The journal
Mylands Colours Breathe Life Back into Historic Captain's House
When Stephen Sprake transformed Captain's House, his historic Chatham home, colour was integral to breathing life back into this listed Georgian building. Centring the scheme on Grey Ochre™ No.152 from the Greys & Neutrals Collection, Sprake layered in colour through imaginative detailing and his own antiques.
Captain's House, 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 with Mylands to curate an elegant palette drawn from its celebrated Colours of London and Archive collections. Mylands was the natural choice, its expertise honed over 140 years 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 chose pared-back greys and off-whites as a versatile backdrop for his constantly evolving collections, such as Archway House™ No.106, Grey Ochre™ No.152 and Limestone™ No.55, 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.
Stephen has brought contemporary flair to the historic house through paint, particularly 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 the unexpected Peach Flesh Pink™ No.268 shower hidden behind reclaimed château doors.
"The palette we've created for Captain's House not only reflects the age of the property but brings life and humour back to the building. Throughout this process we uncovered many amazing stories about the house; when clearing the attic 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 repair and restoration we wanted to reimagine through colour, texture and form." - Stephen Sprake on his colour choices.
