The House of Lavender’s Blue + Attitude

The Final Show

Our magnus opus. Crescendo. An operatic high. We’ve got attitude and Attitude have got us. In a world exclusive, Lavender’s Blue the interiors (and a flash of beyond – how’s the garden?) are revealed in all their splendour in Europe’s whirl of interiors magazine, Attitude Interior Design. The Porto based publication was the perfect platform for launching our mission accomplished, a rocketing decade of shopping decorating. Closer to home, a national newspaper was keen to capture the images: The Irish Times. And the most read homes magazine on that sage and shamrock island, Ireland’s Homes Interiors + Living, celebrated Lavender’s Blue in style with a lavish spread. Phew. It’s a (very well rounded) wrap. Our writing may veer towards minimalism, occasionally. Our interiors do not. They feature some rather demanding garniture. Grab your monocle as we live up to our wallpaper. So what do the great, the good and the truly marvellous have to say?

Alfred Cochrane, Artist + Architect: “Amazingly atmospheric as always. You have stood your ground and there is now a vogue again for retro country house nostalgia with a dash of Tolstoy or Turgenev where Daddy Vladimir would gladly go topless. Keep looking towards the East.”

Annabel P, Muse + Amanuensis, “Darlings, so many parties, so little time. What interiors?”

Anne Davey Orr, Artist + Publisher: “I have been witness to a number of interiors which you have designed in the past.  However, none of them expressed this eclectic taste, this creative marrying of objects or these transformational powers so successfully as Lavender’s Blue itself does. In a kind of way it is a pied á terre of curiosities in which the curiosities, including you, spin off and enhance one another.”

Annabella Forbes, Actor, Art Director, Copywriter, Designer, Film Director, Ideator, Naming Consultant, Presenter, Product Innovator, Script Writer + Strategist: “It’s AMAZING! It’s fab, fab, fab!”

Caroline Clifton Mogg, Writer: “London is a city of secret gardens, a place where plain faced streets give little away of what lies there, and where few individual facades give any clues as to the streets behind their all-embracing walls. Protected and hidden by their house the best gardens are a fusion of inside and outside… Whatever secret a garden may reveal, it will always surprise and delight those who discover it for the first time.”

Dr Charlotte Blease, Cognitive Scientist + Philosopher of Medicine: “It is uncanny. You are the inheritor of Isabella Stewart Gardner’s style. I’m calling it EE – Eccentric Eclecticism.” Louise Hall Tharp, Isabella Stewart Gardner Biographer: “Mrs Gardner bought her Rembrandt with the intent of developing a real museum collection… The rooms are notable for their calculated intimacy and informality – their almost bric-a-brac juxtapositions of paintings, sculptures, drawings, pastels, letters, manuscripts, ceramics, decorative objects, and artefacts. She imitates nobody; everything she does is novel and original.”

Inês Graça, Attitude Interior Design Interiors Editor: “What does one see upon entering this inner world? Broad temporal and spatial references and the thoughtful organisation of a passionate collection. Those of culture are present because of the elegance and knowledge that makes itself apparent. Singularity and extravagance define Lavender’s Blue: a hidden refuge inspired by Irish country houses named after 18th century lavender fields. A little piece of secret London that invites guests to be part of an immersive and unique experience. Fue maravilloso.”

John Curran, UK’s First Shigeru Ban Client: “I knew it would be interesting, but had no idea that it would be among the most engaging private interiors I have seen photographed. We pride ourselves as collectors of things we love, but you put us to shame. Having discussed John Soane at our coffee, I will somewhat shyly draw the comparison with the museum, knowing that I am not the first to do so. I have great appreciation for objects that attract the owner and that give a window into the person. Your home very much does that.”

Karla W, Heiress, “Lavender’s Blue is my absolute favourite; you have recreated a 1920s Parisian salon in present day London. The photographs are ravishing but you can only truly appreciate it in the flesh, especially by night. All the rooms are terribly, terribly smart in every sense. Every time I’m at yours I become obsessed with some fascinating detail I never noticed before. Lavender’s Blue is a rare evolutionary wonder. You’re like the sun, always coming up shining. How’s Zelda?”

Mary Martin, Fashion Designer: “LOVE it! You’re a genius! You should do interior design! It’s exactly the taste I have! Your rooms remind me of the inside of Cardiff Castle which I used to visit as a child.”

Mary Weaver, Houses Editor Living Etc, “Your home is so charming and original.”

Maud Rabin, Parisian Translator, “Your home is so stylish! Très très chic!”

Michael S Howard, Managing Director Rasa Hospitality, “Your home is AMAZING! How fabulous is that?”

PJ Gibbons, Editor Social + Personal, “Your house looks beautiful.”

Régis Camus, World’s Top Chef de Cave, “C’est magnifique!”

Dame Rosalind Savill OBE, Former Director The Wallace Collection + Sèvres World Expert, “I just LOVE it! It’s so smart. It’s so exquisite.”

Sandra Jonas, Former Model + Landscape Designer Georgia: “You are gorgeous!!! Zelda is so beautiful.”

Samantha Laurie, Editor Wandsworth Magazine, “What a beautiful home you have created! Are you an interior designer?”

Sheila Molloy, Châtelaine Gaultier Lodge + Castle ffrench, “Your place looks fantastic, full of the things I love. Is the cat alive or dead? My kitchen in Gaultier when it was upstairs was painted a very similar colour blue called Lobaelia pre Farrow and Balls days, Dulux I think. I saw it in the kitchen at Emo Court when Cholmeley Harrison had it about 1978!!!”

Sara Larkham, Editor Ireland’s Homes Interiors + Living: “Your home is spectacular! It’s stunningly unique and transports guests back in time… a truly unique home in London filled with character and charm.”

Simon O’Hara, Châtelain Coopershill House, “Very interesting interiors.”

Tamar Madmoni Reich, New York Philanthropist + Holistic Health Coach, “Your home is beautiful!”

William Thuiller, Art Dealer + Collector: “It’s quite lovely. I love the layered textures, colours, patterns and atmosphere… sort of Leighton House meets Soane Museum, if that’s not patronising! It’s completely alien to my usual taste, in that I would never have bought any individual item, but it works superbly as an ensemble against that rich blue on the walls.”