Ruth and Charlie's House
From DirtyWiki
Contents |
Address
27 Victoria Terrace Road
Kensington, London W8
Overview
Ruth and Charlie Fitzwilliam's home is located in Kensington, London, England. It's within walking distance/view of Holland Park.
They moved into the posh Victorian townhouse in 1980.
Floorplan
The rooms may change or be added to as Scout figures everything out. (For the entire look of the house and its interior/exterior, think the townhouse in the remake of The Parent Trap, but with lots of other things going on in it.)
First Floor
- Small foyer
- Dining room
- Front sitting room
- Office/study
- Master bedroom/bathroom
- Bathroom
- Formal parlor
- Kitchen/giant pantry
- Laundry room
Second Floor
- Two bedrooms (including Claire Fitzwilliam's)
- Two adjoining bathrooms
- Office
- Play room
Third Floor
- Two bedrooms
- Two adjoining bathrooms
- Charlie's private collections
- Party room (small ballroom)
Attic
- Storage
- Workspace
Interior
The basic feel of the interior of the house is very cozy. The front foyer all the way into the landing of the second floor is painted a deep gold color. The walls are all richly painted. Most are covered in photographs. They have quite a lot running along the wall along the staircase, which turns to the left and reaches a landing that leads to Claire's room (the stairs resume on the right side, oddly enough, so if you want to keep going up, turn right instead of left).
The front sitting room is not as formal as the sitting room in the back, and has a lot of overstuffed chairs and comfortable furniture and deep green walls. The office is attached to the sitting room, as is the formal dining room (and through there you reach the kitchen). The downstairs office is less private than the upstairs office. It's used mainly as a study, though Charlie smokes in there while reading more often than anywhere else. It smells strongest of tobacco. And leather.
The formal dining room has expensive paintings on the wall (at least two, opposite each other on the walls), and is actually the only dining room. It has three entrances. One from the hall leading from the front door and foyer, one from the sitting room, and one from the kitchen.
The kitchen is bright and airy and has French doors that lead onto the back patio. It has an antique stove and an antique fridge and is gorgeous. There's room for a few people to sit and be comfortable at the tiny kitchen table.
At the end of the hall from the front entrance, there is a back door leading out onto the garden, and if you turn left before you get there, you go down another hall that leads into a bathroom, the master bedroom, and the formal parlour. The formal parlour is the room with the television and older, elaborate furniture. it has a window onto the front lawn.
The master bedroom has its own bath and set of doors onto the back garden. The room is bright and sunny. Ruth and Charlie have stocked a lot of odds and ends in it.
The rest of the rooms are dictated by their owners. Claire's is still painted lavender, though the room is sparer now than it was when she lived in it (they keep it mostly the same and many of her things are still there).
They have serious security. Cameras. The works. You won't find a lot of expensive things, other than paintings and busts and old jewelry and antiques, but people assume that Charlie has giant diamonds in a vault and do try to get a little too close for comfort.
Exterior
The house is pale blue trimmed in white, though its colors change. It's ornately Victorian, with latticework on the eaves and elaborate woodworking. There are enormous glass windows in front rooms, all of which have windowseats (as does the window above the front door--Claire's bedroom window). It's a very narrow, typically London home, but tall and unique in that it is not an apartment or duplex.
There is a small garage on one side that is accessible by a tiny drive tucked in against the fence (the house on this side of the townhouse was built later, and an alley once sat where the driveway is now). The garage is tiny, fitting one car, and the driveway is so miserable that they park on the street.
There are large trees growing along the curb, and an especially large tree in the front garden of the house near the garage, lending to privacy. There are more houses across the street, equally private.
A large tree was planted just off to the side of the front door, and the branches reach to Claire's bedroom and provided a way for boyfriends to climb in.
Garden
The house has a front and back garden. The front is fenced in by an elaborate iron rod fence, as well as tall hedges and topiaries. There are many flowers here and one brick path up to the front door. Most of the front yard is fairly well concealed from the road.
The back garden is lush and old. It's fenced in by a tall wooden fence and has one giant oak tree that has the steps of a tree house that predates the Fitzwilliams living there. There are tons of flowers, a small patio from the kitchen double doors and separate back door, as well as double doors opening from the master bedroom.
It's a very woodsy sort of setting, with a lot of plants and overgrown things to hide from the neighbors on either side. The house is disconnected, standing alone. This is the same for every house on the road.
