“Goya was not one of those clients who sit back and lets it all happen around them,” says Charles. “She was very invloved with the house from the start and it was really a team effort. While I designed and supplied many things for the house, including the bespoke elements of the interior, Goya played a big part because she has a real flair for design. She did not give me carte blanche, but I like that just as much as having a free hand - it encourages you to explore areas that you might otherwise ignore.”

Interior designer Charles Bateson describes himself as a “contemporary European designer with a bit of richness thrown in.” If his scheme for this Regent’s Park flat is anything to go by, that means chocolate, caramel and a dash of double cream to finish.

Charles Bateson’s rooms have clean, simple lines and are animated by a few rich, colourful elements. Furniture is modern but not quirky, and comfortable.

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“I don’t like frills and bits and pieces,” he admits, “but neither am I into minimalism.” So here, rather than knocking down the internal walls to create a trendy one-space wonder, Bateson retained the traditional structure and reworked it in a contemporary fashion. “What’s important,” he explains, “isn’t open space but depth of field [creating views right across an interior, say from the front door to the back garden, to give you a sense of space]. You need areas which interconnect but keep their identity.”

“I was really inspired by Charles,” says Alison, who was born in Texas. “I was introduced to him by textiles designer Bruno Triplet, who suggested Charles visit my house, and I was very impressed by his ideas. He used a few antique pieces from my husband’s family but the effect is young and fresh, while still looking appropriate in a classic London town house.”

Interior designer Charles Bateson’s hallmark of composed, richly layered interiors and the sleek forms of the latest Sony home entertainment are a match made in contemporary heaven.

Charles Bateson works on the principle that an interior design project should be fun for everyone involved, and never feel like a long, hard slog to the finish line. It’s an approach that has paid off - since setting up his practice in 1995 he has built up a fiercely loyal client base.

Charles describes his house style as “contemporary with rich baroque details.”. He believes that rooms should have clean, simple lines and colours, with a few rich and colourful elements. Furniture should be contemporary but resist quirkiness and must be comfortable.

These days, the Bateson hallmark is
unmistakable: an innovative enjoyment of sleek materials - beading, metallic surfaces and laquered shagreen walls - and a palette predominantly of neutrals from biscuit to grey.

Characterized by clean lines and richly textured finishes, Charles Bateson’s
interiors blur boundaries between old and new, classic and modern . . . A fondness for brave colours and intense, rich finishes marks out Charles’s style, yet “fun and fulfillment for designer and client” is key.

Charles’s own home perfectly relflects his love of reinvention, his recognition that patterns of living laid down by the
Georgians and Victorians may be out of date but modernity does not have to mean minimalisom or lack of comfort.

With nine years at David Hicks under his belt, followed by four years at John
Stefanidis, Charles Bateson’s design training has been first class. His passion for the contemporary mixed with classical elements - a combination that produces composed, richly layered interiors - has proved irresistable to a wide range of discerning clients.