Gorgeous? Of course it is. But this contrary to all appearances is not the General Trading Company on Sloane Sq.
Or the new Nouveau Orientalist galleries at the V & A (I made that up)
No, it 's a house, a residence, a dwelling, a home.
According to a mild piece of hagiography by Min Hogg in February's World of Interiors, it belongs to Anouska Hempel and her long-suffering husband Sir Mark Weinberg. Hempel is a multi-faceted designer and all-round good egg. Unless you have to live with her? The dearth of squashy chairs and sofas in the drawing room is, apparently, resolutely intentional. ' I always sit up straight, never sprawl or loll'. Funny eh, since everywhere you go there are mountain ranges of blooming cushions where presumably you get ticked off for scaling them and even worse, knocking them over.
If I were her house guest, I'd be sure to take out personal accident insurance with third party liability. That's beside the self-denying ordinance. I know somebody who stayed at Blakes, her legendary London boutique hotel, and found it something of an obstacle course.
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