Montagu

A Whole-House Project

Montagu

A private residence taken from first sketch to the afternoon the shelves were dressed. Confidence held in composition.

Location Gosforth

Scope Whole home, concept to completion

Service Full Service Design

Led By Lauren Reece, Aubury & Co

Conversation, Concept, Creation

A whole-house project led by Lauren Reece. Confidence in colour, held in composition. Black panelled walls in the W.C, a lit wall of shelves in the living room, russet velvet in the reading corner, bouclé cream in the sitting room.

A patterned tile laid true to the room, cotton curtains that move with the window, a gilded mirror catching the light, brass kept quiet. Materials chosen to age well.

Managed from first sketch to the afternoon the shelves were dressed. Joinery, bathroom specification, upholstery, lighting, artwork, accessories. Every decision paid back, every day.

The Montagu W.C, a marble vanity, patterned tiled floor, black panelled walls, a porcelain ginger jar

W.C

Room One

The W.C

The small room that went first in the budget and last in the compromises.

Black panelled walls, a floating marble vanity, a geometric patterned floor laid true to the room. Brass catches the light and keeps quiet otherwise.

A room that photographs well and washes your hands well, both things at once.

The W.C held straight-on, ornate gilded mirror above a floating marble vanity with chrome taps and a patterned ginger jar on the counter

The ornate gilded mirror above the marble vanity in the W.C, seen in portrait, with black panelled walls rising behind

Detail of a black cast-iron radiator against the blue and cream encaustic floor tile

The W.C seen from the doorway, the patterned tile running the length of the room

Living

Room Two

The Living Room

Cream sofas on either side, a palm-print armchair centred against the french doors, striped linen drapes reaching floor to ceiling. A run of dark built-in cabinetry lit from inside runs the length of the room, holding the things this family collects slowly and keeps.

On warm evenings the doors open to the garden and the room simply carries on outside.

The Montagu living room, looking from the dark cabinetry wall out through the french doors to the garden, cream sofa to the right, a palm-print armchair centred in front of the doors, striped linen drapes floor to ceiling

A full wall of dark built-in shelves, each bay lit from inside, staging vases, books and ceramics

Detail of a palm-print occasional chair corner, folded against a parquet floor

Close-up of the cream sofa with geometric black and cream cushions stacked along its length

The living room bay window with linen curtains, an oak side table and a styled vase

Kitchen

Room Three

The Kitchen & Family Room

The room the family actually lives in. A teal velvet sofa facing a pair of cream boucle armchairs, a rattan pendant overhead, a framed heron print anchoring the wall, the kitchen island and its run of cabinetry reaching quietly into the back of the frame.

Dark-panelled cabinets, brass pendants over the island, oak flooring underfoot. Cooking, homework, Sunday papers, all happen in this one room.

The Montagu kitchen and family room, a teal velvet sofa facing two cream boucle armchairs, a rattan pendant overhead, a framed heron print on the wall, the kitchen island visible in the background

Alternate angle of the same open-plan room, more of the kitchen island and pendants visible

The dining zone off the kitchen, round table with brass pendants overhead, dark cabinetry behind

Detail of the kitchen worktop, styled with a vase, board and a ginger jar

The kitchen island wider, brass pendants overhead, dark cabinetry either side

Dining

Room Four

The Dining Room

Deep terracotta-red panelled walls, herringbone parquet underfoot, a black fireplace quietly holding the far wall. A pair of woven pendants sit above an oval table laid for supper, and the french doors open through to the garden beyond.

The most formal room in the house, but never stiff.

The Montagu dining room, deep terracotta-red panelled walls, oval table with cream chairs, a pair of woven black pendants overhead, herringbone parquet floor, french doors to the garden at the end of the room

Dress

Room Five

The Dressing Room

Dark walnut cabinetry, a central island with open shelves in dark stone, a statement crystal chandelier overhead, a plaster ceiling rose. Ornate mirror, a drape of cream silk to the side window, a single framed piece of art.

The Montagu dressing room in its architectural state, dark walnut wardrobe doors running the length of the walls, a central open-shelf island, crystal chandelier under a plaster ceiling rose, a cream silk drape to the window

Detail of the crystal chandelier in the dressing room, cut glass rods catching the light against the dark walls

Room Six

The Bedroom

The bed holds the room. Textured headboard in chevron, a blackened bedside, a gold lamp with warmth in the shade. A reading corner set against the near wall, russet velvet with a framed lion print above, the light kept soft.

The Montagu bedroom bed, textured chevron headboard, black and cream pillows, a gold lamp with a warm shade on the bedside

The reading corner in the bedroom, a russet velvet sofa with a black-framed print of a lion hanging above

A caned-back armchair with a black and cream striped seat, sitting by the bedroom window

Crystal chandelier and ceiling rose detail in the bedroom, seen from below

Room Seven

The Sitting Room

A pair of cream bouclé armchairs, a standing lamp drawn in from the corner, a cinnamon cushion on each seat. A room for the afternoons.

The sitting room held wider, full-length curtain, pair of bouclé armchairs, a potted palm in the corner

Quiet

The Supporting Cast

The Quieter Rooms

Behind the centrepieces, the rooms that do the work. A back lobby off the garden door, a staircase that holds the middle of the house together, a utility that earns its calm with cream shaker panelling and a stone herringbone floor.

None of them the headline, all of them necessary.

The back lobby, dark panelled walls, patterned encaustic tile floor carried through from the W.C, built-in bench for coats and boots

The Montagu staircase, cream runner with black nosing, walnut bannisters, striped Roman blind in the window, console with vase of red berries at the foot

Looking down the Montagu staircase from the landing, twin rattan pendants hanging low, a framed black-and-white portrait at the turn

The Montagu utility room, cream shaker panelling, stacked washer and dryer, stone herringbone floor, brass hardware

A Closer Look

The Details

The smaller moments. A tap that sits flush against the marble. A doorway arched rather than square. A brass pull polished with the wear of a hand. Montagu is a house made of these decisions, and most of them only reveal themselves once you have lived in the room a while.

One

Arches, thresholds, the small architectures that change how a room lands.

An arched doorway into the master bathroom, Cole and Son cloud wallpaper either side, mirrored wardrobes reflecting a glimpse of the oval bath and marble surround beyond

A cloak and storage run with open joinery, a geometric black iron pendant, black and white checkerboard tile underfoot

A navy panelled bench in the boot room, open storage below, a patterned encaustic tile in blues and greens carried across the floor

Two

Brass against marble, each piece chosen once and kept. The material hand of the house.

An unlacquered brass wall-mounted bath tap and hand-held shower, set against honed marble

Close detail of brass cross-handle taps above a fluted basin, marble splashback beyond

A brass thermostatic shower valve and hand-shower cradle, fixed to a marble wall

Three

And three last frames. The ones you catch on the way past and don't talk about.

A patterned ginger jar on the marble vanity in the W.C, next to a woven basket holding folded towels

Tight detail of the cream stair runner on the dark oak tread, the black nosing between them

Looking down the staircase from part way up, the runner curving gently with the stair, the console visible below

“

A whole home taken from first sketch to the afternoon the shelves were dressed. We wrote down what each room needed to do, and we held to it. They have settled the way we hoped they would.

Lauren Reece, Aubury & Co

Led By

Lauren Reece

Lauren is one of two principal designers at Aubury & Co. Montagu is a whole-house project she led from first sketch to the afternoon the shelves were dressed. A keen eye for materials, textures and the small decisions that make a house feel like it has always been there.

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