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HOUSE OF MEMORIES Elegantly curated finds are amongst the many interior delights of a Victorian London property
A rug designed by Frank Lloyd Wright is a neutral base in the drawing room, enlivened by a pair of jewel-toned hand-blown-glass lamp bases and an oval artwork by Susan Derges at Purdy Hicks Gallery. The side tables are vintage pieces, as is the Viscontea pendant by Castiglioni for Flos.
House of MEMORIES Sam and Hugh Godsal’s London home is full of family stories and special finds which have been artfully curated to create a welcoming interior
FEATURE JO LEEVERS STYLING MARCIA MORGAN PHOTOGRAPHY RACHAEL SMITH
ABOVE In the kitchen-diner, a marble-topped Eero Saarinen Tulip table bought at Criterion Auctioneers is paired with mid-century dining chairs Sam bought at Sunbury Antiques Market. RIGHT In the entrance hall, a handwoven rug from Guyana lies beneath a Murano glass chandelier bought at Alfies Antique Market. The Italian cherrywood credenza is from Valerie Wade, complemented by a vintage French mirror from Foster & Gane, set between wall lights from Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler
The pretty, antique sofa is covered in turquoise Cunard velvet from Claremont. Mugham Flower fabric from Robert Kime was used for the cushions. A pair of urns from Orchid Furniture sit in the alcoves.
When Sam Godsal was wondering what colour to paint her kitchen, she asked her good friend Lulu Lytle, founder of Soane Britain, for advice. “We were walking in Kensington Gardens and she immediately replied, ‘Ben Pentreath’s Parsonage Pink’,” she says. Trusting Lulu implicitly, Sam ordered several pots of the paint over the phone and the two women continued their walk. “Five minutes later we bumped into none other than Ben Pentreath. This pink was meant to be,” she adds. The recently redecorated chic kitchen-diner is the hub of the west London townhouse that has been a happy family home for Sam and her husband Hugh for over 20 years.
When the couple took on the Victorian property, the rooms had a very different atmosphere. This once-grand house had been divided into flats, and then divided again into several more unofficial bedsits. “The house had been really butchered. Not a single architrave or original door had survived,” says Sam.
The house’s fortunes changed for the better when Sam and Hugh found it because they are not ones to shy away from a project. Their Devonshire home (featured in The English Home November 2019) benefited from a major makeover. Then there is the renowned Barbados hotel Cobblers Cove, which
This ground floor seating area is full of light. The walls are painted in Parsonage Pink by Ben Pentreath for Papers and Paints and the sofa is a 1930s piece, its curves echoed by a vintage faux bamboo footstool.
ABOVE The bespoke kitchen has a Brazilian marble work surface, handles custom-made to Sam’s design by Collier Webb and is painted in Farrow & Ball’s Vert de Terre. The two nineteenthcentury pantry cupboards are from Lorfords, whilst the pendant and sconces are by Soane Britain. RIGHT The rear of the house seen from the garden. Hugh inherited 10 years ago. Sam oversaw a sensitive upgrade of this tropical institution beloved by royalty, aristocracy and actors such as Dame Judi Dench.
As work on their London home began, Sam and Hugh realised the scale of the job. “One evening, standing in the basement, we could look up through all five floors and see the sky through the roof rafters. At that point we did wonder, ‘What have we taken on?’,” Sam says.
However, this back-to-the-bones restructure was exactly what the house needed. Once the floors were shored up, the period features reinstated and the electrics updated, it was ready for its next chapter. “It felt reassuringly solid, like a home that would look after us, and it’s been a wonderful place to bring up our children,” says Sam.
When Sam and Hugh first moved in, it was just them and their eldest daughter, Clover. “We didn’t expect to have any more children, so we designed it for a family of three,” remembers Sam. Amazingly, they went on to have four more children. “I genuinely believe there’s something magical about this house,” Sam says. “If we ever sell, it will have to go to a couple who want a large family.”
One by one, the Godsal children (Clover, now 22, Cary, 19, Harley, 16, Grey, 15, and Stanley, 13) were installed on the top floor, which remains a bedroom for the two youngest boys. “It was very sweet having them all up in the attic – like an old-fashioned nursery or a scene from Nanny McPhee,” says Sam, recalling how the littlest would always start out in a cot on their landing below and a deep handbasin made a very good baby bath. There is a strong sense of family stories woven through this home. “Memories are everywhere I look,” agrees Sam.
Since the house’s redesign, there is a sense of flow between floors and rooms thanks to Sam’s creative eye. After studying English at Cambridge, Sam gained an MA in fashion at Central Saint Martins and designed ski and swimwear for her Fulham Road boutique, Sam de Teran, in the 1990s. She now writes children’s books under the name Sam Angus and her study is on the first floor, which leads off the family’s drawing room where her talent for bringing together antiques
ABOVE One of the nineteenth-century pantry cupboards is filled with the Sultan’s Garden china range, a collaboration between Sam Godsal and William Edwards, sold at John Lewis. The porcelain artwork on top of the cupboard is by Sam’s good friend, the ceramicist Natasha Daintry.
ABOVE In the master bedroom, 1950s Spanish lamp bases with custom-made shades sit on top of antique side tables by early twentiethcentury interior designer Syrie Maugham. The cushions on the bed are from Wicklewood and on the floor is a röllakan, a Swedish flatweave rug. RIGHT Small Medallion wallpaper by Blithfield covers the walls in daughter Clover’s bedroom on the lower-ground floor. The wheatsheaf sconces are vintage finds from Foster & Gane.
and vintage finds is evident. Handily, the house is close to the antiques shops of Portobello Road, Westbourne Park and also Church Street in Marylebone. “I remember everything about the pieces we’ve found,” Sam says. “We didn’t inherit anything, we just slowly built up our home.” She jokes that she almost envies people with homes where everything is co-ordinated and has been bought in one go. “Treasure seekers like me never stop looking for the next special piece,” she says. “We’re condemned to the long, slow torture of finding the ‘perfect’ item.” In truth, Sam would not have it any other way: “I love a home that tells you about its owners and the places they’ve visited. If furniture all comes from one store, it just tells you where someone’s been shopping.”
A perfect example of Sam’s attitude to decorating are the colourful rugs dotted around the house, some bought in Tunisia, others from Sweden and, in the hallway, a Guyanese handwoven jute rug that took seven days to transport by canoe to Georgetown, Guyana, before being shipped to the UK. Every piece has its own story.
Also in the hallway is a set of drawings of Sam’s 1990s skiwear designs by renowned designer, illustrator and fashion lecturer Howard Tangye, who taught Sam at Central St Martins. “Every time I walk past them, they are a lovely reminder of that time in my life,” she says. “Pictures, photographs or a special object your child made many years ago all give you a heart-warming feeling. Houses have a richness and a depth if you fill them with your own things. However, once a year, I do go through our rooms, drawers and cupboards and have an almighty clear out.”
Having brought up five children in this London home, Sam appreciates the way it has looked after them all, and she knows it will continue to adapt with them. “A house is full of memories, but it also needs to evolve with you,” she says. n
ABOVE A clawfooted bath from CP Hart has space to breathe in this generous bathroom. A 1940s gilt brass drinks trolley purchased at Christie’s provides a useful moveable surface to have near the bath. Ceramics and glassware, all gifts from friends, line the mantelpiece.
