Transport yourself back to London in the 1800s when the city was being transformed by culture, travel and trade. This time witnessed the arrival of our now iconic museums and landmarks all across London. Amongst these buildings were the artists and creators of Romanticist and Impressionist arts, living amongst the hustle and bustle of an expanding metropolis.
Livia Wang and her family have brought a piece of this history back to life with their restoration and conservation of the Van Gogh House in Stockwell, South London. At the age of 20, Vincent Van Gogh settled in this Grade II listed building between the years of 1873 to 1874. This was his first time living and working in a new country and his first foray into a foreign culture. In a letter written to his brother Theo, Vincent notes that “Things are going well for me here, I have a wonderful home and it’s a great pleasure for me to observe London and the English way of life…”
At the time of the Wang’s acquisition of 87 Hackford Road in 2012 the property had fallen into a state of disrepair, bordering on dereliction and they rose to the challenge of bringing this cultural landmark back to life. We are thrilled that during this meticulous restorative process Livia chose to use Edward Bulmer Natural Paint throughout the lime plastered interiors, ensuring that the 1820s building remains healthy for the next 200 years.
The house is now run as a small gallery and centre for artist residencies, with a programme of exhibitions, events and workshops within the local community. Livia and her team draw parallels between Van Gogh’s life and contemporary artists in London to make certain of their recognition. They have curated a number of exhibitions and events anchored in the artist’s practice and local heritage. Aiming to support artists to make a living in their lifetime, the Van Gogh House also commissions new work and hosts numerous artists in residence programmes.
My vision is for the house to be a working domestic space, though we open the building to the public, it's important that artists and designers can live in the Van Gogh room, cook here, and work in the garden studio. The interiors, from the furniture, to the paints on the walls have to look good enough to be on display in a museum, but also robust enough to withstand everyday wear and tear.
In terms of colour choices Livia worked very closely with good friend and designer James Rogers-Coltman, who first recommended Edward Bulmer Natural Paint. Livia says, “It was the technical specifications: breathability and compatibility with lime plaster, as well as the beautiful range of colours, that meant they were the perfect choice!”
Livia goes on to say that “everyone loves the colours of the rooms; they are always asking where they are from and what their significance is…” so we thought we would run through some of our favourites.
In the Front Parlour room, Sang de Boeuf was used, a mixture of red oxide and yellow ochre pigments this colour is a brown-red tone that is calm but simultaneously serious, making a room a statement in itself. Millennia ago bull’s blood would literally have been used to colour distempers and limewashes! Luckily the same effect can be got with a mixture of red oxide and yellow ochre. We love the use of this rich red! Livia explains to us that “the colours on the ground floor refer to the Victorian narratives of the building, choosing warm dark colours and very dark skirting boards and window frames.”
For this small bedroom we agreed Wash Stop would be perfect for the walls adding some lightness and subtle colour into the room. We are so glad these beautiful oak floorboards have been exposed and they sit perfectly with our dusty Portland Water-based Eggshell on the woodwork.
Livia explains that “the higher rooms are much more playful and bright – when we first came to the house in 2012, the previous owners had made very few modernisations. It appeared that they had stuck layers and layers of lino and wallpaper on top of each other – and the colours were fabulous! I wanted to reference these wild patterns and surprising combinations by having a different colour in each room.”
We love the use of Persian Yellow in this bathroom that nicely complements the blue tiles and old silver plumbing. This is a strong brown yellow that will work well with high contrast trim colours/whites as we can see here. It is warm but bold and will stand up to eye-catching furnishings. The name comes from the use of Persian buckthorn to create strong yellow dyes many centuries ago; do these bright walls not transport us to Van Gogh’s painterly fields of wheat? We think so!
The Kitchen is flooded with light through its use of a large glass door and overhead skylights, this space feels functional and open. The use of White Lead (60%) here adds to the spacious feel of the kitchen and this warm off-white goes well with the light wood surfaces.
And finally, in the circulation areas the woodwork has been left bare, to allow people to see the original timbers and allow the discussion of critical ideas around repairs and what was original or authentic in a historic home. Livia selected our colour Buff for the hallway painted areas which complements the exposed wood perfectly without contrasting. ‘Buff’ has the clarity of cut stone and is a tone you can use all over or with an off-white trim colour, Edward has adopted the C18th recipe and added a little red to the yellow ochre and white.
We have loved working with a team that are as passionate about conservation and conscious creation as we are at Edward Bulmer HQ and we can’t wait for the galleries upcoming projects. Coming up the Van Gogh House presents Life and its most trivial particulars by artists Brian Griffiths and Frank Kent, opening 4 September – 18 December 2021. Alongside this the Van Gogh House currently has two artists in residents, Roy Claire Potter and Lilian Netjapour (sponsored by Minerva) these artists are currently living and making work in the house. And finally, look out for a new poster every month placed in the west facing window of the house, designed by 12 different artists, for the series ‘On the Western Window Pane’.
For more information on upcoming Tours, Exhibitions and Collaborations visit the Van Gogh House Website and social media channels through the buttons below.
