This period home on the Isle of Wight blends architectural bearing with a sense of modern-day ease.
When last we invited you into the home of interior designer Mark Smith of Smith Creative Design, it was his London apartment we revealed – a red-brick Kensington mansion flat with incredible bones and covetable architectural heritage. Since then, he’s flown the city to settle for a slower paced life on The Isle of Wight. Here, he’s deftly transformed an 1850s Victorian house set on 2.5 acres of grounds into a home better suited to 21st century living. In doing so, he skillfully retained all of the character and period detailing that this countryside estate deserved.
A more charming scene would be hard to find, here the south end of the house features the conservatory and the decorative bargeboards, typical of the Isle of Wight Victorian style.
Built in 1850 as a parsonage for the Church of England, the home’s architectural style is in keeping with others on the island – mellow red and blue brick with decorative timber bargeboards. Though, he admits, even at this grand old age, it’s a younger property than he’s used to working with. “I’d been regularly visiting friends on the Island for over twenty years. Plus, the Isle of Wight has on average 7 hours more sunshine per week than anywhere else in the UK, so for someone who’s addicted to natural light, that was quite a selling point! Geographically it’s beautiful too with a great combination of a dramatic Jurassic coastline and an ancient rural, agricultural heart,” he explains.
Mark’s calling card as a designer is working with historic spaces and pieces and weaving in a sense of timeless but easy sophistication, sharply editing and pairing contrasting styles to inform a new design language. Here, in his dining room for example, original stripped and dark-stained wooden floors are the host to a mix of classic and vintage pieces: a Saarinen tulip dining table base and custom oak top, 19th-century oak dining chairs, 1940’s French sideboard and antique wingback come together with a commanding portrait painting by Raphael Thierry. The skill, claims Mark, is in the pairing of similar colours and textures, as well as observing the appropriate scale for each room.
He’s also approached the colouring of walls with a trusted rule of thumb: to ensure each room is suited to its purpose. Here, that meant a more dramatic shade of grey-green (his favourite colour of the spectrum) for the cosier TV room where nights in are regular, whereas the sitting room, thanks to its scale and ample light, was given a bolder and brighter shade of green. “It’s very easy in the country to run around painting everything in neutrals, but I wanted something smart here too and the dark tones in some rooms add a bit of punch,” he says.
Throughout the rooms in his home, an ensemble of 40-years’ worth of acquisitions from sources as varied as respected London antique dealers to lucky finds at various high street markets all rub shoulders. Woven into his anthology are various artworks by beloved SA artists like Johan Louw and Conrad Botes. The result is a space that’s deeply personal and reflects his inimitable taste, set within a home of impressive heritage.
Thankfully the old parsonage was in great structural condition and so little was needed to restore it, except that Mark opened up the kitchen to the dining room. While bringing in light and a sense of connectedness between the two daily-use spaces, removing the wall that divided them also meant removing back-to-back fireplaces (not originals), as well as the accompanying brick chimney stack.
The house has the sense of being embraced and held by the outdoors, thanks to the fact that the garden encircles it. Laid out in a number of ‘rooms’, each with its own character, Mark tackles these spaces individually, applying a new planting scheme and style that ties into his broader preference for green, white and purple.
The 2.5-acre garden, which encompasses the entirety of the house on all sides has been landscaped. The views from the back of the property roll down over vast fields which stage a spectacular sunset on good-weather days. It’s the kind of sight that musters “a feeling that nothing has changed, and the light is just magical,” Mark adds. And he’s right, not much has changed, except that he has applied the home’s historic charm and its iconic characteristics to the demands of 21st-century life, continuing its relevance in an entirely new era.
“The conservatory was original to the house, but I changed the floor which was previously broken, mouldy quarry tiles and bare soil.” The walls have been painted with Farrow & Ball‘s Card Room Green while a pair of vintage Dryad woven chairs sit around a bistro table. A vintage sculptor’s turntable/stand from Charpentier adds nostalgia to this easy-going space.
The original ‘front’ door to the vicarage shows off its historic brickwork and detailing. It has been freshly painted in a handsome shade of blue from Papers & Paints with colour refrenece 9-098.
The entrance hall is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Shaded White. Here. the original floorboards “made from (very) orange Oregon pine which I stained to a dark shade” have taken on a more grounding aesthetic. New cast iron radiators in the Victorian style were installed throughout the house and above them, a melange of pictures, collected over 40 years have been thoughtfully curated. To the left, the door to the cellar is painted Farrow & Ball’s Tanner’s Brown.
The kitchen was originally a separate room, but has since been opened up to the dining room by Mark. Right: the original servant bells hang on the wall and link to days gone by. Here, the walls are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Shaded White. “The bespoke cabinetry is designed by me and painted in a combo of Farrow & Ball’s Tanners Brown and Green Smoke and bring a dose of weight to the room. These are paired with composite countertops and splashback and my signature Linoleum floor.” Left: The custom-designed mahogany unit facing the dining room is used for storing crystal, silverware etc.
A large sisal area rug from Tim Page Carpets pulls the dining area together and brings warmth. Here, Mark has teamed a custom oak top with a re-purposed Saarinen tulip base in a bronze finish and incorporated a set of 19th-century oak dining chairs covered with J. Robert Scott Superkidskin. The pendant light is a French vintage piece, as is the 1940s sideboard. The dining room also features various antique wing chairs and a gueridon from numerous dealers in Mark’s little black book. The Mid-century verdigris vase on the dining table is from Nick Jones and the large portrait is by Raphael Thierry.
In the sitting room, the walls are painted with Farrow & Ball’s Card Room Green – a suitable shade for the room’s scale and bright light. A woven sisal rug is from Tim Page Carpets brings heavier texture while an assortment of objet bring personality to the coffee table, namely: ceramics by Paul Philp, and a vintage giant padlock from Cecile & Boyd. The classic fire surround is from Jamb, the wingback is from Lee Wright and the 19th-century Dutch secretaire came from Alston & Ashton, all of which reveal how eclectic Mark’s anthology is. On and above the mantlepiece: are a custom convex mirror from English Georgian, bronze candlesticks by Lynn Chadwick and a bronze raptor from Michael Reeves.
On warm days, the sitting room opens up onto the conservatory, creating a sense of flow with the outdoors. The vintage sofa is from Lorfords Antiques and has been covered in Christopher Farr linen. Custom armchairs and the screen are by William Yeoward and the Roman blinds are made from antique French bed sheets.
The library cum guest bedroom features walls painted in Farrow & Ball’s Tanner’s Brown, a favourite of Mark’s which lends drama to the space. The unique vintage haberdasher’s cabinet was bought at the Battersea Decorative Fair.
“In the family bathroom – yet more shades of green! I’m a huge fan of Linoleum flooring which features in many of my projects. It’s come a long way from its 1950s utilitarian image and works very well with underfloor heating.” The vintage metal chair has a tooled ply seat and was bought in Greenwich, CT. Right: more Linoleum flooring features in the master ensuite, where the walls are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light. Custom cabinetry in Papers & Paints colour features in the bathroom. The polished nickel taps and heated towel rail are Lefroy Brooks from CP Hart and the wall lights Hector Finch. The self-portrait is by Conrad Botes.
A sense of calm has been forged in the master bedroom where the walls are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Dropcloth. The curtains have been made up in a blue Holland & Sherry fabric and the Roman blind in Rose Tarlow fabric. The pair of bed-end stools is from Cecile & Boyd and has been covered in Christopher Farr fabric. The pair of antique Liberty dowel chairs with saddle hide sling seats are from Patch Rogers and the bed is covered in an old North African rug from Egg.
In an artful tableaux, a 19th-century French commode from Lee Wright has been teamed with a commissioned abstract painting from Dot Wade and a David Garland bowl and contemporary vases.
The rear of the house: the smaller building to the left is the old stable and hayloft, now converted into an office.
