Textile designer Pauline Caulfield’s art-filled home and studio in Primrose Hill
Pauline found her métier while at Chelsea School of Art, when she stumbled upon the textile-print room and fell for bold and beautiful fabrics she saw there. Switching from studying painting to a textile-print course at the Royal College of Art, which was significant for two reasons: it’s where she began to develop her highly pigmented and painterly style and it’s where she met Patrick. The couple were married in 1968 and moved into their Primrose Hill home in 1975. Even after their relationship ended in 1999, however, Patrick was still making his mark here. One day, when paying Pauline a visit, he found some pots of point in the kitchen, which he couldn’t resist. “I was out at the time and came back to find he’d started this,” says Pauline, pointing to a mural depicting a fruit bowl. It might have taken her by surprise, but – having mucked in herself, with help from their middle son – by the time it was finished, “I loved it.”
One of the things we love most about Pauline’s home is the way it unfolds. Each room has a personality of its own: there’s that mood-lifting kitchen, which Pauline recently painted powder pink; the cosy living room characterised by dark wooden beams and book-stacked shelves; the canary-yellow bathroom, in which a detail by JW Waterhouse hangs on the wall. And then there’s her studio: a light-filled, white-walled room where she designs and prints her textiles. Naturally, such contrasting spaces make for a particularly captivating tour – as do the stories she tells about her favourite pieces that fill them. Watch our film now to discover Pauline’s Seven Wonders – and, if you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel so you never miss a new episode.
You can also pore over Pauline and Patrick’s work IRL too: ‘Pauline Caulfield Textile Works, 1968-2023’ is on display and the Fashion and Textile Museum, running until 10 September 2023; and work by Patrick Caulfield will feature at Frieze London with Josh Lilley this October.
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