Lessons learnt from a mid-century masterpiece

This week I had the enormous pleasure of visiting Stanley Picker's house, near where I live in Kingston. Near where I live and yet a complete hidden gem of art and architecture!

Stanley Picker, a businessman and patron of the arts built his incredible house in the 60's, filled it with art and before his death set up a trust to preserve it all for future generations. Legend.

So, now you can visit this magical mid century time capsule, filled with light, art and design and like me, learn a few lessons, such as:

• Bring the outside in: the house has floor to ceiling windows and every room has been designed to draw the eye out into the beautiful gardens. It's a uk weather appropriate way of blurring the boundaries between the in and the out and means that you get the calming beauty of nature from wherever you sit. If, like me, you don't have the luxury of floor to ceiling windows, then nature inspired art does a similar thing for the mind
• Art and beauty is important for your wellbeing: more and more research is coming out about how good art is for your mental and even physiological health. So, going to a gallery is wonderful but you can positively impact your own stress levels by having art in your own home, like Stanley did!
• Invest in unknown and emerging artists: these are the people who will shape the future of art. According to our tour guide, when going to Barbara Hepworth's studio to buy pieces (as you do), he aways bought pieces from her assistants as well. Many of the artists he invested in, went on to become very successful. Yes this is a cry for help. lol.
• Buy well made, buy once (or buy old): Terence Conran designed the interiors of the house, and it is excellent work. Some elements are bespoke, built specially to show off the art, but some pieces are 'off the shelf' from early Habitat. Everything feels so cohesive and well made. These days, furniture doesn't seem to be built to last like it once was, which is why I mostly turn to charity, second hand or antique stores. For a mid-century lover like me, there's actually plenty of options, like Vinterior and House of Mobel

That's it for now, but I will be visiting again and encourage you too, if you're in London or the south: https://www.stanleypickertrust.org/about

x