Architecture Wednesday: Gordon House

This gorgeously restored 18th-Century Georgian home is located in Margate, Kent, England and can be yours for £1,295,000, which is $1.6 million USD … oops, hang on, we’re learning that there has been a price drop to £1,200,000 AKA $1.5 million USD. A bargain, no?

Built in the 1790s as a family home there are six-bedrooms, four bathrooms, kitchen, double length parlor, a gallery space and a studio spread across five floors and 5,000 square feet. Many of the original architectural features have been preserved, and later Victorian cosmetic additions have been saved, including marble fireplace surrounds, internal archways and doors, sash windows, and original wooden floorboards.

The front façade is a mix of exposed and painted brick and is set slightly back from the sidewalk behind the original iron railings. The front door opens into a generous vestibule, divided from the hallway by an early Victorian fluted glass door that's surrounded by complementary stained-glass windows, which give a hint to the bold color choices character to come.

And there is color … the main reception room retains a warm feel despite being a very large space with a pair of white marble fireplaces, while a botanical mural embellishes one of the west-facing corners, hand-painted by home's current artist owner. To the left of the hallway is a two-story annex—thought to be a later addition—where you find the color filled triangle-shaped kitchen with a mix of freestanding and built-in cabinetry with colorful, handmade Mexican tiles and hand-finished woods for a rustic edge. The room is large enough for a social-sized dining table, and a generous amount of storage; an original street-level entry—seen at the top in the first photo—has been turned into pantry.

Upstairs the first and second floors feature a shared footprint, each with two generously sized bedrooms and a shared bathroom; the first floor's bedrooms are divided with an original set of large, double arched doors. The third, top floor has two double bedrooms accessed from the sky-lit hallway that follows the pitch of gull-wing roof, constructed with ship's beams sourced from nearby Chatham Dockyard. The larger of the two bedrooms takes the whole width of the home and draws back to create an L-shape. A bathroom with shower, separate WC and a small kitchen make this floor self-contained, and ideal for guests.

The lower ground floor shares the same footprint as the main floor, divided into one triangle-shaped artist’s studio and a large gallery space which makes use of one of two lower-ground-level entrances, affording the public direct access to the gallery from the street, making it an ideal events or work space. There is also a powder room and a large storage room on this floor. The gallery space opens to a graveled terrace via French doors, while the upper half of the garden is ascended to by stairs and features a border of brick-made raised beds, a corner shed and a lockable gate that leads out to the alleyway .

Even better, the home's history affords it access to four subterranean spaces—three to the front that run under the road, two of which provide ample dry storage, and one in the garden that holds plenty of potential as an additional storage space or darkroom.

I love this one for the quirk and charm, and the use of color and Mexican tiles throughout. I picture Carlos and I running a B&B there … after first putting in an elevator; Mama ain’t climbing five floors to change the linens. But you can rent out the studio space and the gallery and you’ve got yourself a nice little business happening.

And, again, the price has been lowered … 

Dwell