{"id":20974,"date":"2023-05-02T12:39:51","date_gmt":"2023-05-02T10:39:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=42800"},"modified":"2023-05-02T13:36:42","modified_gmt":"2023-05-02T11:36:42","slug":"inside-lucinda-chambers-victorian-home","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/inside-lucinda-chambers-victorian-home\/","title":{"rendered":"Inside Lucinda Chambers\u2019 Victorian home"},"content":{"rendered":"

For former Vogue fashion director Lucinda Chambers, there\u2019s nothing better than a project, and her home is forever in flux. Photographs Rachael Smith <\/p>

By Serena Fokschaner\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 02 May 2023 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

When Lucinda Chambers says \u2018nothing makes me happier than a decorating<\/a> project\u2019 she really means it. For the former Vogue fashion director, and founder of fashion label Colville and online shopping platform Collagerie, her home of almost three decades is a colourful, \u2018organic\u2019 collage of texture, pattern and colour.<\/p>\n

It remains in a joyously, decorative \u2018state of flux\u2019, which both suits and reflects her inventive nature. \u2018A house doesn\u2019t have to be a homogenous whole; it\u2019s much more interesting if it evolves gradually,\u2019 Lucinda says.<\/p>\n

And the evolution of her Victorian semi has also included \u2018incremental, organic tweaks\u2019 to the layout to suit the needs of her three sons: once outgrown, the white-walled playroom became a colourful sitting room; the glazed verandah was adopted as \u2018the teenage smoking room\u2019 and the decorative office-shed was built for her husband, Simon Crow, a tutor who specialises in ADHD.<\/p>\n

The kitchen at the back, lit by a skylight, was an early addition. From the hallway, the view unfurls \u2018like a country house\u2019, drawing the eye through the French windows to the lawn. The lipstick-red Aga<\/a>, the cushion-strewn window seat or the cocoa-and-cream chequerboard tiles<\/a> haven\u2019t dated.<\/p>\n

Lucinda designed the extension herself \u2013 \u2018I drew it up on aeroplanes,\u2019 she says, \u2018working out where the plugs would go and choosing the handles, so we wouldn\u2019t waste the builder\u2019s time.\u2019<\/p>\n

And that is the point of this house. \u2018Nothing happens on a whim. I couldn\u2019t afford that. There\u2019s always a reason why I change things. It\u2019s usually when things reach critical mass and the wallpaper is hanging in shreds. I turn it over in my mind and find inspiration from something \u2013 whether it\u2019s a tile with beautiful colours or a piece of fabric \u2013 and I build out from there. Which is why there\u2019s always something going on.\u2019<\/p>\n

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Lucinda designed the latest addition \u2013 a set of porcelain blue shelves \u2013 to show off her collection of antique<\/a> plates. Stacked in piles all over the kitchen floor, something had to change, she explains. \u2018So I laid them and measured each one \u2013 and our brilliant joiner did the rest.\u2019<\/p>\n

Collections, of which there are many, always start with one chance find. \u2018I\u2019d never buy lots of the same thing at once. I prefer to build things up slowly.\u2019 The group of framed vintage<\/a> wallpapers in the sitting room began at a local market. \u2018I spotted one and then I\u2019d go every week to the same stall to see if the dealer had more.\u2019 The frames are from Ikea, painted with chalk paints<\/a> and distressed for an antique effect.<\/p>\n

Paint plays a key role throughout the house: the dining room basks in an acid yellow, while the hallway, once deep pink, now resembles a \u2018German urinal\u2019 \u2013 in the most tasteful way, of course.<\/p>\n

\u2018I drove our lovely painter mad by dividing the hallway up, and choosing a restful colour, Farrow & Ball<\/a>\u2019s Mizzle, for the top half and a shiny, conker brown from Paint & Paper Library.\u2019 A dividing line in black accentuates the curve of the stairway.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not always easy to get colour right, she admits, adding that decorating the bathroom<\/a> involved painting hundreds of swatches onto the walls. \u2018It looked like a rather fabulous patchwork, so it stayed for a while.\u2019<\/p>\n

It was this sort of resourcefulness that led to her career in publishing. As a student at Hornsey College of Art in London she taught herself to make jewellery, selling pieces at Camden Market to fund studies. When she spotted a pair of her earrings on a model in a magazine it was a revelation, she says.<\/p>\n

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\u2018I became determined to find out about the process of how magazines are put together.\u2019 Since then she has overseen an estimated 4,000 shoots during her 36-year tenure at Vogue. She worked alongside photographers such as Mario Testino, Herb Ritts, and Josh Olins with whom she shot the Duchess of Cambridge for the 2016 cover.<\/p>\n

Set-building, which she likens to \u2018envisaging worlds from scratch\u2019, was an important part of the job and sharpened her eye for scale and colour. Her greatest influence, however, was her mother.<\/p>\n

\u2018Until I was 18, we moved every year. My mother was very entrepreneurial. She\u2019d buy derelict properties and do them up around our ears. Then she\u2019d sell them. The properties were always in Knightsbridge, page 58 of the A-Z and within walking distance of Harrods,\u2019 says Lucinda, in a line that might have come from a pre-war novel.<\/p>\n

\u2018Each one had a different style. It might be smoky glass and chrome furniture and low leather sofas<\/a> for a mews house. The next was hessian wallpaper and rococo furniture. My mother was always experimenting.\u2019<\/p>\n

Which prompts the question: would she ever move herself? \u2018Perhaps. But it would have to be somewhere very different.\u2019 In the meantime, there is work to do here. A bedroom \u2018beyond redemption\u2019 is primed for a new look. \u2018I\u2019m envisaging sludgy, dirty pinks and tobacco tones. That\u2019s what fascinates me: transformation.\u2019<\/p>\n

\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
Lucinda has a passion for ceramics and part of her collection is artfully displayed in the living room. She loves white pieces in particular and has grouped them for impact. The striking artwork above the fireplace is by Clare Packer, while the prints to the right of the fireplace are from OKA and were discovered through working on Collagerie. The two mid-century chairs were bought from Sunbury Antiques Market \u2013 the cushions are from Colville. Lucinda had the sofa upholstered using various textiles.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
Framed wallpaper samples c1930 were gradually collected by Lucinda from Portobello Road Market and hung in two spots in the living room.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
The collage above the fireplace is by Clare Packer from Kittoe Contemporary.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
The unglazed vase on the left of the dining room fireplace is by Danny Cremers, who sells via Instagram (@nicevases). The yellow wall colour was mixed by Papers and Paints to Lucinda\u2019s specification.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
The plates that frame the entrance to the kitchen were bought from \u2018all over\u2019, including eBay. The vase on the dining table is part of Colville\u2019s collaboration with The Conran Shop.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
The baskets were all bought from travels in Africa. Hadeda on Collagerie sells similar.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
Works of art hang above a jolly sofa in the kitchen. The picture on the bottom left is by Mary Norden (@marytnorden) and is a collage created from vintage textiles.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
Lucinda\u2019s kitchen is a masterclass in how to create a characterful space with collections, quirky furniture and art. The chevron-stripe chair in the kitchen is from Ceraudo \u2013 the others are a combination of vintage finds. The lampshades were made from various vintage fabrics, as were the curtains.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
Lucinda designed the kitchen extension while travelling on planes during work trips.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
Custom-built wardrobes provide an opportunity to display vintage textiles (with more space for ceramics above).<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
The striped cushion in the master bedroom is from one of Lucinda\u2019s favourite shops, Myriad in Notting Hill. She used to collect a lot of rattan, and bought the headboards many years ago.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
The bedside lamp base was bought from Sunbury Antiques Market.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
The curtains in the bathroom are made from vintage textiles.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>
\""Victorian\"<\/picture><\/div>
Lucinda has created a striking display in the bathroom with a collection of mismatched plates. The 1970s macram\u00e9 lampshade was bought from a brocante in France.<\/span> <\/figcaption> Rachael Smith<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div> <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>

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