bohemian art house 'maison colbert' summons wes anderson's eclectic taste in london

‘maison colbert’ from buchanan studio

All the dreamy wonderlands that eccentric filmmaker Wes Anderson has directed and curated permeate the bohemian-inspired art house ‘Maison Colbert’ in Aldgate, London.

Husband and wife pop duo, Philip and Charlotte Colbert tapped Buchanan Studio to design ‘Maison Colbert’ along with Chris Dyson Architects. Together, the creative forces resurrected the once English country house into a pop-infused, prolific residence whose room invokes its own character.

images courtesy of Buchanan Studio | photos by Chris Horwood | header and image: living room, second floor

A whopping 6,000 square feet hides behind the façade of this five-Victorian terraced house, and from the get-go, a whimsical narration comes into sight. As passersby walk on the street, they witness the building facades that are re-imagined like set-designed shop fronts including a fancy goods store and a lobster monger.

What they do not know – at least yet – is that under these colossal covers, divisions were removed to make way for an expansive open space, the new home of Maison Colbert.

aerial view of the living room

The touch of Wes Anderson

One cannot solely call Maison Colbert by Buchanan Studio an art gallery, a creative studio, or a house. Perhaps there is not a single word to describe the eccentricity and eclecticism that oozes around the residence. On the ground floor, an underground art gallery emerges.

The space is carpeted with a collector’s dream, from a salvaged wood coffee table made by the French House to antique chairs, a pendant light, a trompe loile painting Buchanan Studio designed with the artist Ian Harper, and one of Charlotte Colbert’s sculptures ‘Vegetable Motherhood’ on a faux marble plinth.

living room

While everything looks as if guests are stepping into a fantasyland, the Concierge and Bar can singlehandedly steal the limelight with its evident inspiration drawn from Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel. It houses all the room keys with their brass keys and tassels, and a marble counter and space for a bellboy to sit completes Anderson’s touch in the scene.

Nearby, an exterior terrace offers views of the Trompe L’oiel walls with wall lights and a day bed and flooring made from reclaimed terracotta tiles. The sculpture on the vintage table is from Philip Colbert, as is the marble bust seen inside the wall niche.

living area, first floor

Art-filled bohemian residence

Going up, the second floor looms over the guests with its double-height ceiling and living space, sharing the laidback territory with an open-looking kitchen made from reclaimed Iroko wood. Artworks Vietnam Diptych by Jeff Keen and Black Strap (Red Fly) by Rose Wylie hang over the hand-carved, double-sided fireplace.

This collection is found adjacent to the eye marble coffee table from Buchanan Studio and Charlotte Colbert along with marble side tables. Plush sofas and armchairs sit atop a large hand-dyed vintage rug, brushing against the spurts of plants that appear in corners.

Multiple bedrooms, bathrooms, and additional entertaining spaces surprise guests with splashes of vibrant colors and touches of kaleidoscope-hued fixtures. Each bedroom is themed to represent the playful characters that show up in the homeowners’ works, including lobsters and uteruses.

The quirky ensemble inside the creative space, sometimes neutral and other times flamboyant, is a living breathing art house, a creation of wonderland artists and creatives can savor and enjoy, from the minds of a London-based design agency and power-couple artists.

‘concierge’ first floor