A perfectly proportioned Georgian townhouse with a graceful simplicity

When the eighteenth-century English poet Alexander Pope wrote that you should 'consult the genius of the place', he was referring to the art of landscape and garden design. The same injunction, however, might also apply to interior design. A house with a strong character should be allowed to show it through the interior decoration. Happily, that is the course that has been pursued in this double-fronted Georgian house in the town of Ludlow, which boasts over 500 listed buildings. Indeed, as the interior decorator on the project Caroline Harrowby says, there could be no other course to follow: 'The house just told you what to do.'

The owners had had their eye on the house for some time when it came up for sale. They didn't move in straight away, which gave them the time to plan what they wanted to do and to ask Caroline to come on board. Caroline was in no doubt that this was going to be a job in a million. 'The owners both have natural good taste and my job was to interpret their ideas. I have never done such a beautiful town house - it was a complete privilege.'

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The house isn't huge but it is perfectly proportioned: classical in style and charming in design, with shallow stone steps leading up to a fanlight door. In a wide entrance hall, polished floorboards extend straight through to the back, where a door leads directly on to the garden. On one side of the front door is a small but comfortable library and on the other - perhaps the prettiest room in the house - a grey-painted panelled dining room hung with deep pink and white toile de Jouy curtains.

Further down the hall is the drawing room. This elegant room is arranged in a way that seems to bring the garden into the house by way of three tall, graceful windows, all overlooking a deep, paved terrace. A fine staircase in the entrance hall is lit by an imposing rounded arch window on a half-landing, and behind the staircase is a corridor into a large kitchen, with a further door into the garden. Here, the former servant's staircase ascends to bedrooms on the upper levels of the house. Each of these is light in mood, welcoming in atmosphere, and papered and painted in French-influenced tones.

So far, so perfect, but the air of easy elegance felt throughout the house, far from being of long standing, has only recently been achieved. It is to Caroline's credit that, working closely with the owners, she has managed to create a house that appears to have the patina of age without the dirt of ages.

Actually it wasn't so much dirt the owners encountered as a plethora of dark walls and faux-walnut paint finishes on much of the panelling, which had the effect of making the whole house seem dark and gloomy. So, while the owners tackled the task of transforming the existing warren of small rooms at the back of the house into a large, airy kitchen, Caroline was charged with finding the right furniture and rugs, and selecting a colour palette. She chose papers, paints and textiles that would not only rejuvenate and brighten the house but also emphasise the perfect proportions of the rooms and fine period features. With a wealth of detailing - from the plasterwork to the panelling - simplicity was the key to a harmonious ensemble.

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