instagram is great in so many ways, because you can reach people who you wouldn’t normally.’ She is hesitant to describe herself as an antiques dealer: ‘I wouldn’t say that I have a specialism in a particular time period, but I like curating.’

Though Rose and Josh sometimes consider moving out of London, the city views would be hard to beat. ‘You can see The Shard from my daughter’s bedroom window,’ Rose explains, ‘and on Bonfire Night we look out of the back of the house and watch all the fireworks.’ And while the necessary renovations are now complete, there’s still much pleasure to be taken in changing things around in the house – there’s always a stack of artworks to go to the framer’s, an antique chair to be reupholstered or a room to be repainted. ‘Josh always says to me, “is the house finished now?”… but it’s never finished!’

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The parrot lamps are from Les Trois Garçons, while the ecclesiastical frames were bought from antiques dealer Mr Blighty: ‘I got my measurements wrong. I thought they were 10in tall,’ says Rose. ‘But they’re so striking, it was a lucky accident!’
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The original marble fire surround in the living room is a great place to show off Rose’s collection of curios. The sofas are from Sofa.com.
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The artwork by Joanne Tinker is made from recycled sweet wrappers. The Eastmans Pure Tea chest was bought from Spencer Swaffer Antiques.
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The living room, which opens onto the kitchen and dining space, features luxe velvet sofas, a vintage Pierre Vandel coffee table and a statement palm lamp from Atomic Antiques on Shoreditch High Street.
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Acting as a gallery space, the dining area is filled with colour. A glass-fronted navy cabinet houses china and serving dishes, while the dining chairs are vintage Lucite reupholstered in House of Hackney fabric.
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Among Rose’s collection of curios is this antique French marriage dome from The French Depot.
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The kitchen cabinets have been painted in Crimson Red from the Farrow & Ball ‘Colour by Nature’ collection and the blind was made by The Hackney Draper.
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The vintage chandeliers on the stairs were bought from Belle and Beast Emporium. The little marble-topped unit from Sunbury Antiques Market fits neatly on the landing. Artworks on the wall above include a picture of Mexican skeletons from a holiday to Tulum, an embroidery by Rose’s grandma, a cartoon of Rose and Josh by Lily O’Farrell (a wedding present), a painting of people in a queue and a drawing of Rose’s childhood bedroom, both by Rose’s mum, who is an artist. ’Our house is full of her work.’
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The hallway and staircase are cocooned in Classic Navy by Papers and Paints – a shade inspired by a Uniqlo jumper. The bold colour acts as a display space for Rose’s eclectic finds, including the framed antique embroidery of a parrot at the top of the stairs.
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Rose’s dressing room – a glamorous and welcoming space.
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In the bathroom is a roll-top copper bath, with globe pendants by Jim Lawrence overhead. This room leads on to the dressing room, both painted in Obsidian Green by Little Greene.
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The master bedroom has a calming feel, with walls painted in Setting Plaster by Farrow & Ball. Over the marble fireplace, Marilyn Gold Leaf by Nick Smith (bought from Nelly Duff) is flanked by a pair of antique brass sconces. The chaise came from Sunbury Antiques Market and still has its original velvet.
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An array of antique botanical pressings, framed by FRAME London, hang above the bed in the master bedroom. The horse lamps are from Jonathan Adler.
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At the top of the house, the guest bedroom was the last to be completed and is papered in Scallops wallpaper – Pink and Yellow by Ottoline. The headboard was reupholstered by John Haswell Upholstery, while the sconces and bedside tables came from 20th Century Filth. Rose added lamps from The Charles Edit, paired with lampshades by The Bespoke Boutique.
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The unusual floor lamp is a mid-century botanical design. Rose has styled the top of the chest of drawers, which came from P&T Antiques, with vintage bottles and an antique folk art ship diorama from Bain Enterprises.
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Rose and Josh’s daughter’s bedroom is painted in Setting Plaster by Farrow & Ball. The painted antique armoire was sourced from Blackthorn Living and beside it sits ‘a tiny chair for a big personality’ with a velvet shell cushion.
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The scallop theme continues in the guest bedroom en suite, with antique brass shelves and a shell-shaped sink from eBay.
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The armchair in Rose and Josh’s son’s nursery was bought on eBay and has since been reupholstered in blue-and-white ticking stripe fabric – a classic choice that will stand the test of time. The chest of drawers with carved bow detailing came from one of Rose’s favourite online stores, P&T Antiques: ’I love their stock!’ she says. On top is a large vintage ceramic urn lamp, paired with a leopard shade from Barlow & Barlow. The wall sconces were another savvy eBay purchase.