The creative London flat of an antique dealer and interior designer
Dorian Caffot de Fawes and Thomas Daviet moved to the UK from France in 2008. They had met in Bordeaux as students – Dorian was studying art history there and Thomas architecture. When an opportunity to work in the furniture department of Sotheby’s on New Bond Street, W1 came up, Dorian, then 21, proposed a move to London. Thomas, aged 25, agreed, and, on his first day in the country, landed a job working in the design studio of Christian Liaigre. Quite an auspicious start to a life in a new country for a couple at the beginnings of their careers. ‘I think that the UK in general – and London in particular – is wonderful at giving young people a chance,’ says Dorian.
It would be another seven years before the couple bought their first home, a two-bedroom flat in a Thirties block in Brixton. And they accomplished a great deal in the meantime. The economic downturn of 2008 meant Dorian’s stint at Sotheby’s was briefer than hoped, but he soon began working on the King’s Road, SW6, for the antique dealer Matthew Upham, who specialises in 18th-century lighting. ‘The beauty of the job was that I travelled with Matthew when he went to France on buying trips. It is the best way to learn – doing five or six trips a year. I learnt how to run a shop and deal with clients,’ says Dorian, who stayed there for seven years. Meanwhile Thomas also moved on, working first as a senior designer for Kelly Hoppen and then at State of Craft, another large design firm where he was involved in multimillion-pound projects for private clients of untold wealth.
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Between 2014 and 2015, they got married and bought the flat. Dorian – determined to have his own business before the age of 30 – also opened his shop on Lillie Road, SW6. He specialises in French antiques from the first part of the 20th century, with a smattering of Spanish and Scandinavian pieces from the same period. In the past few years, Thomas too, has gone out on his own – taking on projects from English country houses to Swiss villas.
When they first viewed the flat, it seemed blessed with little more than what the kindest among us would call ‘plenty of potential’. This was confirmed when Dorian and Thomas looked up old estate agents’ listings online and discovered that some flats in the building had appealing details. In particular, they noticed what looked like original parquet flooring. ‘When we visited the flat, Thomas discreetly lifted a corner of the carpet,’ Dorian recalls. ‘There was some wood underneath, but we didn’t find out how much or what condition it was in until we had moved in.’ The parquet turned out to be everywhere, including in the kitchen and bathroom. ‘We were so happy,’ he continues. ‘In a small flat like this, it is nice when the same floor continues throughout. It gives a better sense of spaciousness.’ When his parents visited from France, Thomas and his father refinished and stained the floor from a light honey colour to the deeper shade it is today.
In truth, it is a good building with well-proportioned rooms, wide windows and thick concrete walls. ‘Even the wi-fi struggles between rooms,’ Dorian says. As you would expect from an antique dealer’s home, the flat is filled with the types of pieces that could be sold in his shop: a French art deco cocktail cabinet from the Twenties; two Fifties armchairs by the Finnish designer Carl-Gustaf Hiort af Ornäs; an abstract painting by the French artist Suzanne Rodillon. And, in the early days of the business, he would often have to take items from the flat to fill up the shop if he had experienced a spike in sales. He and Thomas have since agreed not to do that any more, and Dorian now has two storage facilities around the city to ensure stock never runs short.
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Of course, this is a home of two creatives and Thomas’s input is equally noticeable. ‘After 14 years together, you develop a similar taste,’ Thomas says. His handiwork can be seen in the kitchen, where they replaced the original double-galley arrangement with simple units from Ikea, allowing space for a small breakfast table. Thomas then added stripes of bright yellow Japanese washi tape to the cabinets, creating what Dorian describes as ‘a little splash of sunshine’. The idea was inspired by the striped pool towels at Hotel Il Pellicano in the Tuscan seaside town of Porto Ercole. Until Covid came along, the couple would holiday there with friends every year. Tiny hand-cut squares of washi tape were also used to create the tile-effect frieze on the hallway walls.
Dorian admits this sort of detailed work would not be his natural calling. Perhaps this explains how he has lost any record of what paint they first used on the walls of the flat. It is the same shade he has used in his shop and the one that he replicates to paint his stand when he sells at antique fairs. He adores this colour, explaining how it works so well throughout the day and is a wonderful backdrop for art, furniture and life in general. ‘The only reference I have is a painted swatch, which is a copy of a copy of a copy,’ he says. ‘And when I need more of it, I have to take the sample to the shop to have a new copy of the paint mixed. And if I ever lose it, the magic formula will be lost.’ He rolls his eyes at the absurdity of it.
Dorian will be needing more of this paint soon, however. He has signed a lease on a new shop in Church Street, W2, which is set to open this month. It is a substantial upgrade in terms of space and will bring fresh eyes to his collection of furniture, art and objects.
Dorian Caffot de Fawes: dorian-antiques.com
Thomas Daviet: thomasdaviet.com
Paul Massey1/8In the sitting room, a Swedish Forties sofa is teamed with a copper and walnut Danish mid-century coffee table, which converts into a dining table. The lithograph on the wall is one of a pair by Basque artist Iñaki Ruiz de Eguino.
Paul Massey2/8Two mid-century armchairs by Carl-Gustaf Hiort af Ornäs have been reupholstered in a Mark Alexander fabric.
Paul Massey3/8A 1959 painting by Suzanne Rodillon hangs above the Scandinavian sideboard.
Paul Massey4/8Thomas created the wall frieze using washi tape in the hall.
Paul Massey5/8The photograph is from the Self-Hybridations series by Orlan. The Fifties oak and abaca-rope chairs are by Audoux-Minet
Paul Massey6/8The vertical alignment of the white rectangular wall tiles is a nod to the municipal swimming pools that Dorian and Thomas remember from their childhoods in France. The French mid-century copper and glass ceiling light was picked up on their travels.
Paul Massey7/8A red ‘Offcut Bench’ by Tom Dixon sits at the foot of the bed, with a collage by James Coignard at its head. Les Demeures d’Hypnos, a 1974 pochoir print by Man Ray, hangs between the windows. The glass and chrome ceiling light is from c1925, the ‘Atollo’ lamp was designed by Vico Magistretti in 1977
Paul Massey8/8The marble lamp is mid-century.
