Gallery
Five years ago, they found the perfect location – a two-thirds-of-an-acre plot with uninterrupted views of a pleasant stretch of the Thames, complete with its own pontoon. The couple and their two children moved onto the plot, living in the existing property there and started to think about creating their new dream home.
Working with Exedra Architects, they drew up initial plans with firm, clear-cut ideas about living areas, leisure and, most essential, touches of unexpected drama.
One of the biggest challenges was finding the right company to translate their blueprint plans into magnificent reality and, after checking the credentials of half a dozen top-end housebuilders, they selected Octagon Bespoke.
Anna says: “With over 40 years’ continuous experience in the luxury property market, along with reassurances from friends who owned Octagon homes, we felt we could entrust our lifelong dream of building the perfect house to the Octagon team, a decision we have never regretted from day one.”
The front of the house has all the classical good looks expected for an imposing house flanking the Thames. Set well back from the road behind period-style iron railings, the white-rendered exterior walls, large sash windows, elegant portico entrance and resin-gravelled drive emit a timeless quality, paying deference to the original villas nearby.
Walking through the front door, after taking in a most dramatic trompe-l’oeil-decorated entrance hall, visitors discover a contemporary, light-flooded, open-plan interior. A specially-commissioned digital mural extends from the front door, around the vast swathe of walls and descends via a circular sweep of marble stairs to the lower-ground leisure and fitness suites.
“We fell in love with the Mural Artist Adam Ellis’ work after discovering some of his earlier work at The Ivy in Richmond,” explains Anna. “He creates bold, colour-rich wallcoverings to order and will incorporate features that have a special significance for the client. For us, it was important to include the flora and fauna we grew up with and, because my husband is passionate about Greek mythology, ancient temples and figures were woven into the brief. Adam and his artists install the mural and then embellish on site with their own palettes and paintbrushes.”
On the first floor are five substantial double bedrooms, three ensuites, plus a separate family bathroom and Anna’s own study, with a rough-hewn African rosewood workbench facing out of a wide internal window into the lower living levels of the house – the perfect matriarch lookout post. The second floor is devoted to the master suite.
As well as their passion for the river, where the family take regular kayaking trips when not relaxing in their new waterside summer house, the family are seriously into sport – indoor leisure and, not least, fitness. The home is finished with a gym of gargantuan proportions and a playroom with a full-size pool table, cinema screen wall and long 90º-angle cocktail bar.
Anna concludes: “We were ambitious with our vision for design and specification and our team of architects, suppliers, and not least Octagon, have been there every step of the way. We all absolutely love our new home, so it has been worth it and, if we had to do it all over again, we would – as long as Octagon was at the helm.”
