{"id":4476,"date":"2022-02-03T13:38:39","date_gmt":"2022-02-03T12:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.homesandantiques.com\/?p=25649"},"modified":"2022-02-03T13:58:25","modified_gmt":"2022-02-03T12:58:25","slug":"a-romantic-regency-villa-in-bath","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/rss_feed\/a-romantic-regency-villa-in-bath\/","title":{"rendered":"A romantic Regency Villa in Bath"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Molly Malsom\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Thursday, 03 February 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

At first glance, The Grange looks like any other Regency villa<\/a>, of which there are many in and around Bath; this is until you notice pale antique lace<\/a> hung at every window and a rather cool-looking 1986 jet-black BMW parked out front. The prettiness of the delicate window treatment and the retro chic of the car signpost what lies within \u2013 together they encapsulate the style of owners Laura and Dan Taylor, who live here with their two young daughters and a pair of languid Burmese cats.<\/p>\n

After studying Art, Laura became a fashion buyer, which led to her working in theatrical clothing. Here she developed a passion for costume, most notably the soft pastel colour palette of ballet dresses and slippers; an influence that sits at the core of her interiors look.<\/p>\n

Dan, a professional musician and songwriter, is a founding member and lead guitarist of English rock band The Heavy<\/i>. \u2018We are both very creative people; Dan\u2019s outlet being his music, and the house being mine. Entering our home, you are stepping into my creativity \u2013 it\u2019s a curated scrapbook of everything I love, from vintage fashion<\/a> and ballet dresses to the faded grandeur of Ch\u00e2teau de Gudanes and the costume and interiors of Sofia Coppola\u2019s Marie Antoinette<\/i>,\u2019 explains Laura.<\/p>\n

Entering via the heavy front door, you are greeted by an elegant white hallway and staircase, with wedding dresses hung on the wall and one of Dan\u2019s guitars just visible on the halfway landing. Painted white throughout, bar a few bare plaster walls and a peachy-pink bathroom, the house has a palpable feeling of calm; a kind of dreamy continental beauty.<\/p>\n

\u2018The house has a real stillness to it \u2013 it\u2019s a very grounding and peaceful place, but it needed a lot doing to it to make it aesthetically pleasing,\u2019 says Laura. \u2018We moved in on 21st December 2015 and by Christmas Day we were peeling off wallpaper and ripping up carpets.\u2019 Laura recalls the living room\u2019s khaki wallpaper, which was removed to reveal layers of original plaster in a beautiful patchwork of muted and mottled colours; this they kept.<\/p>\n

The house, built in the 1820s<\/a> by the Royal Navy, originally had no kitchen, but a service kitchen was located in the servants\u2019 quarters attached to the rear. To make their current kitchen<\/a>, Laura and Dan took down a false ceiling to reveal cornicing and what was originally an external wall and back door. \u2018We uncovered this for its beautifully carved stone door mantel. To the bewilderment of our builder I wanted to make a feature of this, along with keeping the newly plastered walls untreated!\u2019<\/p>\n

Rotten floorboards were replaced with reclaimed<\/a> ones from Devizes Reclamation, and a simple bespoke kitchen was built by a local carpenter. \u2018To our delight, we found original fireplaces<\/a> boarded up in every room,\u2019 adds Laura.<\/p>\n

The soft tones and delicate fabrics synonymous with ballet are a key thread here; something that shows not only in the decorative use of costumes, but in the overall colour palette of the interior. \u2018I worked as a dresser at the Theatre Royal, Bath, which led to assisting the costume supervisor on a production for the Royal Shakespeare Company; this is where my love for theatre and costume really began,\u2019 says Laura.<\/p>\n

Collections of old ballet photos, books, dresses and pointe shoes are kept on display instead of hidden away. Adding to the femininity of the house is Laura\u2019s collection of vintage wedding dresses, bridal crowns, veils and Globes de Mari\u00e9e.<\/p>\n

\u2018Wedding domes, as they are commonly known, were used by married couples in France<\/a> from the 1800s for collecting items from their wedding day, along with objects symbolising various episodes to come in married life. They are such intimate time capsules and I find it hard to believe families part with them. I treasure them now that they are in my care.\u2019<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also impossible to ignore the musical reference running through the house, from the second-hand white grand piano and Dan\u2019s collection of guitars, to pictures of John Lennon and Yoko Ono tucked into an ornate mantel mirror and an old record player gently playing Van Morrison. \u2018Dan has quite a collection of music posters, but the colours are much stronger than the colour palette of our interior scheme \u2013 I\u2019m really sensitive to colour and prefer soft tones, but I\u2019m building myself up to integrate these stronger colours into the house,\u2019 laughs Laura.<\/p>\n

To create a truly authentic home that embraces all things elegantly worn, you have to think outside of the high-street box and turn to antiques shops<\/a> and flea markets<\/a>; something Laura does well. \u2018The quality of craftsmanship in old things is so much better than most new, and even if fabric is tattered and torn, the structure is usually sound. I\u2019m happy to buy an old French sofa with its original velvet fabric hanging from its bones, or a dishevelled old wedding dress.\u2019<\/p>\n

To get the look they love so much, Laura and Dan search high and low for beautiful things: \u2018Wherever we travel, the first thing we do is search online for local dealers, shops and markets. We also find a lot of things on Etsy, especially vintage fashion. We\u2019re in our element sourcing for our home.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You might also like:<\/h4>\n