For centuries, British lovers of art and architecture have travelled to Europe and beyond, to explore cultural wonders and bring home beautiful objects as mementos of marvellous discoveries. Stepping through the doorway of Will McQuitty-Munnis and Alessandro Fragiacomo’s atmospheric Grade II-listed home, it feels as if you are entering a trove echoing the aesthetics of an 18th-century Grand Tour. Rooms are filled with fascinating creations sourced from around the globe (think Madrid and Marrakesh) and whichever perspective you turn to, intriguing vignettes have been carefully composed to delight the eye.
As you look more closely, the prevalence of Anglo-Italian influences becomes clear, both in the interiors and in the garden, too. Prints from palazzos and handmade works from Italian ateliers sit alongside portraiture, and both English and Irish decorative antiques. A cypress tree takes centre stage in the courtyard garden, Burford Brown chickens cluck behind yew hedges, and a young topiary parterre flourishes.
‘I may be a lawyer by trade, but I’m a frustrated interior designer. I love layered interiors, and the process of sourcing, arranging and curating pieces’
This complementary partnership echoes the owners themselves. Will – a widely travelled lawyer, of Irish descent – has long been an avid antiques collector. Alessandro – a partner at a London advertising agency – has family in Milan and Lake Como, and is a more recent convert to the joys of the treasure hunt. ‘Although I grew up in Italy, surrounded by beautiful things, I was never really into antiques until I met Will eight years ago.
His enthusiasm for collecting and curating was infectious; it’s become my passion, too,’ he says. Will bought the four-bedroom, two-bathroom Gloucestershire house around 12 years ago, falling under the spell of its historical details. Thought to be the oldest property in the riverside village, its architectural features include wide beams and a 13th-century stone archway in the hall, believed to have been rescued from the remains of the local priory.
Although the house had been loved, it was ripe for restoration. Before his current career, Will studied interior architecture at Inchbald School of Design; this, along with his sourcing skills, proved to be invaluable when tackling the job in hand. ‘The house was perfectly nice but dated, and everything needed doing. A significant proportion of the fabric of the building had been covered or removed in the 1960s, including concrete being poured over flagstones in the sitting room,’ he says. ‘But I could immediately see it had good bones, and that many features could be restored.’
On move-in day, Will also discovered that the previous owners had taken the kitchen with them. This would have discombobulated most, but by swiftly repurposing his Conran dining table to make a freestanding unit, Will ingeniously resolved an unexpected challenge and, in doing so, crafted a kitchen which is perfect in its unfitted charm.
When it came to decoration, the couple has thoughtfully blended old and new throughout, but with a strong bias towards vintage pieces and antiques. In the sitting room, colourful upholstery offsets 18th- and 19th-century portraiture, while a French tapestry and an Irish rug from the attic in Will’s mother’s home sit comfortably alongside a modern Chinese-lacquer-effect cabinet.
‘Every piece in our home has a meaning for us. We never choose random things. We don’t want to think about what happens when we run out of space’
Will’s thoughtful design even extends to the clever treatment on the window shutters. ‘Looking at them one evening, I decided the painted wood was too plain, so I took some pages from an inexpensive art book we had found at a street stall beside Lake Como, stuck them to the panels, then commissioned a gilder to add the gold trim,’ he says. When the fire is lit in the winter months, these, along with every slither of gilt on lights and frames, glow in the ambience of flickering flames.
The couple’s pride in their home is palpable and, as Will recalls where artefacts were sourced, his ardent enjoyment of decorating and design is clear. ‘I may be a lawyer by trade, but I’m a frustrated interior designer. I love layered interiors, and the process of sourcing, arranging and curating objects,’ he continues. ‘We know what we like, so we buy something and then find a space for it. I think it’s important to collect things you adore, as opposed to going out and buying everything that matches, all at once.’
Alessandro adds, ‘As you can see, each item in our home has a meaning for us. We never choose at random. I’ve been captured by Will’s fervour – now we both love shopping for and commissioning unique pieces at weekends, and when we travel. We don’t want to think about what happens when we run out of space!’
