EDWARDIAN RENAISSANCE

Designer Philip Vergeylen has restored this villa with his signature style of dramatic flourishes, opulent antiques and hints of humour

- MARY WEAVER

DINING ROOM

This 18th-century Coromandel screen is hung from the wall for a theatrical effect. Chest of drawers stamped ‘antique Maison Jansen’. Cyrus table lamp and rug, Nicholas Haslam. Screen, Gerald Bland

HALL

Double doors were used to provide vistas into rooms and the new columns here increase the sense of symmetry. Try Vinterior for a terracotta sculpture. 1920s plaster chandelier, originally from a bank in Chicago

Known for his opulent use of luxurious materials and fine detailing, and skill at instilling personality into previously characterless homes, Philip Vergeylen is used to the demands of clients who come with the territory of high-end restorations. In this instance though, he says, the owners were so delightful and enthusiastic that he instantly forgave their inevitable peccadillos.

They had given Philip carte blanche – very rare – to design their home after seeing his work in a house they had considered buying. ‘They had fallen in love with it but it was too small, so when they found this one they called me in,’ says Philip who, with partner Paolo Moschino, is one half of Nicholas Haslam.