Geoffrey Bennison: Master Decorator

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geoffRey bennison master decorator

Gillian newberry Foreword by John richardson

l the passageway to the drawing room has walls covered in all-Over floral and curtains of eighteenth-century crewelwork. On the right is a drinks cabinet with trompe-l’oeil decoration on the doors.

e Style Rothschild’ has been described as a detailed, elaborate style of interior decoration originating in france and england in the nineteenth century and characterized by the finest antiques, lavish use of luxurious textiles, parquetry and panelling, and works of art. there was a sense of splendor and magnificence in the rothschild palaces, hôtels particuliers, stately homes and country houses. In some ways this opulent style was a tough act to follow. However, Geoffrey, having made such a great success of the rue de tournon for David de rothschild, was sufficiently confident to accept a commission to decorate David’s château de reux in normandy. With his usual touch of relaxed grandeur, he applied his deft hand, aided by a large team of both local and english craftsmen. In the entrance hall Geoffrey hung the walls with floral linen in a muted, grassy green on beige ground, which he designed to complement the honey-colored polished flagstone floor. He continued this wall covering along the corridor linking the drawing and dining rooms, but with wall-to-wall rush matting from Suffolk on the floor, extending into the drawing room. for the curtains and window seats he used antique english crewelwork in vibrant green and blue. the drawing room is dominated by a gigantic limed oak fire surround with a spectacular seventeenth-century mirror; floor-to-ceiling bookcases are built in to another wall. Geoffrey covered the remaining walls in an eighteenth-century painted and embossed cordoba leather, which he found in england and had painstakingly restored in situ by reyno tocci. David requested that the drawing room have sufficient seating for twelve, so Geoffrey designed two enormous three-seater sofas that could comfortably accommodate four people each; he covered these in pinky-beige linen to match the walls in the entrance hall and corridor. for the curtains and a corner banquette he used printed linen. He placed two further armchairs, covered in deep rose-pink gaufrage velvet, on either side of a circular table covered in an antique Indienne fabric and topped by an Imari lamp. château de reux is a wonderful example of a country house where dogs are welcome, friends and family constantly come and go, and entertaining can be as formal or informal as the occasion dictates. the decorative beauty of the rooms is matched by the sense of ease and comfort. the visible components and how they are united make up the form but there is also an intangible, invisible coming together of elements that make up the whole of what Geoffrey was able to achieve in his interior decoration. ‘to be in one’s element,’ Geoffrey believed, is to be in a place where one feels comfortable and at ease

château de reux for Baron david de rothschild

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Page 5 Above

Terenc set, c.1 the walls of the hallway are covered in all-Over floral fabric and hung with eighteenth-century engravings. the wooden paneling is topped with blue-andwhite pottery plates.

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â&#x153;Ś geoffrey Bennison

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ce Stamp in his Albany 1964.

terraced house for miranda morley, duchess of beaufort

CheLseA, LONDON, 1982

Left Yellow tadelakt walls shine between tall shutters painted pale aqua blue with gold stenciled motifs. heavy patterned blinds keep out the intense sunshine. Right Back-to-back sofas are overlaid with bolsters, cushions and covers in Bennison step stripe and teeth stripe in pinks, yellow, dark green and charcoal. the wooden armoire is inlaid with mother-of-pearl, as are t he little occasional tables.

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â&#x153;Ś geoffrey Bennison

Above Baron Guy’s study has wide french doors leading onto the central courtyard and pool. the sofa is covered in damask velvet and striped silk. the dodecahedral antique Moroccan ceiling is of painted wood. Right Marie-hélène’s romantic four-poster bed has a Bokhara covered bedhead cushion and bedspread, stenciled tester, and baseboard and filmy eighteenthcentury french lace curtains. the windows are surrounded by decorative stencilwork.

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✦ geoffrey Bennison

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