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Mylands Colours Breathe Life Back Into Historic Captain's House

Captain's House Shoot_160424_Chatham_Beth Davis -_Grey Ochre™ No.152 (Walls)_Temple Bar™ No.70 (Woodwork)_Limestone™ No.55 (Ceiling)_Living Room - Large.jpg__PID:c921435f-cbc3-48db-8a05-d9e8ef08e147

Living room walls in Grey Ochre™ No.152; woodwork in Temple Bar™ No.70 and ceiling in Limestone™ No.55

Captain's House Shoot_160424_Chatham_Beth Davis -_Grey Ochre™ No.152 (Walls)_Temple Bar™ No.70 (Woodwork)_Limestone™ No.55 (Ceiling)_Living Room Portrait - Large.jpg__PID:97b92c53-7963-439f-a21b-86fc4d88751a

Founder of Sans Pretention and antiques collector, Stephen Sprake at his Chatham home

Living room walls in Grey Ochre™ No.152; woodwork in Temple Bar™ No.70 and ceiling in Limestone™ No.55

Captain’s House, located in the historic Chatham dockyard in Kent, is home to antiques dealer Stephen Sprake of Sans Pretention, and his eclectic collections of furniture and decorative treasures. Over the past three years Sprake has carefully and painstakingly restored the listed Georgian building to its former glory after decades of architecturally insensitive updates and neglect.

Colour was integral to breathing life back into Captain’s House. Stephen worked closely Mylands to curate an elegant palette, utilising paints from its celebrated Colours of London and Archive Collection.

Mylands was the natural choice for Stephen, with its expertise honed over the last 140 years in crafting high quality, richly pigmented paints at its Lambeth factory. The paints considerately revive the rooms, and the elegant result is testament to the timelessness of Mylands’ palettes.

Stephen selected pared back greys and off-whites to work as a versatile backdrop for his constantly evolving collections, such as Archway House™ No.106, Grey Ochre™ No.152 and Limestone™ No.55, which he punctuated with confident shots of colour including London Brown™ No.287, Peach Flesh Pink™ No.268, Indian Lake™ No.288 and Sorrel Green™ No.207.

Captain's House Shoot_160424_Chatham_Beth Davis -_Grey Ochre™ No.152 (Walls)_Temple Bar™ No.70 (Woodwork)_Limestone™ No.55 (Ceiling)_Bespoke Colour (Doorframe)_Living Room - Newsletter and web landscape.jpg__PID:b3e6fbb1-799b-43bd-a243-3dfcdc7f79a1

Living room walls in Grey Ochre™ No.152; woodwork in Temple Bar™ No.70 and ceiling in Limestone™ No.55; doorframe in bespoke

Stephen has brought contemporary flair to the historic house through paint, particularly with the painted rug design in the master bedroom in layers of green, pink and red, as well as the vibrant Sorrel Green™ No.207 guest bath, and unexpected Peach Flesh Pink™ No.268 shower hidden behind reclaimed chateau doors.

Captain's House Shoot_160424_Chatham_Beth Davis - Grey Ochre™ No.152 (Walls)_London Brown™ No.287 (Floor)_Peach Flesh Pink™ No.268 (Inside Shower Cupboard)_Guest Bathroom - Newsletter and web.jpg__PID:88886850-79d1-4272-a0d1-16e627b29c79

Bathroom walls in Grey Ochre™ No.152; floor in London Brown™ No.287; interior shower closet in Peach Flesh Pink™ No.268; fireplace hearth in Sorrel Green™ No.207

"The palette we have created for Captain’s House not only reflects the age of the property, but it brings life and humour back to the building. Throughout this process we have uncovered many amazing stories about the house, such as when clearing the attic space we found a mummified cat – a lesser-known and long-forgotten Victorian good luck charm. All these elements add to the bold colour of the building’s history, which through our repairing and restoration we wanted to reimagine through the use of colour, texture and form." – Stephen Sprake on his colour choices.

Captain's House Shoot_160424_Chatham_Beth Davis - Grey Ochre™ No.152 (Walls)_London Brown™ No.287 (Floor)_Sorrel Green™ No.207 (Bathtub and Fireplace Hearth)_Guest Bathroom - Large.jpg__PID:6b4c1865-d15c-4328-896c-401fe6b754aa

Bathroom walls in Grey Ochre™ No.152; floor in London Brown™ No.287; fireplace hearth and bathtub in Sorrel Green™ No.207

Captain's House Shoot_160424_Chatham_Beth Davis - Temple Bar™ No.70 (Porch)_Bespoke Colour (Front Door)_Front Porch and Door - Newsletter and web.jpg__PID:8c2971ae-f55e-460b-a8b2-2076a1aa1db5

Porch in Temple Bar™ No.70; front door in bespoke

Captain's House Shoot_160424_Chatham_Beth Davis - Grey Ochre™ No.152 (Walls)_Market Green™ No.38 (Arched Doorway)_Bespoke Colour (Hallway Floor)_FTT-013™ Dark Green (Landing Floor)_Ground Floor Hallway Into.jpg__PID:3f6b4755-d368-45d6-bd5f-2c53241a8912

Hallway walls in Grey Ochre™ No.152; arch woodwork in Market Green™ No.38; landing floor in FTT-013™ Dark Green and bespoke 

Captain's House Shoot_160424_Chatham_Beth Davis -_Archway House™ No.106 (Walls)_Limestone™ No.55 (Ceiling)_Bespoke Colour (Floors and Doorframe)_Dining Room - Newsletter and web.jpg__PID:71aef55e-d60b-48b2-a076-a1aa1db5a815

Dining room walls in Archway House™ No.106; ceiling in Limestone™ No.55; doorframe in bespoke

All Images Captured By Beth Davis

THE COLOURS AT CAPTAIN'S HOUSE

Colour Focus: Grey Ochre™ No.152 at Home and at the Decorative Fair

Sans Pretention - A01 - Grey Ochre No.152 - Newsletter and web.jpg__PID:55e09074-5e34-4eec-930c-1a9a3394dcad

Visit Sans Pretention, Stand A01 at the Decorative Fair Autumn Fair

Stand walls in Grey Ochre™ No.152 for Sans Pretention's previous stand at the Decorative Fair Spring Fair.

Imagery Captured By Nick Rochowski

Stephen Sprake's antique business, Sans Pretention is set to make an elegant impression at the upcoming Decorative Fair Autumn, with a treasure of eclectic antiques that tell fascinating stories. Stephen has been sourcing, restoring and dealing in antiques since 1995, and specialises in French and English decorative works from the 18th and 19th century. 

Mylands is a proud sponsor for the Decorative Fair, and works alongside multiple exhibitors to provide paint as the colourful backdrop to their antique collections. This year, Sans Pretention showcases Grey Ochre™ No.152. A prevalent colour within Stephen's home, this hue is a sophisticated blend of muted grey and earthy ochre that strikes the perfect balance between warmth and modernity. 

A subtle and versatile backdrop to act as the canvas to the stories of the timeless pieces that will be on display. Visitors of the fair will have the opportunity to see how Stephen weaves this colour into his vision amongst his beautiful collection of antiques. 

Visit Sans Pretention, Stand A01 at the Decorative Fair Autumn 2024. The fair starts Tuesday 1st - Sunday 6th October, located at Battersea Park, SW11 4NJ.

Are you a Mylands client? Contact the Mylands Marketing team to receive your complimentary ticket and discover the Mylands colours at the fair. Please contact Marketing@mylands.com.