‘Did you think I’d be chintz?’ says Downton Abbey actor Joely Richardson wryly. ‘I imagine some people would.’ Curled up in her sitting room on an oat-coloured modular sofa, wearing white jeans and a pale sweater, the actor, who is enjoying a sparkling renaissance with recent roles in One Day, The Gentlemen and Bookish, looks the antithesis of the colourful and the floral. As do the rest of her surroundings in the London flat in which she’s lived for the last 25 years. The ground floor and basement of the mid-19th-century, Grade II-listed terraced house she occupies has grand proportions and is full of original features – sturdy architraves, ornate cornicing and marble fireplaces.
Any chintzy assumptions might have arisen because of Joely’s prestigious theatrical lineage. She is the daughter of actor Vanessa Redgrave and director Tony Richardson, the granddaughter of actors Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, and the younger sister of the late actor Natasha Richardson. But her parents were radicals (Tony a pioneer of the kitchen sink drama, Vanessa a prominent left-wing political activist) and while her father had residences in France and Los Angeles, there was little grandeur (or chintz) growing up.
‘After my parents divorced, my mum mostly gave her money away and we moved from smaller to smaller houses. People projected onto me this incredible life in a mansion and it wasn’t my reality,’ Joely says, with a laugh. ‘So I suppose I did grow up thinking I would like to have a nice house.’
She moved to the flat after her divorce from film producer Tim Bevan and just before she was cast in Nip/Tuck, the Miami- and Los Angeles-based TV drama in which she starred from 2003 to 2010. ‘Hysterically, I thought I’d live here for three or four years, then move again, but quite shortly afterwards I was on the road for work,’ she says. ‘And although there was a lot I didn’t like about the flat, I just never had time.’
But over the past two years, her home has gone through something of a reinvention, the dramatic dénouement of which is a sultry, cinematic kitchen of reclaimed iroko wood, warm brass, Japanese-inspired reeded glass cabinets and a striking bespoke dining table, all designed ‘in true collaboration’ with her longtime friend, the filmmaker Gaby Dellal. The kitchen moved into its current location from a galley with no natural light into what was formerly an entertaining space. ‘There isn’t a day now that I don’t walk in and think, Wow, this is amazing!’
Gaby, a writer and director whose latest film, Park Avenue, is out this month, and her son Jake Fellner, a chef, are founders of Create Studio. The interior design business focuses on bespoke kitchens, but its influence often runs into the rest of the house, as was the case with the country home of actress Sienna Miller, which the duo renovated a few years ago.
Joely and Gaby met as teenagers and became firm friends later in life. ‘Gaby’s incredibly creative,’ says Joely. ‘She’s also famously bossy. And that reminds me a little bit of my sister Tash. We’ve got that sister dynamic.’ Gaby adds,‘It’s different when a client is a friend. You don’t have to learn about likes and dislikes. Joely has a mixture of the romantic and classical and a love of modernity. And firm ideas. Some clients give me carte blanche, but Joely was quite specific. She knows what she wants.’
The interiors have a light touch, with pale, neutral walls and textiles, natural or white-painted floorboards and earthy-toned rugs – the better to show off original features and Joely’s collections of art and objets, all of which come with a personal story. The kitchen, however, has a quite different jewel-like quality.
A 19th-century French gilt mirror above the chimneypiece was Gaby’s starting point for a combination of brass and green. ‘Mirrored glass backdrops are one of our signatures, but brass was new,’ she says. ‘I wanted it dulled, but Joely insisted it was super shiny – and it worked.’ Cabinets in reddish iroko wood, reclaimed from school science laboratory worktops, have lower drawers with internal drawers, all lined with a forest green laminate that peeks out pleasingly: this tones with the dark green, veined marble work surfaces. Shelves display Joely’s collection of pale green Limoges plates alongside cacti. ‘I like the contrast of the delicate porcelain and spikiness,’ says Gaby. ‘It speaks to the space.’
Among the other imaginative details are the salvaged antique column supporting a countertop. Above this is a cabinet for glassware with green doors repurposed from an old pharmacy chest and lined with ivory linen. The lush ceiling-to-floor orange velvet curtains were rescued from a delivery firm that was using them to protect furniture; Gaby added contrasting panels in red linen and brown velvet. A reversible dining table, by Create Studio, is another talking point. Resting on trestle legs made by a carpenter in Yorkshire, its surfaces are in black and pink Formica – flippable according to mood.
‘At night, it’s magical,’ says Joely, of the space. ‘It comes into its own and sort of shimmers with the reflections of the brass and the glass.’ She baptised the kitchen with a dinner party for 10 friends, opening with a ceremonial ritual. ‘I got a huge, round loaf of bread and we all held on to it and literally broke it together.’ There will be more toasting at Christmas when Joely will host a traditional celebration for her mother and family. She deplores waste, so expect brown paper and string wrappings, homemade decorations and dried flowers on the tree. Food is brunch at noon and dinner in the evening. ‘I’ve done turkeys every which way,’ says the Downton Abbey star. ‘Once, I put one in the warming oven of an Aga for 12 hours and it was delicious. I’m quite experimental and mostly make it up.’ Another creative Christmas chez Richardson beckons. createstudiolondon.com | @createstudio.london
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