A Colorful Georgian Home That Breaks All the Rules

a large olive green kitchen with arched cabinetry and warm dusty pink walls — (Image credit: Charlotte Smiley / Styling Claudia Bryant / Photography Jon Day)

The owners of this extensive nine-bedroom Georgian village house in Hampshire, England, have a mantra: ‘It’s a crime to be boring’. So when it came to renovating the interior, elements of surprise were inevitable.

Interior designer Charlotte Smiley, who has worked for Martin Brudnizki and Salvesen Graham and is the mastermind behind the statement interior of the ancient Old Bell Hotel in Malmesbury, Wiltshire, has gained a reputation for distinctive schemes and was enlisted to breathe new life into the house design. She rose to the challenge with an intoxicating interior that celebrates chic color and playful pattern.

‘I knew the clients would be happy to push the boundaries and do things that were a bit wacky,’ explains Charlotte.

a dark green painted playroom with red cabinetry and a banquette seat with yellow dining chairs — **Playroom**: The orange hue on the beaded joinery was picked out from the crewel-work blind fabric. Blind in Camu, Fabricut. Joinery by Stephen Thorne; painted in Heat, Little Greene. Walls in Bancha, Farrow & Ball. Chairs, Ceraudo. Inkdrop rug, Jonathan Adler at Ruggable. Sofa, Sofa.com; covered in custom Jules fabric, Anna French. Table, Graham and Green. Lamp base, Birdie Fortescue. lampshade, Pooky

Because the house isn’t listed, the clients were able to make structural changes to suit their lifestyle. The front door, for instance, was moved from one elevation to another, which felt more natural.

This then entailed building another staircase near the new entrance to allow easy access to the basement with its recently completed cinema room, gym, laundry and bedrooms.

New glazed doors were installed to enable the clients to step out onto the terrace from the drawing room, while a storage barn was transformed into a space that functions for both work, rest and play with an office and a wow-factor party barn for entertaining.

a wallpapered floral bedroom with a bright green bed nook with curtains — **Daughter's Bedroom:** A cabin bed with curtains is a theatrical touch. Bed by Stephen Thorne; in Benjamin Moore’s Kiwi. Headboard, The Headboard Workshop; in Blithfield fabric with Romo fringe. Curtains in Cara, Blithfield. Monika’s Vines paper, Dado Atelier. Pinetum Stripe wallpaper, Sanderson. Quilt, Kapara London

The starting point for many of the rooms was exuberant wallpapers, with designs by companies such as Lewis & Wood and Mindthegap showcased throughout. The wallpaper designs were then enhanced with the layering of patterned fabrics in complementary hues.

the main bathroom in a large english home with terracotta floor tiles, a freestanding tub, wallpapered walls and a pink painted vanity — **Main Bathroom:** The bath is located on a raised platform so that views of the surrounding parkland can be enjoyed. Terracotta floor tiles add rustic warmth. Floor tiles, Otto Tiles & Design. Traditional Senator bath, BC Designs. Chair, antique find. Frilled cushion, So Souk. Art, clients’ own

‘We felt that, due to its large scale, the house could take lots of different bold colors and patterns, but I was conscious that we needed to ensure everything flowed from room to room and the schemes weren’t too jarring next to each other,’ says Charlotte.

‘It was a case of going back once we had decided on each room scheme and making sure that they all sat alongside everything else.’

a pink dining room in a grand english home with green dining chairs and a scalloped rug — **Dining Room:** ‘The joy of this project was that I could choose fabrics I’ve always loved; I felt I could get them all in the mix and nine times out of 10 it was signed off,’ says Charlotte. Chairs, Oka; covered in custom fabrics, (on back) Inca in Hollyhock, Ian Sanderson; (on seat) Omega III in Winter Moss, Linwood. Table, Oka. Rug, similar from Bombay Sprout. Curtains in Filigree Flower, Soane Britain

The beating heart of the home is undoubtedly the open-plan kitchen, dining, and living area, which is slightly more muted than the rest of the interior.

Here, the warm plaster-pink walls form a calm and soothing backdrop to the spirited hues and energetic patterns. Originally two separate rooms, the walls were knocked through to incorporate the dining room, as the clients didn’t want a space that was seldom used.

It now bridges the kitchen and the living room, with the end result being one generous room with a sense of space.

The floor-to-ceiling-height curtains in a floral Soane Britain fabric inspired the scheme, with its prominent aubergine and green tones teased out in the colors of the kitchen cabinetry and island. Arched joinery detailing softens the scheme and is echoed with the splashback tiles and the curves of the rug in the dining space.

a warm pink traditional english sitting room with marble fireplace, ornate mirror, large windows, striped armchairs and a blue ottoman — **Living Room:** Veining on the marble fireplace picks out the aubergine shade in the curtains, the starting point for the scheme. Curtains in Filigree Flower, Soane Britain. Armchairs, Sofa.com; in Alfie Stripe fabric, Sarah Vanrenen. Sofa in Entoto Stripe, Lee Jofa. Bargello rug, Trove. Antique mirror, Lorfords. Pendant, Soho Home. Side table, Graham and Green

The living area is a delightful blend of old and new, with an antique mirror and a classic marble fire surround a nod to the age of the house.

‘The clients love the fact that it is a period house, but they also like the more contemporary look, so I was trying to balance it being a reflection of their style and taste as well as being sympathetic to the building,’ says Charlotte.

a pink and green wallpapered bedroom with twin beds — **Daughter's Room:** The headboards pop against the bold paper. Cactus Flower wallpaper, Christopher Farr Cloth. Headboards in Tilly in Green, GP & J Baker. Cushions, Matilda Goad & Co for Anthropologie. Heraldic Gwynevere rug, Weaver Green. Valances, Alice Palmer & Co

The designer upped the ante in the study, where she incorporated an idea she had harbored for a long time. The walls are papered with the beautiful pages of a John Derian picture book featuring favorite images from his vintage collection, with powder blue beading framing each page.

A contemporary pedestal table provides juxtaposition. ‘We were trying to create a mix and a balance so that it’s slightly unpredictable,’ notes Charlotte.

a unique powder room with statement wallpaper and a blue marble scalloped vanity with a curtain bottom — **Powder Room:** A scalloped marble vanity is softened with a fabric skirt, making an elegant focal point. Fasnacht wallpaper, Mindthegap. Bespoke vanity by Stephen Thorne, with skirt in Petit Arbre, Anna French. Mirror; wall lights ; artwork, all antique finds

Another highlight is the powder room, where Charlotte honored the house’s age with a playful wallpaper featuring a carriage design.

‘It felt like a fun contemporary nod to how it would’ve been back in the day,’ she says. A small-scale red and white patterned wallpaper on the ceiling, meanwhile, adds another layer of interest and offsets the dark tones of the scalloped marble vanity with its basin skirt.

This house is certainly a masterclass in how to do anything but boring.

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Interiors have always been Vivienne's passion – from bold and bright to Scandi white. After studying at Leeds University, she worked at the Financial Times, before moving to Radio Times. She did an interior design course and then worked for Homes & Gardens, Country Living and House Beautiful. Vivienne’s always enjoyed reader homes and loves to spot a house she knows is perfect for a magazine (she has even knocked on the doors of houses with curb appeal!), so she became a houses editor, commissioning reader homes, writing features and styling and art directing photo shoots. She worked on Country Homes & Interiors for 15 years, before returning to Homes & Gardens as houses editor four years ago.