Violet Dent's cheerful London flat is a masterclass in displaying collections
‘I’m definitely not a minimalist,’ says Violet Dent, the designer and creative consultant (at childrenswear brand Babalaa) who lives in this apartment in Shepherd’s Bush. It is the first flat she and her husband have owned, and over the two years that they have lived there it has become an impeccably arranged curiosity cabinet for Violet’s collections and for her romantic, eclectic aesthetic.
When they first found the two-bedroom maisonette, it was in the wake of a disappointment–they had fallen in love with a flat one street away, but they were outbid by a developer, and it was only with reluctance that Violet agreed to see this one. ‘I was dead set against it because it didn’t have a garden, but we viewed it on a sunny day, and there was this wonderful light streaming into the main room.’ They made an offer that day, which was also the first day the flat was on the market, and it was theirs.
The interiors of the flat were tired and run-down, so Violet and Harry ripped out the kitchen and the bathrooms and started from scratch. Living in the attic while the renovations were taking place was less than enjoyable: ‘We camped in the attic with a microwave and a few bags for nearly two months while the plumbing was put in,’ says Violet. ‘Looking back I suppose it was quite romantic, but I hated it at the time.’
When the apartment was renovated everything was painted white in the interests of getting things done quickly, but such is Violet’s talent for decoration that a visitor would never think of this as a white flat. Having grown up in a country house that was ‘a treasure trove of stuff,’ she has been collecting things for as long as she can remember, and the fruits of this process are displayed in disciplined order on all the walls and surfaces. In the main room, which comprises the sitting room at one end and dining room at the other, prints cover the walls, while ceramics and some of Violet’s many baskets sit on the shelves.
Somehow, this assemblage of things does not seem cluttered, partly because of the perfection with which they are arranged, and partly because there are strong threads unifying the objects, furniture and fabrics. The colour pink is the most obvious thread; a sofa covered in pink velvet is the biggest thing in the room (‘Harry only came up with dark green as an option, and that obviously wouldn’t have worked’). Violet’s mother is the founder of Cabbages and Roses, the ultra-feminine fashion and homewares shop, and having worked there for a long time, first as an assistant and later as a designer, Violet has inherited a love of florals and stripes that is very much in evidence throughout the house. A floral bed quilt poses as a curtain above the sofa, and a pink and yellow striped rug makes for an informal backdrop to the furniture.
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The hallway provides further testimony of Violet’s skill with displaying things, honed over years working in a store where the aesthetics of display were a major part of the store’s appeal. Impressive ranks of prints, postcards, flags and pieces of embroidery are marshalled all over the walls, creating a space that is striking and absorbing without being overwhelming. ‘Behind all the pictures there are about 5 million holes in the walls,’ she admits, ‘I certainly don’t get it right first time.’ But again, the colours–in this case red and blue–have been carefully chosen to tie the display together, from the frames of the pictures to the chintz curtain that separates the hall from the bedroom.
By contrast, the bedroom and connected bathroom are more neutral, relaxed spaces, where black, white and natural tones dominate. A checkerboard rug in the bedroom flows neatly into the checkerboard floor in the bathroom, and Violet’s collection of straw hats hangs tidily on the wall around the door. There is nothing stark about this space, however, it is as resolutely pretty as the rest of the apartment. In the bedroom, an old chimneypiece rescued from Violet’s parents’ former house in Oxfordshire has been ingeniously converted into a frame for the headboard, and a general sense of nostalgia pervades the room, with its vintage furniture, sepia-toned prints and wicker lampshades.
Despite its lived-in, comfortable feel, the flat is not finished yet. Plans are afoot to convert the attic properly and put in another bathroom. ‘I might also get round to painting it something other than white at that point,’ says Violet. Meanwhile, the collecting continues. ‘If a shop looks nice, and is open, I can’t really resist going in. I don’t just buy things for the sake of it though, I have to really love them.’ Clearly the process works.
Owen Gale1/15The sofa and the yellow armchairs are both covered in velvet from Designers Guild. The rug comes from Violet's parents' garden furniture company Odd Limited.
Owen Gale2/15Above the fireplace, which was originally black but has been painted white, is a set of framed millinery swatches that Violet's mother originally bought for one of her interior design clients. Violet begged to have them instead, but her mother refused, only to present her with them as a wedding gift the following year.
Owen Gale3/15The pink striped cushions are Violet's 'favourite fabric of all time', a raspberry three inch stripe from Cabbages & Roses.
Owen Gale4/15Violet found the matching lampshades in the sitting room and dining area on Etsy. The rug is a square of rush matting from Amazon.
Owen Gale5/15
Owen Gale6/15An old set of vintage wooden lockers found at Kempton forms storage for trinkets.
Owen Gale7/15The kitchen is from IKEA, with pale pink tiles from Topps TIles and a lampshade by Matilda Goad adding colour.
Owen Gale8/15A piece of vintage fabric given to Violet by her mother hangs as a curtain in the hallway.
Owen Gale10/15A tunic given to Violet by Christina Strutt, her former boss at Cabbages & Roses, hangs on the back of a door in the bedroom.
Owen Gale11/15The baskets are part of an ever-growing collection. 'You can never have too many baskets,' says Violet.
Owen Gale12/15Hats collected on various travels, from markets, and even one belonging to Violet's grandmother, hang around the doorway.
Owen Gale13/15The bathmat is actually a very small rug from IKEA. 'I have about 20 in case they ever discontinue them,' says Violet.
Owen Gale14/15The ladder was a find at the Ardingly antiques fair, painted in Annie Sloane's 'Old White'.
Owen Gale15/15Violet in her sitting room.
