{"id":23577,"date":"2023-07-26T11:04:49","date_gmt":"2023-07-26T09:04:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/fdb5ea0e-f4f0-4b76-80b8-d7e2faab1f99"},"modified":"2023-07-26T12:36:37","modified_gmt":"2023-07-26T10:36:37","slug":"a-careful-renovation-of-a-georgian-townhouse","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-careful-renovation-of-a-georgian-townhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"A careful renovation of a Georgian townhouse"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By <\/p>

2023-07-26 09:04:49<\/p>

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A careful renovation of a Georgian townhouse<\/h1>
\u2018Undeniably grim and, in fact, rather primitive in parts,\u2019 says Stephen Pardy, recalling his not entirely unhappy assessment of the 18th-century townhouse he and his wife Clare now call home.\u00a0<\/p>
Despite this unpromising description, the house was exactly the sort of renovation project the couple were looking for: architecturally intact but in need of work, and on the quiet, leafy square they had set their sights on.<\/p>
However, it was only by pure chance that the project was theirs to complete. In fact, having explained their requirements to a local estate agent, the couple were absorbing the news that the house of their dreams had just been sold, when a colleague interrupted with the news that the property was available once more, the buyer having had second thoughts.<\/p>
Wasting no time, Stephen and Clare went to take a look around and were delighted by what they found. \u2018Rather than dwelling on the negatives, we could only see positive opportunities,\u2019 says Stephen, explaining that the \u2018so-called issues\u2019, such as the avocado bathroom suite, bricked up fireplaces<\/a>, or an earthen floor in the cellar, were not going to deter them.\u00a0<\/p>
They focused instead on the wealth of beautiful period features lying beneath the nondescript paint, wood-chip wallpaper and other aberrations from the unimaginative Seventies makeover.<\/p>
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\u2018In years gone by, the property, which was built in 1794 and spans just four metres in width, would have been extremely overcrowded,\u2019 says Stephen. \u2018In fact, records show that, in 1851, nine people were shoehorned into what was regarded as a \u2018fourth-rate\u2019 house\u2019.\u00a0<\/p>
But with the needs of just two occupants to consider, Stephen cast his impeccable eye for design over every inch of the four-storey house before their sensitive renovation began.<\/p>
Taking inspiration from Cambridge\u2019s intimate Kettle\u2019s Yard house and gallery, Stephen and Clare\u2019s vision was to create a harmonious, welcoming home with simple, almost Shaker-like, interiors.\u00a0<\/p>
\u2018I believe the secret to restoring a period property is to give a sense of the passage of time, rather than trying to recreate a particular era,\u2019 Stephen explains. \u2018It\u2019s a question of layering characteristic details from the past to evoke the spirit of a bygone era, without turning a home into a museum piece.\u2019<\/p>
The couple were mindful of this philosophy throughout the year-long building project. Work began with the removal of heavy 1950s casement windows, which were replaced with elegant sashes.\u00a0<\/p>
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Next, the original wooden floorboards<\/a> were repaired, and steadily all traces of the property\u2019s unsympathetic 1970s incarnation were discarded.<\/p>
Paying homage to the building\u2019s history, Stephen painstakingly designed and installed cabinets, bookcases, panelling, window shutters, fire surrounds and architraves.\u00a0<\/p>
When it came to choosing colours<\/a>, subtle shades of cream, grey and white were specially mixed by Papers and Paints, to create an atmospheric background against which the couple\u2019s pictures, ceramics and sculptures<\/a> are now thoughtfully displayed.<\/p>
Stephen and Clare \u2013 who is an art historian and arranges specialist insurance for collectors of fine art and antiques at Hallett Independent \u2013 have relished furnishing the house, sourcing paintings, furniture and decorative objects from dealers<\/a>, fairs<\/a> and at auction<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>
\u2018Since we have a certain aesthetic, oddly enough, things from completely different periods tend to work well together,\u2019 says Clare. \u2018Most of what we have bought isn\u2019t of enormous value but, instead, they are beautiful pieces that speak to us. I guess you could call it controlled eclecticism.\u2019<\/p>
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In 2016, the couple decided it was high time that they converted their cellar. \u2018In years gone by, the two rooms of the cellar were only ever used as a coal hole, washhouse and, briefly, an air raid shelter,\u2019 Stephen says. Frustrated by their small galley kitchen<\/a>, Clare set Stephen the challenge of transforming the cellar into a light-filled kitchen.\u00a0<\/p>
Bringing the couple\u2019s vision for a farmhouse-style<\/a> space to fruition has been no mean feat, requiring major structural works that included underpinning the whole building, removing the dividing cellar wall and dropping the floor level by 30cm.\u00a0<\/p>
A window and lightwell have been enlarged, and French windows installed. \u2018The space, with its large table, works incredibly well and has changed the way we live and how we use our whole home,\u2019 says Clare. \u2018These days, entertaining is informal and spontaneous.\u2019<\/p>
Clare and Stephen have turned their serendipitous find into a fascinating home that reflects their passions, personalities and shared memories; every object has a story to tell. \u2018A lot of thought has gone into each decision,\u2019 says Stephen.\u00a0<\/p>
\u2018Clare and I have taken it gently and feel that, by doing so, we\u2019ve created a home we adore; one that echoes the past but is also perfect for modern-day living.\u2019<\/p>
When they bought the house, the front was post-war brick with concrete lintels. The Pardys had it rendered to match adjoining houses and installed sash windows, a redesigned fanlight and a glazed door to pull light into the hallway.<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>
$\""Georgian\"$ <\/figure>
The drawing room walls and fireplace are painted in a calming, neutral shade. \u2018A small house can be made to seem larger by using the same wall colour throughout, so that each space becomes part of a larger whole,\u2019 says Stephen. The upholstered armchairs are Stephen\u2019s designs.<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>
$\""Georgian\"$ <\/figure>
The scullery area has a large Belfast sink, flanked by two period aluminium draining boards. Opposite, a Regency pine side table and more open shelving house preserving jars and cookbooks.<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>
$\""Georgian\"$ <\/figure>
On the shelves of the 18th-century dresser from South Wales are 19th-century china beer mugs, 18th-century English delft, an early Staffordshire slipware dish, 19th-century Wemyss Ware from Fife, and an oak box for candles. \u2018For me, being Welsh, the dresser is definitely the pi\u00e8ce de r\u00e9sistance,\u2019 says Clare. <\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>
$\""Georgian\"$ <\/figure>
A favourite of Clare\u2019s, bought on her 50th birthday in Bologna, the Mario Marini lithograph above the drinks tray in the book room is called Rider (1955). The Regency centre table came from a Suffolk antiques dealer. <\/figcaption><\/div><\/div>
$\""Georgian\"$ <\/figure>
The guest bedroom originally had a large corner fireplace, which has been adapted to form bookshelves and angled window shutters. A 1962 etching by Islwyn Watkins and a 1983 Cont\u00e9 crayon landscape by Adrian Hemming adorn the walls.<\/figcaption><\/div><\/div><\/div>