Marylebone

I’ve been keeping up my architecture walks. In fact I think it’s the only lockdown habit that I’ve kept. Another neighbourhood friend, H, that moved out of London during Covid, came back to London for the day to walk around Marylebone a few weeks ago (I know, the blog is eternally not live, haha) so we could let our eyes wander. This building looks like it used to be a church, but it didn’t look like one from the front at all. Well, apart from JC standing there in between the windows.

It was a hot day and it still felt weird to see people about. I’m finally used to it now.

Marylebone is not my favourite ‘hood (it’s too Beverly Hills for me), but there are some cool buildings there. This is Chiltern Street, which is very symmetrical, unlike my picture. It doesn’t feel like London to me, maybe exactly for that reason, because the houses are actually identical for a whole block, without any buildings having been knocked down or bombed in amongst them. It’s a great shopping street if you have mucho dineros. It’s a street you walk past if you don’t.

Don’t think I’ve ever seen this colour on a large Victorian apartment block before. I might steal it when the time comes to redo the exterior of our house.

Now that’s a really flipping cool street light. Surely it’s original? It’s huge!

Some Victorian mansion blocks squared off by a Georgian one.

On my bike ride home I cycled along the Outer Circle of Regent’s Park, and past the Danish Church, and this 200 year old Neo Gothic building that’s part of the grounds. I’m so glad I came out of the lockdowns not wanting to move, because London feels like the gift that won’t stop giving. It’s just a matter of knowing where to look.

It's a Suffolk thing

So many of our friends have left London over the years, and last summer our peeps SA and Y packed up their London life and moved to Suffolk. It had been on the cards for years but Covid sped things up. A few weeks ago we finally got to go for an overnight visit, and it was so nice to see them and their kids again. We began our stay with a no-cook lunch - the best kind of lunch.

Since we saw them last summer there’s been a new addition to the family - Ruby.

She and Mr Famapa became friends immediately.

Even though he lost her ball.

Digression. Don’t know what these are, but they were pretty.

In the early evening we went for delicious pizzas at @theshedsframlingham and the super relaxed setting was just perfect.

So crazy that our kids are or are close to becoming teenagers. Seeing how much this young lady has changed in the past year is quite something. It’s Oomoo’s turn soon (well, not that soon, we’re 18 months away…). Gulp.

One middle aged lady with a camera was enjoying the planting very much.

Very much.

After the meal some chose to digest their meal playing football.

Nut jobs.

We were incredibly lucky with the weather; this summer has been British to say the least. Maybe it’s a Brexit thing? Luckily the fire pit at SA and Y’s made it possible for us to continue sitting outside for the rest of the evening.

What you looking at Ruby?

Whatever it was - a cuddle was even better.

Y going in to get provisions.

It got late.

Click click. We started playing the Intro Game where you have to guess the song from the first beat of the intro. SA and I were very good, and I may say so myself. It’s amazing that you can recognise a song in a second or two. Of course we’re talking 80’s and 90’s music here. We didn’t attempt any songs from after then.

The fire had me mesmerised in between.

Day 2. How’s this for a conservatory/dining room? Drool.

It was way too hot to sit in though.

Had a look through SA’s interior books, and this portrait of an elderly couple in the Apartamento book, made me fast forward a few decades - I really like her style.

Stop Hammock time.

Summer and friends are the best.

Hope we get to see them again soon.

At the architect's part II

So, where were we? Ah yes, the Sir John Soane’s Museum. After having explored the crypt it was time to move up in the house to the first floor. You know I love stairs, right? Well, here comes a whole load of stair pictures.

Because these stairs are pretty special. Lots and lots of amazing details.

And atmosphere. Do you recognise the fella in the recess? Yup, that’s ol’ Billy Shakespeare.

And here’s a little sculpture of Mercury.

Such a handsome staircase/well, don’t you think?

Very much appreciate a blind pull displayed just so.

The South Drawing Room. I had to google what a drawing room is, and it’s a room that was only really used to entertain guests before and after dinner, or a room for the ladies of the household to retire to. Imagine having such a room now! Well I suppose some very fancy people still do. Tell me, would you go all out yellow in a room? Not me. Not a fan of yellow walls at all. Or orange. But red? Yes.

I could’ve stood and stared at this window for ages. The light and the shadows were just perfect.

Soane had to go to court in order to be granted permission to build this loggia, which was originally open (kind of like a balcony), but in the 1830’s he added windows so he gained another metre where he could house more of his collection.

Not all of the original window panes have survived.

One last stair pic, I promise. This one was less flash. Must’ve been for the household staff.

The ceiling of the Breakfast Parlour in no. 12. Can you imagine being so posh that you can choose to have your meals in different rooms? I guess some people still are.

One last round mirror to round things off (see what I did there?). The rug is a reproduction of the the original rug in the Breakfast Parlour Room. Looks so contemporary! I’d very much like one thank you please. Guys, if this is your thing, and you find yourself in London, for Dog’s sake go. It’s such an amazing place, and I’m sure as hell not going to leave it for another decade before I go back.

At the architect's

A couple of days after I went to Kew I booked myself a morning slot at the Sir John Soane Museum (peeps, I’m a bit tired when typing this, so do click on the museum link for the history of Sir John Soane, it’s really interesting, but rather than me rehashing the text into this blogpost you’ll get it straight from the horse’s mouth). I went there over a decade ago with my mum, and I’ve been meaning to go back ever since, but I’m so glad I didn’t get round to it until now. This time I appreciated going there for so many reasons, the main one being that I’m seriously getting into historical houses. The Regency era architect owned and built all three buildings seen here, with the museum being mainly in the middle one at no. 12.

Some of the museum spills over into No. 14, which just looks so damn good with that green door and the darker window frames, don’t you think? Also, this house was built with white bricks. Must’ve looked very different back in the day. I quite like the dirty facade and I’m sure it wouldn’t look as nice all cleaned up.

There is of course now a one way system though the museum, so the first room you enter is the dining room that extends into the library where I stood taking this picture.

Right here in fact. It wasn't this light in this section (I over exposed quite a bit here), but much darker and really cosy.

Like this.

And this. I’d love to have the guts do a whole room in dark red. I just had a look around me in the study where I’m sitting right now thinking ‘Oooooooooh!’, but we had wallpaper put up in here when we moved in eight years ago, so that’s a hard no. Plus I still like the wallpaper. 🙄

In case you wonder which way you're facing.

I continued into The Breakfast Parlour where a guide told me about the room, which in turn led me to not taking many pictures in here, as I couldn’t just ask him to move out of the way. All I can say is that putting yellow glass in the skylights makes for a very cheery little room.

Soane put the yellow glass in so that you could see the details in the reliefs better.

Ok fine, I’ll give you a bit of a background so those of you who didn't click through earlier know what this place is. Basically Soane (1753-1837) became a renowned architect and Professor of Architecture at the Royal Academy, and was fortunate enough to be able to take a Grand Tour of Europe (paid for by King George III - who incidentally lived in Kew Palace in my previous post). He was a great collector who also had the astuteness to pick up lots of objects in house clearances from other collectors who had gotten into debt gambling. Like an eBay pro of sorts. The idea was to house all these artefacts in a museum so his students, who were not able to travel around Europe, would be able to see close hand what treasures and styles existed out there. He also stipulated that after his death the museum was to remain open free of charge in all perpetuity.

I guess you could say that he was a bit of a hoarder, a hoarder with exceptional taste. He placed everything so that it all looked both good together and within the space. Maybe seeing all of this stuff is making me feel better about all the stuff in our house…

Terry, the guide sitting down here, told me all sorts of interesting facts about Soane and the museum. So grateful for people like him sharing their knowledge and enthusiasm, and who don’t mind having to repeat themselves day after day.

Looking at this picture now, I’m very confused as to what exactly this nude lady is standing next to. You see it, right?! I have to go back again and have proper look (I actually want to go back again sans camera so I can really pay attention). I mean, maaaaaaybe it’s just an exotic mushroom? I didn’t even see it when I took it. If I had I would’ve asked Terry.

‘Who’s got the remote?’ Ah, this guy. Go on then, turn the telly on.

Looking back through the study, which is sealed off for now, and into the dining room.

More yellow skylights.

Who dat?!

Downstairs in the basement is the Monk’s Parlour. You can’t go in there so I took this through the glass door. If this was my house this is where I’d take my afternoon cuppa, with a book and a fire on the go.

In the crypt looking back towards the stairs I came down. The Monk’s Parlour is through the opening just to the right. I didn’t take many pictures in here as it was so dark, and weirdly I took no pictures of the sarcophagus that sits proudly in the middle of the crypt. Sometimes I surprise myself with how I take pictures, but I guess that I take them according to what I think looks good or interesting, and that I’m not trying to tell an exact story. I basically don’t think when I take them, haha.

Anyway, I digress. From the crypt you can look back up into the Dome, which is the oldest part of the museum, built in 1808-9, as a model/plaster room.

You can see more clearly how the different floors connect in this watercolour from 1811 (click on the zoom icon and you’ll see it larger). Such an amazing space. It’s so amazing that I’m going to have to show the rest in my next post, because this here is plenty enough for one 😅