Chandeliers and Champagne

To take Afternoon Tea at The Ritz Hotel in London is a treat. To stay at The Ritz is a luxury. To live at The Ritz for some ten years or so is the making of a legend. Yet this was, and is, the life of Richard Adams and, joy of joys, he is now to be found mostly in Budapest where our worlds collide.

Richard Adams, interior decorator, aesthete, bon viveur, and stylish peacock is a man of extensive and varied sensibilities. Audaciously bold, sharp eyed, quick witted, dramatically gestured and disarmingly attractive, he is prodigiously creative, generous, excellent company, a most loyal friend, and an all round 'good egg'. We love him.

Richard Adams caught in one of many looking glasses in his beautifully styled apartment

  

In Richard's artistic and beautifully manicured hands, clients can be certain that he will bring a civilising, cultured and knowledgeable influence to bear on any decoration scheme. He is master of his Art. And, above all, the end result will be charming, comfortable, elegant and, perhaps most significantly, fun. He is reluctant to describe his decorating style but a close inspection of his Budapest apartment reveals an interior where Neo-Classical with Baroque overtones meet 1960s London Carnaby Street via the Italian Renaissance. It is nothing if not eclectic, never for a moment pretentious and always, at every turn, visually exciting.

seen behind his desk, Richard Adams in the drawing room of his Budapest apartment

a wonderful arrangement of curtains in the drawing room; the chairs, a set of four, are French

A crystal chandelier of impressive proportion dominates the central axes of the drawing room and entrance hall corridor, pulling the visitor in from the moment he or she steps through the door. A white leather sofa, replete with leopard print cushions, is backed by a magnificent mural of St. Peter's in Rome. Silk curtains in shimmering sea-green festoon the high windows and, importantly, cascade onto the floor. Elegant looking glasses play with light and space, objets trouvées delight the guest explorer, plush upholstery is off set by bare stone and skilfully constructed cabinets hide from view those everyday essentials which are deemed to offend the eye. The marble lined bathroom is pure Hollywood.

a chandelier of impressive proportion dominates the central axes of hall and drawing room

    

Richard Adams and Lance Hattatt in conversation seated before the drawing room mural

throughout the apartment looking glasses reflect light and space adding a sense of infinity

a deep, sunken bath  is positioned centre stage in the luxurious, marble lined bathroom

Richard's apartment is testament to the work of a consummate professional. With his sure touch and exacting eye for detail, it is no surprise that his order books read like pages from Debrett's and an International 'Who's Who'. And as for what Richard reads, why 'Vogue', of course!

the lamp is dimmed over the drinks' table, the cat is comfortable, and we are away to dinner