The French cottage of former Vogue fashion director Lucinda Chambers
Mid June 2019 and the streets of the town of Lectoure, in south-west France, are empty. Locals and tourists alike are huddled under shop awnings to see out a sudden summer deluge. All but one, that is. A lone figure – a petite blonde woman in a wide red and white candy-striped trousers – is striding with purpose down the street, carrying a large umbrella. What could possibly be so enticing to tempt anyone out in such intemperate weather? Well, the woman is Lucinda Chambers and she is heading – like a heat-seeking missile – towards a brocante.
It is not just this fabulous flea market that makes Lucinda defy even the soggiest of climates. The former fashion director of British Vogue – a position she held for 25 years – is as renowned for her painterly and visionary fashion shoots as her love of eclectic finds. Her razor-sharp eye has seen her enthusiastically rootling around in boxes at dawn in markets from Portobello and Kempton to India to Africa. ‘I even know the name for a garage sale in Swedish,’ she says proudly. ‘It’s called a loppis. Isn’t that marvellous? I’ve been so lucky to have shopped the world.’
If you are wondering what Lucinda has done with her substantial collection of expertly rummaged fabrics, wicker, paintings, furniture, ceramics, beaded bottles, jugs, rugs and mugs, you will find the answer once you step inside either of her houses in London and France. Outside the village of Lachapelle, near Toulouse, she and her husband Simon Crow and their three sons share a 19th-century cottage. Now a cornucopia of colour and cosiness, it was once a simple house, where the family would have lived at the front and the cattle in stalls at the back. The latter is now a kitchen and dining room, though it retains the stall divisions.
The interior is also an explosion of imagination and style, made up of layers of memories. ‘I love a project – finding something to fix up, repair, paint, sand down or dip dye,’ says Lucinda. ‘Everything has come together in this house over the past 20 years. Chair by chair, plate by plate, cushion by cushion. Slowly, slowly. My mother and I both sewing, friends making things and on it goes.’
In typical Lucinda fashion, the origin story of how she and Simon came to own this jewel of a house is quite the tale. ‘In 2000, a friend came to our house in Shepherd’s Bush for supper. I asked how our mutual friends Cindy and Richard were and she told me they were selling their house in Toulouse. Years before, when I co-owned a little homeware shop in west London called Swallows and Amazons, Cindy had come in and bought a rag rug, saying that it was ‘for the blue and white room in Toulouse’. It sounded so romantic. So when I heard the house was for sale, I called Cindy and went over to see pictures of it. The next day Simon and I flew to Toulouse. We bought the house with everything in it, with me telling him that I wouldn’t have to do a thing to it.’ Over the years, she has changed everything, however: ‘I can’t help it.’
From its wide terrace, the house overlooks verdant farmland, framed by a line of poplar trees at the peak of a distant hill – ‘planted to give Napoleon’s soldiers shade as they marched along the sun-parched roads’, according to Lucinda. She and Simon do not do much formal entertaining here. Rather, they have ‘a commune’ of friends who stay regularly ‘even if we aren’t here. But if we are, everyone mucks in. I’m not a great foodie and the cooker is pretty basic – but Simon cooks, thank goodness, and friends help and amazing meals appear’.
The same goes for the house: ‘I don’t decorate with a particular point of view – I buy something and put it somewhere, and then I don’t touch it. What I really love is when my friend Russell Marsh and his husband Mark come to stay.’ Russell is a former casting director for Marni, Prada and Celine, who is now weaving textiles. ‘They have been coming here for 20 years and he has taught me so much about space. It’s great to have a fresh eye and his is very rigorous – he is always banishing cushions, so you can put your feet up, and making sure that there is enough light to read by. He strips everything away and makes it all more functional.’ Lucinda’s lifelong passion for collecting has pervaded every corner of her existence: ‘I think decoration is what I enjoy – whether it’s a picture, a room or a piece of clothing.’
Elements of pieces Lucinda discovered in the Friday market on Portobello Road, W11, were woven into the collections she worked on for Marni. She was responsible in large part for turning the once obscure fur house into a leading fashion brand. Soon after leaving Vogue in 2017, she was approached by Molly Molloy and Kristin Forss, two designers with whom she had collaborated at Marni. They had an idea for a new fashion label – Colville – which the trio launched the following year.
More recently, the eclectic taste displayed in Lucinda’s home can be found on Collagerie, the website she has created with her former Vogue colleague Serena Hood. It sells an informed edit of fashion and lifestyle products – from an Ikea rug to a JW Anderson dress. The result is that a whole world of style, inspired by Lucinda’s extraordinary vision, is now available at a click. What could possibly be more exciting than that?
Paul Massey1/9In the sitting room, Indian kantha textiles were used to cover an Ikea sofa, which sits alongside a striped rug from a Swedish garage sale. Lucinda created the ottoman by attaching a block covered in dip-dyed linen to vintage legs sourced on Ebay. The starburst mirror is from Maisons du Monde.
Paul Massey2/9In the kitchen, vintage chairs are teamed with a table and bench that belonged to the previous owners. A rug from a pound shop in London adds a colourful touch, as does the chandelier from Josh Graham and bright woven carafes from local vide-greniers.
Paul Massey3/9A striped upholstery fabric bought on the Portobello Road – seen here as curtains – appears throughout the house.
Paul Massey4/9Cushions made from djellabas bought in Marrakech echo the patterns of a mix of vintage rugs and Ikea rugs in the television room. A collection of woven straw hats gathered on trips to Morocco and wicker-framed mirrors found at brocantes pick up on the natural tones and textures of the vintage cane furniture Lucinda loves.
Paul Massey5/9Cushions made by Lucinda’s mother from vintage fabrics complement an Indian kantha bedcover in the main bedroom.
Paul Massey6/9An antique bath and basin are set off by tiles hand-painted by Lucinda.
Paul Massey7/9On the paved area leading off the kitchen, rustic wicker chairs, piled with an array of cushions, are arranged around a long table – covered by a tablecloth in the ubiquitous red striped fabric – to create an appealing setting for lunches and suppers with family and friends.
Paul Massey8/9A wooden structure with open sides and a traditional tiled roof offers the ideal place to relax in hammocks or enjoy meals by the pool. The chairs around the table are from La Redoute. In the evening, capiz-shell lights picked up in Turkey and jute pendants from Maisons du Monde provide atmospheric illumination.
Paul Massey9/9The simple stone exterior of the 19th-century cottage offers a contrast to its eclectic and colourful interior. The surrounding trees and shrubs provide welcome shade.
