For the fifth film in our Homing In series, co-founder Matt Gibberd knocks on the door of designer Tom Bartlett, founder of Waldo Works. Twenty years ago, Tom purchased a derelict spice factory in west London. Here, he walks us through his singular approach to decorating the magical home he now shares with his son, Bluey, revealing the hidden stories behind his personal collection of curios, including an Ethiopian throne carved from a single piece of wood, a Lego lampshade and a pair of fluorescent Peruvian skirts …
As with each of the films in the series, we aim to show how adherence to five key design principles – space, light, materials, nature and decoration – allows you, in Matt’s words, “to live a better and more fulfilled life.” For Tom, that fulfilment came gradually (Tom suggests he was “a bit too young” when he first bought the space). At first, his home was more like “a swimming pool”, with sound bouncing off the just-poured resin floors that supported very little furniture. The magic has evolved slowly, as it should …
Constructivist graphics were an early influence on Tom’s aesthetic, and we see that translated to the white walls (which are in fact a “custardy” 8% yellow) and soaring red steels in the main living space of his home. Surprisingly, he tells Matt that the influence here was two-fold: the red he has chosen is the same shade the Georgians painted their dining room walls to encourage conviviality. Colour, he explains, is all about “light and adjacency.”
That sense of conviviality is coaxed out of the space with the “companionable” arrangement of furniture and fabrics: meters of curtains (printed with a subtle, Constructivist grid) soften the hard lines and acoustics of the living space; a deep felt rug organises the soft seating area, where chairs and tables are positioned for comfort, chat and ease.
Despite running a renowned contemporary design studio, Tom admits to looking to the designers and decorators of centuries past, finding inspiration from old drawing room plans – layouts that have evolved over decades of daily use. “There’s no point reinventing how a table should sit next to a sofa,” he says, “because it needs to.”
Objects and artwork are arranged in off-beat clusters throughout Tom’s home. There is, for example, a row of 18th-century Chinese glass bottles perched atop a steel beam; upstairs, a pair of fluorescent yellow and pink Peruvian skirts are frozen in full twirl behind glass. “I like things that are unreadable, that have a strangeness to them,” admits Tom who ultimately seeks to fill his space with “happy things” that hold meaning.
For Tom, a well decorated space is a space that thrums with “memory and associations”. “I actually quite like Granny’s ugly chair,” he says, “and the idea that you can base design around emotion.” We feel the same.
Watch the full film here and tell us what you think in the comments, before subscribing to our YouTube channel. Happy watching.
