Colour crush
Designer Susi Bellamy has decorated her Edwardian manor house with a modern mix of hello-there hues and vibrant art
given the grand entrance of this Edwardian manor house, two things are immediately surprising. One, despite its noble proportions and classic British architectural features, first impressions are modern and light. And two, for the property’s owner, designer Susi Bellamy, colour and pattern know no bounds.
This house plays the juxtaposition card without coming over too bohemian. It is eclectic yet tightly curated, featuring effervescent combinations such as a vintage lime-green velvet sofa paired with Florentine-inspired fabrics, set against a classic backdrop of chequerboardtiled flooring. ‘I don’t go in with a plan,’ says Susi of her signature high-energy style. ‘I enjoy the vive la difference.’
The house is structurally magnificent, but after returning to it from the heat of Florence – where Susi and her family lived for six years – its dark-oak panelling felt cold and the layout needed a rethink. ‘We decided to freshen it up with new ideas to make it light and joyous and painted all the dark wood an off-white,’ says Susi.
Enlisting the help of her friend Ike Isenhour, an architect and fellow colour appreciator, Susi devised a pathway between the kitchen and living room to create a circular flow. ‘The corridor is just amazing,’ says Susi. ‘It bisects the utility room to give direct access from the kitchen to the living room. Before this, the two rooms weren’t connected. It’s something I would never have thought of doing and highlights the fact that it’s always good to get an architect on board.’
With its white-painted woodwork and plain walls, Susi kept the ground level to a neutral palette, but let colour and pattern run riot on the floors above. In the attic bedrooms, Susi’s own wallpapers envelop the walls and ceilings. And in the top-floor corridor, a folksy gold stencil lifts the space with a Lanvin-inspired display of climbing florals. ‘People have an idea of stencilling as a sheaf of corn above a window in a cottage, but I consider it a craft,’ says Susi. ‘It’s about the scale. I’m not into twiddly little stencils, I’m into something quite big.’
A magazine stylist-turned-artist-and-designer, Susi has made a career out of her pattern-tastic style, and a colourful, intuitive aesthetic runs throughout her work. Since opening her studio in the buzzing area of Ouseburn in Newcastle upon Tyne, she has been experimenting with layered painting on wood and has since launched a range of homeware, featuring cushions, wallpaper, fabric and lampshades, which explore themes close to her heart. Susi’s latest collection features her take on the traditional technique of marbling paper, with lots of delicious pastels and pops of Day-glo pink being involved. Much of what she does is influenced by Renaissance style, honed during her sabbatical in Florence.
Originally from Cardiff, Susi comes from an artistic family. ‘My uncle was a painter and I used to spend a lot of time with him in his studio,’ she says. ‘We were always going to museums and historic reference is a constant in my work.’ Following a degree in fashion journalism at the London College of Fashion, Susi worked at a bridal magazine for nearly seven years. It was there, working on photo shoots, that she became interested in locations, stories and the ability to recognise a great shot. ‘It’s the same now with products. You occasionally get a design and it’s like, wow; there’s something about it that sings.’
Susi applies the same principles and design ideas to whatever she is doing, whether it’s creating a collection or renovating the family home. ‘Colour is at the heart of all I do and reworking the house felt like an extension of my day job,’ she says. ‘Any excuse to play with colour!’