The Cottages, Goodwood

This is Pear Tree cottage, the first of three recently completed cottages on the Goodwood Estate by Leveson Design.

 They have all been completed updated, and additional bathrooms added and we hope that they now feel loved and as much like home as you could possibly hope for.

We bought every piece of furniture, every picture, down to the knives and forks.

All that Leveson Design does at Goodwood whether it’s for the family themselves or something more commercial, it will feel like home. It is always about the house, the estate and the many sports that Goodwood offer.

Cindy is a collection builder, whether it be for the Kennels, where there is possibly the largest collection of Penguin books in the country or Hound lodge which is all about hunting, dogs, West Sussex and the family. This personal collected feel is at the heart of Goodwood.

Windmill Cottage, Halnaker

Crab Apple Cottage

PRIVATE APARTMENT, LONDON

This London flat was completed in time for Christmas 2021 having undergone a complete change of layout and a lot of walls removed. With 10 windows facing South, this flat is not short of light and made the colours throughout sing. We actually used the same wallcolour in every room and all the window shutters in the flat are the same blue which works remarkably well.

Attention to detail was key and the Soanian skirtings and architraves really are a feat of engineering. The kitchen island was probably the most challenging piece to be made but Rupert Bevan rose to the occassion when he saw my sketch and produced something truly incredible. I wanted it to look like an art installation rather than an island as you are able to see it from all angles when in the enormous open plan drawing room/dining room.

Taking the Flanigan bronze from my client's old garden and placing it on it's own smaller, breakaway island was thrilling.

GEORGIAN BARN, HAMPSHIRE

Leveson Design was asked to design the interior of a beautiful Georgian barn in Hampshire, which was to include the hanging of the most incredible collection of taxidermy.

The brief was to create an informal space for entertaining friends after a morning out in the field, and, they needed to sit 50 people!  Cindy commissioned four oak refectory tables with a length of 15 metres, along with matching benches made using oak from the estate.

At the heart of Cindy’s scheme is the remarkable collection of more than 200 trophies gathered by the owners during their many shooting expeditions at home and abroad.  For Cindy, the composition was a labour of love.  ‘The architects drew each trophy to scale and we set them out on elevations.  It’s not a scientific arrangement: we put them where they looked best.’ 

HOUND LODGE GOODWOOD, WEST SUSSEX

Hound Lodge, once the kennels for the Charlton Hunt, has undergone a complete transformation over the last two years, opening in January 2016.

Cindy Leveson and her team worked closely with Ptolemy Dean Architects to achieve the newest addition to the Goodwood Estate.  Two new wings were added, making a large drawing room and a large dining room. All the original kennels have been converted into bedrooms and bathrooms downstairs, with newly restored dog enclosures outside.  There are a further three new bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs.

It was a wonderful project to work on as, bar half a dozen pieces of furniture and twenty or so pictures, Leveson Design was responsible for buying every single item in the entire house down to the last piece of china.

There is no built in joinery anywhere apart from the tongue and groove in the corridor leading from the drawing room to the dining room, which houses all the china and glass.  It is all about antique furniture, scores of pictures, hundreds of accessories and even more books, all of which are about the Richmond family, hunting or dogs. Real collections of all that is relevant to country life and to Goodwood. Beds have eiderdowns, cashmere covered hot water bottles, sheets and blankets. Even the mattresses are stuffed with wool from the Goodwood sheep.

It was a very enjoyable challenge to create a house with a lived in and understated atmosphere.  It is a house in which all dogs and people are welcome.

PRIVATE HOUSE, LONDON

A private house in Kensington, London was re-decorated by Leveson Design in 2012 and completed that December.

It is a light filled family home that has been remodelled and redecorated throughout.  The client wanted a house that worked not only aesthetically but on a practical level too.  No space was to be off limits to children.  For example, the drawing room, a slightly more formal space, is still practical and child friendly without becoming the everyday place to sit.

Modern pieces in amongst antiques give it a good mix with pretty pieces of painted furniture, which maximize the feeling of light in the building; a keen request from the client.  The colour palette throughout is varying shades of greys and blues; there are no jumpy colours to jar the eye but instead a sense of movement and flow.

COUNTRY HOUSE, HAMPSHIRE

This house has been one of the most rewarding projects we have ever had the good fortune to be asked to re-decorate. 

It was lovely to work with such a brave client who readily agreed when Cindy suggested knocking all the internal walls down on one side of the house to create one vast space in which to live instead of a series of rooms that were very formal and rarely used.

A new kitchen was built, incorporating what was the sitting room, and the drawing room became a light and airy library with timber floors and an assortment of antique rugs.

The space is nearly always kept fully open but, you can close the concealed four metre panelled doors should you want to create a smaller cosy room to sit in with the fire lit on a rainy day.

All the sofas and chairs have two sets of loose covers but each set is different meaning that you rarely will have the same scheme twice but whatever cover you choose it will always look good with the rest. 

Next came the staircase hallway.  This too underwent some major changes.  We took it right back to the bare walls, replacing all the architraves, removing all panelling, replacing the spindles and handrail, installing a new fireplace and completely new lighting.

Colour on the walls, the addition of rugs and stair carpet have made what was a rarely used entrance very much part of the house.

The billiard room has too become part of this staircase hall, with the doors wide open letting light flow through.

THE LENNOX ROOMS, GOODWOOD, WEST SUSSEX

Completed just before lockdown, these rooms were a joy to decorate.  We used areas that had previously only been storerooms as well as rooms that already existed but in a different form.

Panelling, fireplaces and timber floors were added to the Lennox reception and the main meeting room which completely transformed the look and feel, back to how it was when built.  

We have left the walls intentionally empty and chalky white and added colour with upholstery and rugs.

The tables can be dismantled and stored at a moment’s notice should the room be used for a private party.

As always, we have made collections to suit the space whether they be engravings of the Lennox family or dozens of bud vases.  All of these add to the feeling of home from home that runs throughout all our projects at Goodwood.

PRIVATE MEMBERS CLUB, ISLE OF WIGHT

Leveson Design were asked to redecorate the bedrooms and bathrooms at a Private Members Club which was not only a lovely project but an extremely one interesting too.

Our brief was not only to update what was there but also to make members to feel as though they were staying in an extremely comfortable private house and that they were in the best spare bedrooms.  Some are large and some not so large, but all have the same standards and attention detail.  All the rooms are different as they would be in your own house.

 We also re-decorated the staircases and corridors and re-hung all the pictures.

RACECOURSE BOXES GOODWOOD, WEST SUSSEX

Over the years Leveson Design have been asked to decorate many of the boxes at Goodwood racecourse. 

This is always a fun project because, in a relatively short period of time, you can create something quite dramatically different without breaking the bank!

 These photographs show a small selection of some of the boxes we have completed.

PRIVATE HOUSE, LONDON

Leveson Design began works on a private family house in South West London in 2010 and finished in 2012.

The house was originally two houses that became one in the 1970s, which made it into a fantastic, large family home with an equally large garden.  The staircase, which is now one of the house’s main features, almost entirely inspired the design for the house.  The client bravely agreed to take out the small original staircase, take down two walls and the result is a very large hall and fabulous staircase with an oval well.

The brief from the client was to create a comfortable, light and practical family home with all the mod cons.  They did not want it to look overly decorated and they liked the idea of it feeling like a country house but in London.

LINCOLNS INN FIELDS, LONDON

Some of the nicest projects are the smallest and this was no exception.

We were thrilled to be asked to redecorate the reception and entrance to a solicitor’s practice in Lincoln’s Inn Fields.

Although the buildings are beautiful the interiors don’t always follow so it was lovely to add colour and comfort to this sunny room. 

THE KENNELS GOODWOOD, WEST SUSSEX

Located on the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex, The Kennels is a historic building that was built to house the Duke of Richmond’s hounds.

In 2005, Leveson Design was appointed to decorate The Kennels after a complete redesign and renovation of the building.  The brief was to create a Sporting Members Club with the feeling of a house that Lord March would love to have, but doesn’t!  Completed in May 2006, The Kennels has a classical interior with a contemporary feel.  The building was a great inspiration but with no original features remaining, everything had to be created from scratch.  Antiques are mixed with a selection of very modern pieces and an array of pictures which all relate to Goodwood and the Gordon-Lennox family.

THE FARMERS BAR, GOODWOOD

The Farmer's Bar - formerly The Richmond Arms - has been completely transformed in feel and style, giving it a very much lighter and brighter atmosphere.

There is a warm mix of antique furniture, fur throws and lots of lovely red and blue oushak Turkey rugs covering the floor.

The addition of a new entrance hall and loss of unsightly fire doors makes all the difference; on one side is the bar and on the other, a very cosy room with an enormous fireplace with an equally enormous club fender. The room is full of comfortable places to sit with a table in the window flanked by lovely antique wing chairs.  A great place to read the newspapers.

GOODWOOD HOTEL, WEST SUSSEX

There are exciting times ahead for the Goodwood Hotel with two of the newest bedroom schemes below.  Much more to come in due course!

The remaining bedrooms are to be redecorated in the near future. Reception, the Oaks seating area and the Bar & Grill restaurant have recently been compleated.

THE DORSET ARMS, EAST SUSSEX

When, in 2014,  Leveson Design was asked to re-decorate The Dorset Arms in East Sussex, it was clear that there was a challenge ahead. It would have been all too easy to create another gastropub but, so much nicer to bring what was there back to life. 

With this in mind, Leveson Design took great care to retain the atmosphere and charm of this pretty pub.
Dark beams were made lighter, the bar extended and an addition to the dining room created.
All the pictures are family and village related, the furniture mostly antique and fabrics were chosen to compliment both.
Leveson Design is proud to say that no locals were lost in the process of change and those who never knew it before might easily think that this is how it's always been.

THE QUEEN'S CLUB, LONDON

Leveson Design has completed two projects at The Queen's Club.  The first being The President's Room which was completed in 2009 and the second The Terrace Room which was completed in 2012.

The President's Room received not only a total re-furbishment in style and colour but, portraits of former president's were sourced and copied by Leveson Design to give it the grandeur and history it deserved. 

A coherent look is important, so The Terrace Room which is adjacent to The President’s Room needed to bear a relation in terms of design.  In it’s past life it was a series of little offices but now serves as a drawing room, in which members read, work or attend drink parties.  French windows line the outside wall and open out onto the terrace containing Lloyd Loom chairs and tables.  A light, airy and slightly more feminine feel is present throughout the two areas.

OUTSIDE SPACES

It has become more and more important to create comfortable outdoor places to have drinks, lunch and dinner even if the weather isn’t perfect.  Fire pits, heaters and awnings all make this possible.

The two areas shown were particularly interesting to do as everything has to be moveable, waterproof and pretty to look at. 

We found ourselves trawling antique shops to buy whatever felt right which meant we ended up with a really interesting mix of shapes.  Cindy loves a harlequin set.  Deciding on how everything was to be painted was probably more fun for us than the very patient painters!

FARMER BUTCHER CHEF, GOODWOOD

In 2016, Goodwood asked Leveson Design to re-decorate both the old pub and the restaurant next door.  Both are Georgian and the latter was the orginal coaching house.  It was to be quite a challenge.

Cindy was keen to make the restaurant interesting, fun and cosy and put back some history but, most importantly, give it atmosphere.   Now called The Farmer Butcher Chef, it houses a vast collection of that all relates to their farm, to their butcher and to their chef.  It's all about Goodwood, Sussex and England.  There is a museum like feel about the room but not all the content is necessarily what you might expect to find in your average museum!   It was wonderful for Cindy to commission, as well as collect, some of the artwork and design some of the tables, which were then made in various metals.  In particular, she loved designing the steel and brass butlers tray and stand with the help of a brilliant local blacksmith.   All the chairs are antique (as are some of the tables) and all are either upholstered or loose covered in varying fabrics with a mix of trims and studs, however there are six chairs that were commissioned from Howe and upholstered in specially made Goodwood flags.

The floor has changed to boards, the walls are now tongue and groove and there is a very smart life size cow to greet you at the entrance!  

It is very gratifying to see both the restaurant and the bar being used as they were originally intended - open to the world and full of life.

CHRISTMAS DECORATING

Leveson Design is often asked to decorate for their clients at Christmas and here are a few examples of the decorations this year.