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HOUSE OF…
Kate Moss
When a historic house met our iconic prints, the result was pure poetry.
In a Grade II-listed house on the top of a hill, a rear window commands a glorious view of uninterrupted woodland and wild, bucolic beauty as far as the eye can see. But all is not what it seems: this isn’t the countryside, this is London, and the rolling greenery is in fact Hampstead Heath.
It was in this rear-facing room that the renowned Romantic poet, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, spent his last days, looking out over the kind of endless landscape that coloured the prose of his youth. Today, the magnificent property is owned by another English icon, Kate Moss – the supermodel who has defined a generation. At House of Hackney, we have always felt a certain synergy with Kate Moss; a shared sense of rebellion and an inherent rock and roll spirit. So, when the opportunity arose to deck out her historic house in some of our House’s most iconic prints, we leapt at the chance – quite literally, kicking off our shoes and jumping onto the bed with Miss Moss herself.
The Inspiration
On a Friday afternoon over a casual cup of tea (as casual as you can be in the presence of one of the world’s most beautiful women), our Design Consultant Steve Corcoran shared mood boards and samples with Kate as they bounced ideas around for Coleridge’s former bedroom – now Kate’s guest room. Despite the atmospheric character of the space, with its built-in writing desk and creaky, naturally slanting floorboards, the existing décor was more subdued than subversive. Of the eight different schemes that Steve carefully put together, Kate felt most drawn to the ‘Eden’ mood board, filled with slithers of snakeskin, rosettes of leopard spots and flourishes of bamboo. The idea wasn’t to impose a light and airy feel on the room, but to instead embrace its dramatic, romantic grandeur.
And so, with the concept in place, installation could begin. Up went the luxuriously bohemian OPIA curtains, cloaking the antique four-poster bed with midnight-blue poppies on a backdrop of bronze velvet. On the inside of the curtains, facing the bed, was the SERPENTIS jacquard, an alluring snakeskin print that also wound its way onto the ceiling. The walls were lined with BAMBUSA in ‘Midnight’, a tropical storm of a motif complemented by streaks of darkest blue paint on the fireplace, beams and bookshelves. The verdant beauty of BAMBUSA also proved a natural choice for the curtains, which framed that spectacular view of the Heath. Amidst this riot of colour and pattern, crisp white bedsheets were a rather unexpected addition, serving as a perfect blank canvas for the dark palette and eclectic combination of nature-inspired designs.
The result is one of unadulterated decadence, designed to create an unforgettable experience for guests staying in the room. We think anyone – Mr Coleridge included – wouldn’t mind being cooped up in there for an extended period of time. A remarkably unique space, it breaks all the rules and looks good doing it, just like Kate herself.
Statement finishing touches came in the form of ‘Ananas’ lampstands and sumptuous plumps of cushions, from the exotic, intricate ZANJAN in ‘Juniper-Green’ with fringes of gold, to our signature House feline, SABER the tiger, who stretched out on the bed (and crouched in the corner) on a backdrop of British velvet. Then, of course, there were Kate’s own possessions: from the ancient leather-bound scriptures that lined the bookshelves to the vase of bright tulips, plucked from her own garden, that continued the theme of bringing the outdoors in. And, that’s not to mention the famed Marc Quinn sculpture of Kate, immortalised in 18-carat gold.
