According to the late Nancy Lancaster, the interior designer and former owner of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, every room must have ‘something a little bit ugly’ in it. Otherwise, the space is at risk of looking a little too ‘done’. The thing about ugliness, much like its antithesis, prettiness, is that it is entirely subjective. One person's grotesque may well be someone else's glorious. Our homes, and the things we choose to fill them with, are always a matter of personal taste. Some things do not pose much of a risk of repelling others: an oak dining table, or a simple pair of linen curtains, for example, can hardly be considered offensive. But what about the things that do offend? Inevitably, there will be plenty of items in all of our homes which, for reasons of sentimentality, humour or simply controversial taste, appeal to us and only us. They may repulse guests and other halves, but at least Nancy would appreciate them in all of their unsightliness.
Benedict Foley
'John Fowler and Robert Kime were both keen on something ugly to cut a room, otherwise everything can become a sort of sickly confection - obviously just having something ugly could be rather easy so I suppose it's defining what about the chosen horror is the charm! I tend to like things that are both a stand out example of their type, and perhaps slightly disrupt people's ideas of 'good' and 'bad'.
The best example in my house is an 18th-century Neapolitan majolica centrepiece. I suspect that actually quite lot of people would like it if it was less broken, but it would then have been too seriously hideous to live with for me personally - everyone should do as they please in their own homes but do I find polite taste doesn't thrill me, I prefer something with a bit more humour!
I also have a pair of model horses at the cottage which are based on Coustou's famous horses at Marly. The originals caused a sensation in the mid-18th century and spawned tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of copies, but the ones we have are literally the worst I've ever seen! My partner Daniel correctly identified them as hideous, but they camouflage a pair of hacienda-style wrought iron 1960s wall lights we can't get down as the damp from the river has fused them to the masonry of the chimney. Perhaps it's not so much about what you see, as what you don't see whilst recovering your breath!'
Charlotte Buchanan
'We have a taxidermy pigeon in the circular window in our kitchen. It’s an ironic nod to the many pigeons that were happily occupying the house upstairs for many years, when it was empty and windowless, before we renovated it. People have a mixed reaction to it, some love it, some hate it, but it always elicits a reaction.'
Rachel Chudley
‘My faux-bois jug is one of my favourite items, but honestly if my husband had the chance he would take great pleasure in getting it with a mallet! I found it at a glee market from the 1960s. I love it for the detail of its the glazed knuckles and its general ugly beauty – and really the futility of putting so much effort into making something look like a piece of wood. I couldn’t love it more!’
Lonika Chande
‘There are so many divisive things knocking about in our unrenovated home at the moment! These include a shocking multicoloured loo seat, which friends and family refer to as the “Paul Smith” loo seat, but really that is being too kind. Not sure why we haven’t replaced it, but my children love it, and weirdly, now three years in, I’m kind of attached.’
Patrick O'Donnell
‘I think my home is dripping in contentious or more discretionary ‘niche’ items – possibly because I’m a hoarder and often buy things as a travelogue of place and time. The one item that seems to make people shudder is my Capo di Monte ‘bird of paradise’. I have no idea what the bird is but I bought it a few years ago from the most extraordinary shop. Essentially it’s a village shop and Post Office in the lovely village of Hinton St George in Somerset, but a local chap uses some of the windows to showcase the odd piece of ceramics and small furniture. It is all very bizarre but brilliantly bonkers and British! I’ve always hankered, but lacked the budget for a pair of Meissen parrots so this almost ticked the box and now happily perched atop a scroll bracket from A Prin art in my study at home.’
Will Fisher and Charlotte Fremantle
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'When you walk into our home we have a stuffed Gharial from the 19th century that people either love or hate, or are frightened by. The Gharial is the perfect example of antique taxidermy, perfectly preserved with a surface that has aged so beautifully. We love the way we have hung it in the hall at home, as if it’s almost emerging from it - ready to pounce! We of course love it and it will always be used at Christmas to hold the mistletoe in his teeth.
We also love all of our grand tour objects and antiquities that we have collected over decades and have on our mantlepieces. Not a person, but Ambrose, our cat, doesn’t have the same affection and often goes around knocking them off mantles and console tables in a slightly malicious way. This has meant that all our pieces are blue tacked down to minimise the damage he can cause!'
