Homes Antiques

cosy curtains but they were a step too

far for Sebastian’ she laughs. ‘We ended

up with simple pull-down blinds because

he didn’t want to interrupt the clean

lines of the bay window. He took a long

time thinking about the ideal solution.’

This obsessive attention to detail

extends to every aspect of Sebastian’s

design. He’s just returned from Japan

where he’s been collaborating with

Japanese designers on a new dining

chair. ‘It’s beautiful and very elegant’

he says. ‘The Japanese have a tradition

of very fine jointing which I love. I want

a chair – or any piece of furniture – to

be tomorrow’s heirloom antique rather

than tomorrow’s landfill. Craftsmen

have traditional skills that no banker or

lawyer will ever require but if we don’t

start valuing craftsmen as professionals

we face a future full of featureless

identical furniture made by robots.’ Q

ABOVE Sebastian

insisted on keeping

the dramatic oor-

to-ceiling windows

unadorned to let

in the maximum

amount of light.

Gertrude’s mother

made the crewel

work bedspread. The

pen-and-ink drawing

above the bed is by

Robert Gill LEFT

Sebastian found the

Chairman Mao badges

on sale in a Beijing

market and liked

them so much that

he decided to buy the

entire collection

66 H&A SUMMER 2017