Interiors: Past and present united to perfection

Apr 17 2008 by Debbie Johnson, Liverpool Daily Post

Richard Skelton has breathed new life into a Georgian Townhouse. Debbie Johnson reports

A HOME at the heart of Liverpool’s historic Georgian Quarter is sure to have character – but few properties have the style and luxury of this beautiful building in Rodney Street.

The house was bought by its current owner, Richard Skelton, in 2003. At the time it was insurance offices, and had previously been used as an NHS base.

Richard says: "It had definitely suffered over the years. A great deal had been ripped out and there was a lot of anaglypta going on. It just wasn’t nice."

The first thing Richard did was hire an architect to become involved with the project, to help redesign the way the building worked.

The end result is a self- contained flat on the lower ground floor, office space on the first floor, and the rest dedicated to domestic living – a huge amount of space in comparison to most city centre homes.

Richard, a qualified surveyor who moved on to start his own business in design, says: "Rodney Street has so much appeal. It does have that commercial aspect to it, which meant a couple of things – first of all, I knew I’d be able to let the office space and make a good income from it, but also it is tremendously peaceful and quiet at the weekend.

"It is at the Cathedral end of the street, and about two minutes away from where I work. The houses, especially at this end, are just so generously proportioned and grand. And they are all different, which I think adds to the charm."

Although the building is one of great history, some of that had been lost in translation as the years and its different functions took their toll.

One of Richard’s main aims, in conjunction with the architect and his own eye for design, was to restore it as sympathetically as possible while still retaining all the convenience of modern life.

Much of the cornicing was replaced; where new windows needed to be fitted, they were Georgian in style, as were interior doors and fittings.

The floors were replaced with high- quality timber flooring, and when rooms were modernised, such as the bathroom, they were done in a way that reflects the home’s age.

With four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large kitchen diner, an en-suite master bedroom, drawing room and study, space is hardly in short supply – the challenge was to use it well, and decorate it in a style that fitted Richard’s vision for the building.

He says: "The house is historic, and as I said, I tried to really re- flect that when the work was go- ing in, but in terms of furnish- ings and decor I wanted a contemporary feel – it provides a nice contrast that really works, rather than filling it with old antiques."

The hallway is the one excep- tion, with its gold-leaf, hugely ornate marble-topped console table and awesome chandelier – but even that is offset by modern side chairs and lamp.

All the furniture in the house is from Utility, and of a high- quality modern design. The drawing room has oak flooring, and a pale colour scheme, with Wenge sofas and black accessories, broken up with turquoise accents. The three large windows looking out over Rodney Street also flood the room with natural light.

The master bedroom is painted in a stunning shade of deep red, and again a grand old room is complemented by modern decor and furniture, with abstract designs and bold patters on the curtains and carpets.

There is also an en-suite wet room.

The bathroom is done in marble tiles – again pale coloured. There is a large freestanding oval bath and a walk-in shower as well.

The fourth bedroom – currently used by Richard as a TV lounge – is set in the sloping and beamed roof space of the attic, and is a distinctive pure white room with bright orange furniture.

The kitchen diner is a spacious room, and one well-used by Rich- ard for cooking and entertaining. There is a bank of high gloss white units by CP Hart with integral appliances, and a stand- out breakfast island, as well as a pure walnut dining set.

There is also a good-sized garden with a lawn at the rear – again a rarity in a city-centre house.

Richard has now decided to put the house on the market and move on to his next "project". He says: "It is a beautiful house and very flexible with its accommodation, whether you wanted it to be living space, or offices, or both. But this is my seventh project. I don’t usually live anywhere for more than four years – and I’ve been here for five, I’ve enjoyed it so much . . ."

* RICHARD SKELTON’S home at 82, Rodney Street, is for sale via Sutton Kersh on 0151 236 2332 for £850,000. That includes the lower ground flat, which is on a shorthold tenancy at £600 per month, and the ground-floor offices, currently on a five-year lease from January, 2005, which raise £9,500 pa.