A fashion stylist's Notting Hill cottage is a lesson in decorative instinct
‘I had been living just off Lots Road in Fulham in a small, full-to-brimming garden flat for years,’ says fashion stylist Martha Ward. ‘I had done the whole shabby chic thing there. It was a lot of chintz, watercolours, French pieces, and flags.’ Whilst that flat suited Martha for a time, she was outgrowing the space both aesthetically and literally and, as a self-confessed ‘hunter-gatherer,’ she had accumulated a lot of things in antique shops and flea markets. ‘I was ready to start afresh.’
The hunt for a new place to live began and, after a short search, Martha found her ‘dream cottage’ on a quiet street in west London. There was a little outdoor space, room for a desk for Martha to work from, but most importantly, the bedroom was upstairs. ‘Having done lateral living for 15 years, I longed to be able to go up to bed. It feels rather luxurious and makes bedtime more of a ritual. It was my one criteria!’ Martha laughs. The previous owners had renovated the Victorian house and built a small extension before selling, meaning Martha was inheriting a perfect blank box. ‘There was no structural work to be done, so I was free to have fun with it,’ she says.
‘The only issue was that nothing from my previous flat was going to work in the space. I needed more contemporary furniture and most of what I owned I purchased second-hand seventeen years before,’ explains Martha. Therefore, in what is perhaps the inverse of most, Martha used the move to cull her large furnishings (new sofas and armchairs, a bed, and dining table were purchased), and retained her smaller ‘curiosities’, such as ‘the world's smallest pair of clogs’, which now set the tone for the entire house.
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Though Martha was undergoing an aesthetic evolution, there wasn’t a particular look or feel she was trying to achieve in the space. ‘I had no idea what a scheme was when I embarked on this project. I just started by sticking various scraps of fabric to a piece of card and putting things together through instinct. I guess I have quite a good idea of what I like and what goes together because of the job I do,’ explains Martha, whose job as a stylist has seen her dress celebrities including Emma Watson, Gillian Anderson and Kate Bosworth. ‘When I dress either myself or a model, I like to put unusual things together. I’ve always liked pink and red together and love clashing fabrics. I’ve been doing that forever, even when it wasn’t de rigueur. I will always love the look of a Bloomsbury print next to a 1970s floral, or mixing and matching and not worrying how the colours work together. Maybe that’s different to the normal approach, but that’s just what instinct tells me to do.’
Take the spare bedroom, where Martha confesses she was told repeatedly not to pair the fabric on the blind with those on the headboard and valance. ‘I had a few friends say, “you can’t put those fabrics together. They don’t make sense.” But I felt there was something connecting them, and on reflection I realised that what I was seeing was that all of the patterns have something moving down. There was a theme all along–just a subtle and curious one.’
Much of Martha's house seems to have come about through fate or decorative destiny; there are the Michelin men in various poses that she collects, the Tintin memorabilia inspired by her mother’s love of the character and childhood nostalgia, and the four-leaf clovers she has found all over the world. ‘I’ve been finding lucky clovers my whole life, whether that’s in Peru, a patch of grass at Chelsea Flower Show or on a shoot in Transylvania,’ says Martha. She has an knack for hunting and gathering, which she admits is one of her greatest joys. A good example is the wallpaper in Martha’s bedroom. ‘I absolutely fell in love with a Duncan Grant design from the 1930s and to my joy I found out that Laura Ashley had quite faithfully reproduced it in 1987. From then, I scoured the internet for rolls, collecting them on Etsy and eBay until, nearly a decade later, I had enough to paper a room.’
The house is a collection of all the things that have intrigued and captured Martha's imagination. As she explains, ‘it’s story-telling I like above all. That's what I do for my photoshoots and that's what has happened here. Every item is part of a great story.’ What a captivating tale it is.
Dean Hearne1/19A Charles Orchard lacquer tray provides a home for several charming pieces, including a Laura de Ganay Ceramics dish, Astier de Villatte clover dish and Matilda Goad clover matchbox. The oval plate is vintage.
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Dean Hearne3/19The lamp is from The Conran Shop and sits in front of a vintage 'Martha' print.
Dean Hearne4/19The lampshade was painted by Alexa Chung, the lamp base is Sophie Conran.
Dean Hearne5/19An Anthropologie mirror hangs between the front door and a set of nine Edward Lear bird prints from the V&A shop. The Ottoline cushion was designed by Martha.
Dean Hearne8/19Martha displays much of her vintage ceramic collection here. The Victorian tray is hand painted and was purchased at Barnes Fair.
Dean Hearne9/19The dining table and chairs are from Neptune and the nook is one of Martha's favourite things in the house. ‘I love cooking for people, whether it's for a cosy dinner party with the fire lit in winter, or with the doors open in summer.’
Dean Hearne11/19The antique wall cabinet was customised by Martha using Ottoline's ‘Chintz Constance’ wallpaper. It houses a selection of antique vessels and glasswear, as well as pink glasses from Casa by JJ.
Dean Hearne12/19The drinks trolley is from Hay, the cordless lamp came from Fondation Louis Vuitton Shop in Paris.
Dean Hearne13/19Martha's office occupies the middle of the large open-plan room, but manages to feel like its own space thanks the gallery wall above. The chair is Ceraudo and the desk is Maison du Monde. On top of the desk, a Paul Smith x Anglepoise lamp.
Dean Hearne14/19Martha's bedside table is vintage, from The Emporium in Hungerford. The Vanessa Bell print on the shelf is from Charleston's shop. The lampshade was painted by Martha at workshop hosted by Tess Newall, also at Charleston.
Dean Hearne15/19The bookcase in Martha's bedroom was picked up at an antiques shop in Lewes, the paper geranium is from The Green Vase and the Italian mirror, is mid-century from a vintage shop in Milan.
Dean Hearne16/19One of Martha's many vintage Michelin man is from Barnes Fair. The handmade four-leaf clover mat was found in Northumberland.
Dean Hearne17/19Vintage apothecary jars make a charming display on Martha's bathroom windowsill.
Dean Hearne18/19The spare bedroom features Ottoline's ‘Madame Ziggle’ fabric on the blind and has been paired with a Nicholas Herbert fabric on the headboard. A French grain sack fabric has been made into ruffle cushion, designed by Martha. The bedside lamp is Marks & Spencer.
19/19Martha Ward.
