H
ere and there damask
wall hangings have faded
to the mottled shades of
setting plaster. Books are haphazardly piled
beneath an exquisite 17th-century Dutch
cabinet and rare Van Dyck portraits peep
out from the mad encrustations on a neo-
baroque frame (see page 92). Nearby a
couple of psychedelic surfboards are
propped in a corner and an extravagantly
scaled flower and feather-garlanded
chandelier made by set designer Michael
Howells is suspended amid the classically
restrained proportions of a room designed
by Sir John Soane.
Such seemingly incongruous ingredients
sum up the whacky appeal of Port Eliot: âItâs
a family home not a museumâ says Ruth
Goodland Port Eliotâs guide in
explanation. âAnd the family still live here
and love it as it is.â
She could add that what makes Port Eliot
special is that itâs a house that has broadly
escaped modernisation where monastic
remnants Regency grandeur and a
sprinkling of 21st-century artsABOVE The main stairwell leads from the Entrance Hall to
the Lobby and up to the bedrooms RIGHT A pair of Milanese
neoclassical walnut marquetry commodes frame the double doors
that lead from the Drawing Room into the Saloon88 H&A SUMMER 2017