PLAY TO THE GALLERY
For years, this Georgian townhouse in Bath was Paul and Kate Austin’s holiday home. They spent time in Singapore, Milan and London before turning it into their family home
Back in 1989, Paul had been looking to move from London to Bath. He had seen plenty of properties across the city but knew immediately that this was the one he wanted to buy. ‘The house was a real mess. I walked in through this very dull red door and there was a soil pipe running right through the middle of the place. It was beaten up; it felt abandoned and studenty. There was an outside toilet and an ugly 1960s lean-to on the back - but I instantly liked it and completed the sale in six weeks.’
Paul set about transforming the house, committing to a full restoration project without any shortcuts. This meant an awful lot of work and, since the property is located in a World Heritage Site, consent was needed for just about everything. The soil pipe that came through the middle of the house was the first thing to be relocated to the back. The lean-to and outside toilet were demolished, and the garden was landscaped.
Next, the wall between the kitchen and dining room was removed to open up the living space. Then the back wall of the dining room was replaced with handmade French doors to allow sunlight to flood in, creating a seamless opening between the garden and living space.
Although the house was a wreck, many of the period features were, miraculously, still intact, including most of the Georgian fireplaces, the mouldings and all of the internal doors.
When Paul and Kate rebuilt the kitchen they discovered a huge Georgian fireplace surround that had been hidden by a plethora of 1970s cupboards, and today the Aga occupies this space. An original Welsh dresser was also found and restored. Around this time, in the early 1990s, grants were available from Bath Council and the Bath Preservation Trust, which allowed them to replace the Georgian sash windows and the fanlight in the front door.
The floor was completely taken up, as the tiles were smashed and flattened. In their place cast-concrete tiles were used, which mimic real flagstones. Every wall was stripped back to the original stone and brick, to install a proper damp-proof course. Bath stone retains high levels of moisture, so damp is common in these old buildings. However, since the walls were tanked Paul and Kate’s home hasn’t had any issues.
Just as the renovation was complete, life changed direction entirely and work sent Paul and Kate abroad. Rather than selling or renting out the house, they decided to share it with friends. ‘We never let it out, so we could come back at any time. Friends used it for a weekend retreat to Bath or if they needed somewhere to stay,’ Kate recalls.
In 2005, they moved back to the UK, putting down roots in London. Kate gave birth to their first child, Zillah, and the three of them would come to Bath every weekend. ‘Eventually, we had to decide where to live and we chose Bath,’ says Kate. ‘The house was bigger and it made sense.’
Kate, who worked as a visual artist for many years, began in earnest to transform the furnishings and décor in the property, developing her quirky signature style. The first thing she did was replace the kitchen with a handmade one from Plain English, painted in Little Greene’s Lead Colour.
The walls are adorned with modern pieces and prints, alongside Kate’s own artwork, and her curious collections of dolls’ heads, stuffed animals and passion for numbers, letters, spots and stars. The house has become a visual diary of Kate and Paul’s life together and its meandering path via Asia, Europe, London and Georgian Bath. Their two children, their love of heritage and heirloom furniture, modern art, and their experimental use of colour and form, all contrast with this beautifully kept and elegant home.