A graphic designer takes a playful, adventurous approach to art in his London house
A sense of adventure threads its way through every space – even the utility room – in the west London home that Adam and Amy Ellis share with their three children, Eva, Lucas, and Tom. Imbued with a rich, vibrant playfulness and with walls lined with glorious, uplifting art – largely sourced from Adam’s archive of more than 20,000 natural history, botanical, topographical, antiquarian and mid-century prints – every inch of the house they bought nine years ago has been brought to life by this creative couple.
‘I love the idea that pictures can be anywhere,’ says Adam, a Slade-trained fine artist turned graphic designer, whose studio today is known for the arresting visual landscapes it creates for clients such as Brown’s Hotel and the private members’ club Annabel’s in London, as well as The Ivy Collection of brasseries round the UK.
Indeed, here there are pictures, interestingly framed and displayed not only on walls but also above doorway lintels, perched on top of kitchen cupboards and blown-up into scene-stealing wallpapers. ‘Rooms are always changing – I like the way the house feels like a constant work in progress,’ says Amy, a former secondary-school teacher who now divides her time between looking after the family and consulting on residential projects alongside Adam in the studio.
Collaborating with architect Matt Hedges of the local Chartered Practice Architects – with whom the couple had already worked on both their previous house and Adam’s studio-cum-gallery in Acton – they prioritised opening out the double-fronted Victorian property’s ‘dark and compartmented interiors’. This, explains Adam, helped to make the most of the building’s good, solid bones and its lateral width, without ruining its existing charm. ‘The house was like nothing else we had seen,’ says Amy, who recalls how they were immediately drawn to details such as its two staircases, front and back. ‘These gave it a lovely circular feel. It was such a surprise.’
To bring light into the back extension (which was built by the previous owners), walls were removed, floors levelled and a huge skylight installed to create a free-flowing kitchen, dining and entertaining space. It opens out onto a generous garden, designed with help from landscape designer Joanna Archer, which is filled with trees, winding paths, a rickety greenhouse, rambling roses and huge pots of hydrangeas, as well as a constant parade of local wildlife, including stag beetles, birds, foxes, newts and frogs. ‘It has scratched that itch of moving to the country,’ explains Adam.‘We have all this amazing space, but we are still in London.’
While each area has an individual personality, together it works as a harmonious whole. The garden room – once a library and now marked with wallpaper featuring towering exotic flora, and botanical prints and plants, providing a calm space in which to sit, read or enjoy an early evening drink with friends – leads into a room with a piano on which the whole family practise their chords. Amy says this was a ‘sort-of-nothing through room, which we recently painted a darker green, making it much richer and more interesting’.
Leading on from here is the sitting room, which overflows with art and treasures collected on their travels, or found at the antique and vintage fairs that Amy likes to frequent. ‘Each one represents a memory. I like having stuff out – I never feel there’s enough,’ she continues.
On the first floor, a family bathroom and extra loo were added to complement two children’s bedrooms, as well as a snug. On the second floor, there is a third children’s bedroom, while a small office and two bedrooms have been transformed into a main bedroom, dressing room and bathroom. Up another level is a spare room with a bathroom, created from what was previously a small roof-terrace space. ‘Now it is almost the nicest room in the house because it is quiet, with a view of the garden – perfect for when family come to stay,’ says Amy. A further level features two more bedrooms and a bathroom.
While structurally the house came together quickly – they gave their builders a tight five-month deadline – the style of decoration has developed more organically. ‘It has been fairly chaotic, actually,’ Adam confesses with a laugh. In between the challenges of raising small children, a spell of renting out the house as a location for photography and starting a new studio, they have allowed the house itself and its character to slowly dictate the mood and hues.
Layers of colour – from the painted walls to the patterned fabrics Amy has collected over the years to use for cushions or upholstery – enhance their eclectic mix of textured rugs, mid-century lighting, reclaimed furniture and antique finds. Details such as the reclaimed wooden doors between the piano and garden rooms have been carefully chosen, says Adam, ‘to feel as though they have always been here’.
The result is not only a home perfectly formed for happy, bustling family life and endless entertaining – ‘We’ve had our 40th birthdays here, Amy’s mother’s 70th and plenty of Christmases,’ recalls Adam – but one that is guaranteed to be forever evolving. ‘We’re not people who sit still – we like to keep things moving forward,’ adds Amy.
Adam Ellis Studio: adamellis.com
Paul Massey1/5Original BTC’s ‘Diner’ light in brass hangs above ‘Dining Table Three’ in oak by Another Country, which is teamed with dark Hans Wegner-inspired chairs. An artful mixture of Adam Ellis Studio works and antique finds are displayed on walls in Paper & Paint Library’s ‘Slate I’.
Paul Massey2/5Bold beetle prints by the studio pick up on the bright colours of an Egyptian rug from Loaf Lifestyle at Kempton Market.
Paul Massey3/5An ‘Iki’ lamp with ‘Shibori Alleppey’ shade from Samarkand Design sits on a Suzy Hoodless-inspired cabinet made by Adam. The mirror is by Richard Connolly of the Italian Framing Company and the rug is from Portobello Market. Walls are in ‘Temple’ by Paint & Paper Library.
Paul Massey4/5The cabinet in Farrow & Ball’s ‘Calke Green’ complements a headboard in ‘Cloud Garden’ linen in vert de gris by Rapture & Wright and a bedcover from Tinsmiths.
Paul Massey5/5‘Columbidae’ wallpaper by Adam’s studio is matched with Stone & Ceramic Warehouse’s dark metro tiles.
