People with style: Richard

People with style EXPERIENTIAL INTERIOR EXPERTS

Richard McGee and Lesley Cornwall - Acacia Bay, Shanklin

Richard McGee and Lesley Cornwall have a real passion for interiors, which is echoed both in their brand-new shop Acacia Bay, on Shanklin High Street, and in the home they are renovating, also in Shanklin, with the same name. The couple loved the house, and the name sealed the deal, as Acacia Bay on Lake Taupo in New Zealand is where Richard grew up. “We were on the ferry, coming over, and Richard said, ‘I’m going to live here’,” laughs Lesley. At that time the couple had an interiors shop in Sussex but thought how lovely it would be to have a store like theirs on the Isle of Wight, opening Acacia Bay on Shanklin High Street at the beginning of December 2020. “What we offer is an experience,” says Lesley. “Shopping that excites the senses. We only buy in what we love.” Lesley’s eye for design comes from her family’s creative background. “My father saw life through the end of a film camera lens, and I suppose it must have rubbed off,” says Lesley. Richard adds, “Lesley has a wonderful eye for detail and does all the buying and setting for the shop – we make a great team!” “We’ve been to ‘Maison Objet’ design exhibition in France every year, where there are 4,500 exhibitors,” adds Lesley. “We have a huge range of suppliers and selectively choose items we will stock in the shop.” These include one-off-pieces made in Richard’s basement workshop beneath the shop; stunning driftwood tables and pieces of furniture, also created from five species of indigenous hardwoods from New Zealand. Richard’s passion for interiors stems from an unlikely previous career as a personal trainer, with high profile clients such as Princess Diana and the Astors. “The personal training was a very early morning and evening thing, and I began restoring period houses during the day. I had a building team in London for very high-end clients,” explains Richard, whose most recent renovations have included a listed cottage in the Cotswolds and an apartment overlooking Notre Dame. The couple have started a project on the island and hope to do more. “We’ve been very inspired by the creativity on the Island. There are so many talented people. We fell in love with our house and decided to invest in Shanklin. “People have come from all over the Island to see the shop. We want to become a ‘Go To’ shopping experience.” Style is: We are a collective fusion of natural and relaxed luxury homewares. Does money equal success? You need money to survive, and it does give you choice. However, for us it’s more about the passion for what we do.

What does Island living mean to you? We wanted an essence of the southern hemisphere, but in the UK, and a friend said, “check out the Isle of Wight”. It’s about freedom and space, community, friendliness, time to breathe and the beautiful coast.

Icons or Inspirations? The whole thing about making shopping an experience. Terence Conran. Restoration Hardware (an American interiors concept). Petersham Nurseries, where you can eat in a greenhouse. Venice – the colour, light and architecture. Blunders and what you learned? Don’t get involved in something you don’t really understand. Stick with what you know and what you love. Top tips: You need to live in your home before making major decisions because you will make unnecessary errors. Do the ‘definites’ first and then create a house that works for you and is functional and enjoyable. Group items and they look a lot better, and test colours on large areas of the walls in different areas of the room. Don’t always take for gospel what colour the design magazines say. It’s not about if your friends like your living room, it’s about whether you do. Facing the Future and Aspirations: There’s a lot of talk about the doom of the high street, but we tend to disagree. For small independents there will always be people who want to touch and see. Online cannot replace that. Independents can do that and have an online presence.