LONDON CORDIAL
Veranda|September - October 2023
MIXMASTER LORENZO CASTILLO DECKS A CHELSEA TOWNHOUSE IN IMMERSIVE PRINTS, RADIANT SEATING, AND A WELCOMING SPIRIT THAT TIPS TO THE WILD SIDE
CELIA BARBOUR
LONDON CORDIAL

EIGHT HUNDRED MILES separate London from Madrid, but one family need only pass through the front door of their Chelsea townhouse to erase such distances and enter a realm where national borders dissolve and cultural cross-pollination flourishes. Created by legendary Spanish designer Lorenzo Castillo, the Art Deco-era home's interiors infuse English high style with a generous dose of Spanish vitality and passion-think Tempranillo in a porcelain teacup-while layering in pieces ranging from 18th-century French and Scandinavian antiques to Pop Art. It adds up to a dramatically beguiling atmosphere built on a foundation of deep scholarship.

"England holds a lot of weight in the history of interior design, so I wanted to pay homage to that heritage," he says, noting his appreciation for the Victorian period, a time "when using a profusion of materials and diverse objects was very fashionable." He mixes in rural elements-tin sconces, mohair blankets, bamboo, garden chairs-to cut the richness. "It makes a house more human, less pretentious." His relationship with these longtime clients began with a charming encounter that reads like a meet-cute lifted straight out of a Nora Ephron film: Twenty-five years ago, shortly after Castillo had opened his antiques shop in Madrid, a young couple burst in. "They asked to rent my whole stock," he recalls. "They had just moved into a new home, had no furniture, and were hosting a dinner party." His response? "I started laughing."

A quarter century later Castillo still delights in his relationship with the family. And he's just as game to help them fill their current home with a profusion of beautiful objects, art, and sweeping floor-to-ceiling pattern.

Denne historien er fra September - October 2023-utgaven av Veranda.

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Denne historien er fra September - October 2023-utgaven av Veranda.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

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