BURLEY ON THE HILL is a 300-year-old English country estate with beautiful architectural details–Neoclassical columns, curving colonnades, grand windows and soaring ceilings. It is within this setting that the astonishingly lovely apartment of American John McSwaney and his British-born wife, Christine, lies–in a 1700’s manor in the English countryside two hours north of London.
Daniel Finch, the second Earl of Nottingham constructed the Palladian mansion in the 1690s and the home stayed in the family until around 1990, at which time it was sold to a Turkish businessman with dreams of a resort. Part of the estate was eventually restored by English restoration expert, Kit Martin, who converted six apartments out of the main house. Several years later, the McSwaneys, John & Christine, from Florida, happened upon the listing and thought it perfect for the three or four months a year they stay in England to visit Christine’s family.
The couple purchased an apartment in Burley’s south wing and hired designer Mark Gillette, a specialist in country-house renovations, who traded the grey & white colour scheme to Wedgwood blues and pinks and laid a new oak floor with a custom-woven Aubusson. Gillette also mixed antiques and newer pieces “to give an evolved feel,” historic portraits with a 1940’s desk and a lucite & glass cocktail table.
“The biggest challenge with a building like this,” says Gillette, “is to retain the historical importance and preserve the fabric, yet make it a 21st-century home. I think this is a good example of how, with trust between client and designer, that can work.”
