Designer Ben Pentreath Brings Sense, Sensibility, and a Purple Sofa to an Austrian Townhouse
“Can you do a house in Vienna?”
The sudden inquiry obtained right here in sooner or later from a youthful Austrian couple who had lived in London for years and located my retailer, books, and studio alongside the best way wherein. That they had been returning dwelling and had bought a remarkably untouched 1917 villa in Vienna’s handsome Dornbach district, the place the engaging urbanism of this distinctive metropolis offers choice to vineyards and to the open nation previous.
Throughout the entry, the wainscoting and staircase are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Lamp Room Gray.
They obtained right here to the office and outlined the issue. Every Viennese designer they spoke with had a modernist methodology involving white partitions, black furnishings, and occasional pink accents. That was not their check out all. Their sensibility, found and fine-tuned in England, leaned in direction of a layered, vibrant way of life. That they had been trying to find to draw out and enhance the character of the outdated residence, eradicating modern modifications, restoring interval particulars, and bringing to the fore a manner of energy.
An Eero Saarinen desk is surrounded by classic chairs throughout the consuming room. Rug, Guinevere; wallcovering, Adelphi; artworks by Robert Schaberl (left) and Hanakam & Schuller (correct).
I do know we don’t like to talk regarding the pandemic, nevertheless it was a background to the story. We first met throughout the depths of the London lockdown, and my solely visits to the house had been digital. It was moreover a really swift endeavor. Native company Moser Architects was appointed, and builders had been starting on-site. My colleague Leo Kary and I had the briefest of moments to intervene on the architectural framework of the house. We toured the various particulars—the implausible moldings, the facade, the views from the upstairs rooms—by means of iPhone. We pored over the distinctive, gorgeous architectural drawings signed by Anton Schnell.
The family’s Yorkshire terrier, Leon, relaxes on a Howard & Sons sofa in a Romo fabric. Custom-made ottoman’s needlepoint border by Hunt & Hope; partitions painted in Farrow & Ball’s Shaded White; artwork work (left) by Tomo Campbell.
We then set to work designing fireplaces, serving to on the restoration of architectural elements, and guiding swiftly, at a distance, the design of a model new kitchen, dressing rooms, and totally different choices. Our buyers had been adamant about certain points. The stone floor that ran through a variety of the ground-floor rooms was to be retained. I did not understand why until I lastly expert the house in particular person. I arrived ultimate summer season season to take photos of the completed endeavor. It was a sweltering, sultry weekend that felt distinctly (to my naïve ideas) un-Austrian. The stone flooring launched a coolness to the within that was astonishingly welcome. I understood the transient a bit bit greater that day.
Throughout the bar, {{custom}} cobalt partitions distinction with a turquoise ceiling and curtains in a Pentreath pattern for Morris & Co.
From the start, the patrons knew they wished vibrancy and color. We dove proper right into a palette of rich, saturated hues; I launched the patrons to Adelphi wall hangings and to Morris & Co., Hamilton Weston, Howard & Sons, and Soane Britain. They launched us to good Viennese sellers like Michael Schwab, who equipped a variety of the furnishings, and to a group of unbelievable native craftsmen. I’ve longed to decorate in regal purple for years; it’s not many purchasers who boldly go for that shade on the precept sofa. Nonetheless then to combine it
with a stunning needlepoint ottoman by London-based Hunt & Hope, custom-made to our private design—intense!
Classic heirlooms weave through the narrative. Grandfather clocks, consuming chairs, silver, and glass had been combined with an eye-popping assortment of newest art work and sculpture assembled by our buyers. I don’t ideas admitting that I had no say in these alternatives, on account of this was a sort of dynamic relationships the place our ideas bounced spherical and in opposition to at least one one other like atoms fizzing spherical a science experiment. In any case, there are elements of calm too. Every drama desires its moments of delicate tempo; our buyers, carrying on from their residence in London, had been set on the considered a de Gournay wallcovering throughout the mattress room. The one chosen offers the room with a serene, ethereal simplicity. The stair hall has straightforward white partitions and cozy gray on the woodwork. It’s on a regular basis, in life, a question of stability.
And so proper right here we uncover ourselves on a scorching midsummer’s evening, on the weekend that Leo and I took these photos, sitting throughout the scented yard having enjoyable with implausible agency, delicious wine, and noteworthy meals. An evening that started with a stage of formality descends into good laughter, tales, and a manner of glamour—tales suggested prolonged into the evening time. Not at all has a setting felt further correct for its joyful, vivacious, thoughtful however carefree homeowners—glorious collaborators on our adventures collectively.
Tour this Dreamy Residence in Vienna
This story initially appeared throughout the Winter 2025 topic of ELLE DECOR. SUBSCRIBE
