Cross-Cultural Exchange: A London Designer Sends a Shipping Container of English Finds to Her New York City Client
Recently, we heard from rising British designer and antiques dealer Georgie Stogdon that an American client approached her after seeing her tiny London apartment filled with antiques and vintage finds on Remodelista a few years ago. “She’s a tech exec from California with three grown children. Work required her to be spending more time in New York so she decided to find an apartment to rent to have more of a permanent base,” Georgie explains. The West Village apartment she ultimately rented “was full of quirks that were much more English in style: rickety original floorboards, low ceilings, crumbling plasterwork—features that would normally send someone running, but they didn’t put her off,” continues Georgie. “She thought my apparent ‘English sensibility’ would be the right fit for the project.”
Unfortunately, this was all happening at the height of the COVID pandemic, when flights from Europe to the US were grounded. So Georgie promptly enlisted a young NYC architect who has just graduated from the Pratt Institute “to be my eyes on the ground” and do a survey and drawings of the apartment. Then, over the course of six months, the designer filled “a shipping container’s worth of art, furniture, and antiquities ranging from Viennese secessionist chairs, 17th century tapestries to 20th century weaves. There isn’t a single piece which doesn’t have a rich story.”
Every item made the cross-Atlantic trip safely (“although there were some hairy moments trying to get a few of the larger items up the narrow staircase to the top floor”). Then the devotee of all things old and analogue had to resort to technology to finish the project, using Zoom to oversee installation.
Below, Georgie takes us on a tour of the lovely results. “It’s a small, serene space, despite the eclecticism and, according to the client, the perfect antidote and juxtaposition to the hectic city beneath her.”
Photography by Matthew Williams, courtesy of Georgie Stogdon.
Above: The apartment is just under 1,000 square feet, on the top floor of a 19th-century townhouse. This charming vignette, composed of an original Poul Henningsen lamp, a Gustavian side table, and an etching by Celia Paul, is near the front door in the living room.
Above: One of Georgie’s signature design elements is the wall tapestry. This one “is a 17th-century verdure tapestry panel woven in London or Antwerp circa 1670-1690 showing trees, lupine, and poppies above a Parterre garden,” she says. Just off the living room is a small kitchen. Because it’s a rental, Georgie stuck with minimal, inexpensive interventions like painting the cabinets (in Treron by Farrow & Ball) and covering the floor with a sisal rug.
Above: The apartment has floor-to-ceiling sash windows. Red and white gingham curtains warm up the space. “We needed that pop of colour, and this bold print from Michael S. Smith did the perfect job of brightening the galley kitchen.”
Above: While the vast majority of pieces in the home are antiques or vintage, there are a few brand-new items, including the sofa (designed by Georgie and custom-made) and the Hoof Coffee Table by Rose Uniake.
Above: After reading our story about Georgie’s London flat, the client found Georgie’s Instagram account, where she saw her post about a drawing by British artist Sarah Graham. “She was immediately struck by this piece and went on to purchase the large ‘King Protea’ drawing from Lyndsey Ingram Gallery that now sits behind the dining table,” shares Georgie. “It was this piece that was the starting point for the design, with subsequent work bought to complement but not compete with its majesty.”
Above: Another signature Georgie design move: the old-school skirted side table. Next to it is a lithograph by Ruth Asawa and a 19th-century French cane seat gondola chair.
Above: Right off the main bedroom is a study/guest room. “I had this screen made and covered in an ivy patterned fabric called Catalano by Fortuny. Its purpose was to provide privacy should my client have a guest staying but also be a beautiful stand-alone piece.”
Above: While the bulk of the apartment is painted in Pointing by Farrow & Ball, Georgie selected Black Blue for the guest room. “We leaned into it being a cosy space and with the desk by the window there was also enough light for my client to work.” An Anglepoise lamp sits on an Art Deco leather-top mahogany chequerboard marquetry desk from Dorian Caffot de Fawes.
Above: It only looks antique—the iron bed is actually new. (For a similar version, try the Arlington Iron Bed from Garnet Hill.)
Above: Even the bathroom is artful. In lieu of standard bathroom cabinets, Georgie had this “incredibly beautiful gilt Italian vitrine,” sourced from Brownrigg Interiors in Tetbury, UK, mounted to the wall.
See also:
* Social Circles: An Interior Designer Reimagines a Classic West Village Townhouse for Old Friends
* Kitchen(s) of the Week: 10 Tiny NYC Kitchens from the Archives
* Steal This Look: A Deep Yellow Shaker Kitchen in London | bit.ly/3XLoEJb
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