Actor, singer, dancer... Layton Williams is a bonafide star of stage and screen, but when he’s out of the spotlight, the Strictly 2023 finalist calls a converted Victorian garden flat in Dulwich home. When it came to decorating his space to reflect his style and personality, he knew exactly who to turn to for advice: Farrow & Ball’s Patrick O’Donnell.
The Colour Consultant and Brand Ambassador says ‘Layton and I had a virtual consultancy and he arrived so brilliantly prepared with thoughts that most of my job was done.’ Patrick also had a very specific collection in mind for the project: the Christopher John Rogers-designed ‘Carte Blanche’ range of paints and wallpapers.
Layton was immediately on board with the idea; ‘I wanted my flat to resemble the way I am, and as a gay black man the collaboration with designer Christopher John Rogers was just perfection,’ he smiles.
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Now, the punchy paint shades – with evocative names like ‘Shallot’ and ‘Liquorice’ drawn from Rogers’ life – bring a vibrant energy to the living room, hallway, kitchen and bedroom, while graphic wallpaper designs expressing Rogers’ signature irreverent dots and stripes pop up in alcoves and on ceilings.
Patrick says: ‘We wanted to use wallpaper to add textural layers rather than create full visual statements, so the living room and bedroom were gentle nods to pattern and the palette (except the hall) was primarily neutral and clean.’
Now drenched in a deep pink, the hall demonstrating beautifully how you can have fun and take risks in small spaces – something particularly true, Patrick says, of transient spaces ‘where you can risk being bolder as one is walking through rather than hanging out...’
The mix of exuberant colour and print is perfect, with soft, neutral tones grounding the brighter shades. Patrick explains: ‘What I was able to bring to the mix was balance and proportion, and where some elements could collide to greater effect and offer up some little creative tropes, such as putting wallpaper on the kitchen ceiling for added drama that links through from the hall that’s saturated in “Shallot” paint.’
Layton couldn’t be happier with the transformation, saying that it feels both energising and calming – the perfect cocoon and a true expression of his character.
‘I love the boldness of the collection,’ he adds, ‘particularly the use of the “Dot” wallpaper on my ceiling in the kitchen, but also how the “Liquorice” and “Macadamia” paint in my bedroom that’s paired with the “Stripe” wallpaper in the same colour to create a sense of serenity and calm. The room is so dark at night now and I drift into such a deep sleep.’ farrow-ball.com
