As the sad news broke this week of Robert Kime’s passing, we’ve decided to take a look at one of the interior design extraordinaire’s most famous projects: Clarence House. When Prince Charles moved to the property in 2003 it was Robert Kime who was put in charge of decorating the historic home, and the result are a vibrant blend of grandeur and comfort, here’s a closer look at Robert Kime’s Clarence House:
When The Queen Mother died in 2002, it was decided that her first grandchild would inherit her London home as his own London base. The Queen Mother had resided in the Grade-I property since 1953 and during that time the property saw very little maintenance, so when Prince Charles took on ownership the whole property required an overhaul to the tune of £4.5 million. Built in the late 1820s, Clarence House was built for the Duke of Clarence (King William IV) by the celebrated architect of the day, John Nash, making the four-storey house one of the newest official royal residences.
At the time, it was explained that His Royal Highness wished to keep The Queen Mother’s ‘ambience’ in the home, with the Lancaster Room and the Sitting Room retaining virtually the same layout as before, but Robert Kime’s clever decorative details transformed the spaces into a new home fit for the heir to the throne.
‘The part that is on view to the public had to be slightly monumental, because it is an official residence,’ explained Kime ‘but I also wanted to create an atmosphere where one can carry on an ordinary conversation with the prince without feeling over-awed. It had to be as comfortable for the gardener to sit down and talk to him as for the Queen of Spain to do so.’
The rooms that show off Kime’s characteristic flair are the Lancaster Room (the first reception room on the right on entering the house) and the Garden Room (a large, more private drawing room at the rear of the ground floor). Both rooms are colourful and cosy with a touch of opulence – it’s no wonder Kime became to designer-du jour among the aristocracy. A calm canvas is enlivened with bold colours and vivid prints, allowing fresh contemporary patterns to mix with rich antiques and refined internal architecture.
Upon successful completion of Kime’s decoration, the office of Prince Charles explained the hier’s pleasure with the results: “The Prince of Wales is very pleased with it. […]It’s a wonderful place where he will entertain senior statespeople from abroad and people from his charities,” explained a spokesperson for St James’s Palace.
Today, the house can be viewed in a ll its glory on Google’s Arts and Culture tours, as well as the Royal Collection Trust‘s website where they describe Kime’s work on the house as follows: ‘Robert Kime introduced new colour schemes and furnishings, while maintaining the familiar atmosphere of a much-loved family house. The arrangement of the rooms and the grouping of their contents remain recognisably as they were in Queen Elizabeth’s time, with much of Her Majesty’s collection of works of art and furniture in their former positions.’
View more of Clarence House in this previous post, or view more royal homes by browsing the ‘royalty‘ tag. Alternatively, explore Robert Kime’s stunning portfolio of interiors and collection of textiles and antiques at his official website here.
images by google streetview used under fairies guidelines