Surrey Homes | SH25 | November 2016 | Christmas Gifts supplement inside

Above: The 1950s Dovedale kitchen cabinets were already
stripped of paint, Christine had the steel polished. She bought
the Medusa mask and collection of insects at Greenwich
Market in the 1980s Left: The 1950s Italian chair was designed
by Luigi Colli. The lampshade is from Little Treasures, just
along the High Street. The teapot is from Kew, Royal Botanic
Gardens. The masks, from various sources, are part of Christine’s
collection. Christine bought the 1950s Pier Luigi Colli chair,
with a handwoven cover, from antique dealer Philip Varma
window with slatted blind above and backlit herbs below,
dominates the room. It feels as though the kitchen
decor has been shaped over many decades, and yet
Christine has only lived in the house for 18 months.
“We spent a month, decorating the house from top
to bottom,” she says. This included refurbishing the
kitchen: the stainless steel units are 1950s originals which
Christine had polished, to give a more contemporary
feel, and the kitchen surfaces are reclaimed science
lab worktops, cut to fit and sanded to remove copious
graffiti: “Some of it was pretty bad,” she laughs.
Above the units and range cooker - besides impressively
organised shelves of spices and ingredients - are
numerous artworks, photos and objets d’art which hint
at Christine’s life of travel and adventure as well as her
earlier life in Greenwich and southeast London.
“The insects, masks and Medusa - which a friend of
85 wealdentimes.co.uk