XLNT2 Period House - Florence House

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PH197 florence house:Period House 20/7/09 15:37 Page 36

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Private passions

Steve Dunn’s enthusiasm for Victorian

architecture was the inspiration

behind his decision to buy a decaying

early Victorian villa in the centre of Royal

Leamington Spa.

He also wanted to create an escape from thestresses and strains of the modern-daycorporate world. Steve has been a managingdirector of blue chip companies for more than20 years and his partner Vivienne Bailey runsa marketing agency. Juggling diaries is oftencomplicated and Steve felt the time was rightto build a unique home in which they couldspend time together.

Although he recognised the challenges in >>

restoring Florence House, designed and builtin the mid 1840s by Daniel Goodman Squirhill,a prominent local architect who wanted to‘show what he could do’, Steve was confidentthat his eye for detail and knowledge of theperiod would allow him to completelytransform the property.

“I did think about getting in a projectmanager, but decided against it as I wanted towork with the builder. I was determined tomake sure the restoration of the Grade II listedbuilding was both sympathetic and in keepingwith the house’s history,” says Steve.

Armed with a mass of books, original plansand archived material, he started the process

Above Steve escapes thepressures of day-to-dayliving by cooking up feastsfor his friends.Left The garden room – inVictorian times used forgrowing fruit – is nowperfect for after-dinnerdrinks. It was also thestunning venue for Steveand Vivienne’s weddingthis summer (they werelucky and enjoyed one of the few sunny days of July).Top left A new ‘in and out’driveway was re-created tomirror the original, whichwas lost in the 70s.Middle Japanese designprovided inspiration for theback garden.Far left Today, theentrance from the loungeinto the garden room helpsto create a feeling of theoutdoors, inside.


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Left The 19th Centurybookcase houses anextensive collection of opera CDs, while the staircase leads up to the mezzaninelevel – originally theservants’ rooms.Below Farrow & BallBreakfast Green adds tothe authentic look of thedining room. Right The sunny aspect ofthe lounge is enhanced bybold yellow paint.Below right Steve’sattention to detail comesthrough in the painstakingrestoration of theplasterwork ceiling.

18 months ago. The glory of the house was thepresence of much high quality detailing andinnovative features – the main rooms haveelaborate ceiling plasterwork and roses, whilecarvings of oak leaves and acorns adorn thebeautiful staircase.

But scratch the surface and every elementhad to be repaired. Paint finishes to ceilingswere chosen to avoid damaging or obscuringthe plasterwork and applied by industrialsprayers, while the Farrow and Ball paintcatalogue was used to select authenticVictorian colours for the walls.

Steve admits he fell in love with the housewhen he first saw the garden room, which stillhas the original stained glass depicting thefour seasons, encaustic tiles, a sumptuousplasterwork ceiling and frieze and a Corunnamarble fountain.

“Sadly, it was riddled with damp, had aleaking roof and the doors into the gardenwere rotten throughout. Two carpentersturned the work down as they felt it wassimply too difficult, but eventually we found areal craftsman, who also helped us track downa locksmith in Birmingham so that we couldre-create the original locks,” says Steve.

The room has now been furnished with

‘Steve admits he fell in love with the house when he first saw the garden room,which still had its original stained glass...’


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Lloyd Loom furniture which, with its beechwood frames and timeless quality, adds to theoverall effect.

Steve’s other main passion is cooking, sothe fact that Florence House already had afour-oven Aga was another major selling point.He has built the rest of the kitchen aroundthis, making sure that there’s plenty of storagespace and adding on a small conservatory forcasual summer dining. Off the kitchen, he’stransformed what he believes was the house’soriginal kitchen into a formal dining room,with Lancashire wavy line ladder back ashchairs dating back to the 1830s and an Englishoak sideboard from the 1880s.

On the ground floor and mezzanine level,what would have been servants’ rooms havebeen turned into a utility room, cloakroom,wine cellar and bathroom. In addition, twobedrooms have been turned into largebathrooms – one is an en suite to the masterbedroom, another is on the top floor alongsidethe two guest bedrooms.

“Because we have family and friends


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Address book

XLNT2, tel: 01926 882253 did all building work, contactAndy Graham. Prestige Gardens, tel: 01926 314771, contact Chris Harrison.

Top The master bedroomis dominated bymagnificent swaggedcurtains and a 19thCentury bed.Above A guest roompreserves the originalservants’ fireplace.Left Originally a bedroom,this room is now a largeguest bathroom.

coming to stay, I wanted to give guests privacyso that they are pretty much self-contained onthe third floor, which even has its own centralheating system,” says Steve.

Other high points for Steve are his library,which has more than 1,000 books, and thegarden. The front has been remodelled toreproduce the ‘in and out’ driveway (shown on19th Century maps and photos in the CountyRecords Office) while at the back, the gardenwas landscaped in a sympathetic style. Theoriginal coach house – which was in a ruinouscondition – was taken down and rebuilt brickby brick, retaining all its original stained glass.

The house is now filled with Victorian art,fabrics and natural fibre carpets, and a rangeof hand-made furniture based on the BritishArts and Crafts Movement. Steve designed anumber of these pieces, including his officedesk, library table, dresser and bookcase,which were then built by an architect friend.

“It’s been a much longer job than I imaginedand there were times when we thought theworkmen would never leave. Not surprisingly,the main builder has become a friend, so atleast if we need any more jobs done or the roofleaks, we don’t have to worry. We both enjoyedour first summer in the garden and being ableto entertain in the garden room, which is stillmy favourite in the house,” says Steve.


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XLNT2 Period House - Florence House