VIENNA WAITS FOR YOU

DESIGNER BEN PENTREATH RECOUNTS HOW HE BROUGHT A VIBRANT ENGLISH SENSIBILITY TO A QUINTESSENTIAL AUSTRIAN TOWNHOUSE.

- BEN PENTREATH

The drawing room of a 1917 home in Vienna originally designed by Anton Schnell and recently renovated by Ben Pentreath. Mantel by Jamb; artwork by Hans Kupelwieser. For details, see Resources.

"Can you do a house in Vienna?"

The unexpected inquiry came in one day from a young Austrian couple who had lived in London for years and discovered my shop, books, and studio along the way. They were returning home and had bought a remarkably untouched 1917 villa in Vienna's handsome Dornbach district, where the beautiful urbanism of this remarkable city gives way to vineyards and to the open country beyond.

The family's Yorkshire terrier, Leon, relaxes on a Howard & Sons sofa in a Romo fabric. Custom ottoman's needlepoint border by Hunt & Hope; walls painted in Farrow & Ball's Shaded White; artwork (left) by Tomo Campbell.

They came to the office and explained the issue. Every Viennese designer they spoke with had a modernist approach involving white walls, black furniture, and occasional red accents. That was not their look at all. Their sensibility, learned and fine-tuned in England, leaned toward a layered, colorful approach to life. They were seeking to draw out and enhance the character of the old house, removing modern changes, restoring period details, and bringing to the fore a sense of energy.

In the entry, the wainscoting and staircase are painted in Farrow & Ball's Lamp Room Gray.