With an avant-garde mix of cool sophistication and sharp geometric form, David Wallace's home is a shining example of Art Deco chic

David Wallace's house in Newcastle is not exactly large – it is two storeys high and some four metres front to back – but he had a grand vision for its renovation. His plans included landscaping the garden so that the house now appears to sit on a podium. He also rearranged the interior of the angular 1925 poured-concrete property in order to make it a comfortable, modern home.

David studied history of art at the University of Essex and has a passion for 1920s and 1930s style, in particular for the work of artists Ben and Winifred Nicholson and Christopher Wood. It was this interest that inspired not only the renovation of his home but also his work at local design and antiques company Abercrombies, which he runs with his business partner Chris Stell. “My home is simple: minimal but comfortable,” he says, “while many of our commissioned schemes are more ornate.”

When it came to tackling the renovation on his own house, David knew exactly what he wanted. Working with local architect Lin Hopper, he set about an extensive reorganisation of the interior layout. “As the front of the building is close to a main road, I decided to make the rear garden the focal point of the house by enlarging the back windows and adding two new ones.” The front door was moved from the centre of the sitting room to the kitchen. “The drive is at the side of the house so now I can bring shopping straight into the kitchen. Also, by taking the front door out of the sitting room, it created a larger, unified space.” The new layout also involved moving the staircase to one side of the sitting room, which is now flooded with light from all angles.

Budget and attention to detail all played their part in David's redesign. In the kitchen, for example, the units are from Ikea, but the floor is covered in an expensive black linoleum. “Where possible I found materials appropriate to the period of the house,” he says, pointing out the Bakelite-style light switches. Throughout the house, David has a few well-chosen pieces of furniture, which create a comfortable, but not cramped, feel. “I'm disciplined about waiting to find the right thing,” he says.

The niche where the front door once was now houses a Biedermeier table and sycamore plinth. With their golden colour and black inlay, these pieces complement a cabinet and a pair of chairs by the French windows. David likes to move things around, so that the interior is never static, but admits: “I don't change to suit fashion. I am not desperate for the latest thing, but I will buy new if it fits with what I have.”

Beyond the new staircase is what David calls his winter study, a cosy spot illuminated by vintage Guzzini desk lamps. The fabric for the sofa cushions is a woven Raoul Dufy motif. “It was discontinued and I had to search high and low to get enough,” he says.

Upstairs, David sacrificed two bedrooms to create a large walk-in wardrobe and two en suite bathrooms. This reconfiguration also created a study area on the landing overlooking the garden where David works in the summer. A shower room leads through to his bedroom where the bath is concealed behind a low wall which doubles as the bedhead. At the foot of the bed is a sculpture stretching up to welcome the day. “That's how I feel when I wake here,” says David, who has put his heart and soul into transforming a once cold and grey house.

DAVID'S SOURCEBOOK
ACCESSORIES Philippe Starck. ARCHITECT Lin Hopper. FABRICS Dominique Kieffer at Abbott & Boyd, (020) 7351 9985. Abercrombies, (0191) 261 7182. KITCHEN AND RUG Ikea. SOFA Philippe Hurel, (020) 7373 1133. STAIRCASE John Aynsley & Co, (0191) 298 0441.

FEATURE VINNY LEE
PHOTOGRAPHS WINIFRED HEINZE