The Westland Room: Imagining the Private Study of Sir William Chambers

Capturing the mood and feeling of a moment in time was Darren’s starting point for the Westland Gallery takeover. The experience of entering an architect’s private study, surrounded by the objects and ideas that shape a creative mind. Inspired by his experience of our ADAM office at Somerset House, he imagined a room in which Sir William Chambers (1723–1796) might have drawn, written, received clients and reflected on his designs. He wanted visitors to pause, experience the atmosphere, and feel that its occupant had stepped away only moments ago, returning imminently.

Chambers was one of the great architects of Georgian Britain. Born in Sweden and trained in Paris and Italy, he brought an international perspective to his work. A founding member of the Royal Academy and architect to George III, he designed Somerset House and the celebrated buildings at Kew. His scholarship, prolific drawings and publications, particularly his Treatise on Civil Architecture of 1759, helped articulate the principles of classical design. His work remains a source of inspiration to Darren and to generations of classical architects.

The study takes its cue from this enquiring mind. An architect whose understanding of antiquity, observation of buildings, and voracious reading fed directly into his designs. Books have always held a special place in an architect’s world. Across periods and approaches to design, architects surround themselves with them, and this study evokes a working library, its books continually returned to for reference and inspiration.

Learning from the past was essential to Chambers’s practice, and it remains essential to Darren’s approach. This continuity of enquiry underpins the room. Architectural models, classical fragments and samples suggest a working collection of objects that are often examined and learned from. The Georgian portraits in the room introduce a human presence, depicting the circle of patrons, colleagues who might have inhabited Chambers’s world.

The arrangement of Darren’s room began with an architectural discipline, establishing centre lines, balancing compositions and creating a natural flow between zones and distinct activities. A desk offers a place for drawing and writing, a table and chairs suggest conversations with clients, a cabinet of curiosities invites closer inspection. A George III table forms a centrepiece, while Ionic capitals introduce the classical language at the scale of an object. These relationships thread the room together, drawing the eye towards an early Robert Adam chimneypiece, a reference to Chambers’s distinguished contemporary.

Beside the fireplace, a basket of logs and a leather reclining chair suggest quieter moments of reading and reflection. All the antiques were hand selected from Westland’s remarkable workshops and warehouse, with each piece considered for its contribution to the whole. Their patina, wear and individuality introduce the passage of time to the room, giving it the feeling of an interior assembled over a lifetime.

The architectural framework was realised through a close collaboration with Philip Clay cabinet makers, whose team devoted considerable care and effort to quickly deliver the bespoke joinery. Their contribution was fundamental to the room. The panelling, doors, skirtings and cornice establish its proportions and give the interior coherence. The attention paid to these elements makes the setting feel convincing, while a carefully composed doorway suggests further rooms and a life beyond. This craftsmanship and commitment brought the room to life.

Candlelight, both the natural beeswax for realism and pops of unexpected green for creative dimension, and a slight wink to the modern visitor, was central to Darren’s vision. With electric lighting set aside, flickering light reveals mouldings, catches carved details and allows the corners to retreat into shadow. Edward Bulmer’s Pomona was chosen for its response to this atmosphere, a green sympathetic to the Georgian setting that also brings freshness and vitality to the room.

Darren also created a bespoke scent, combining notes of leather, beeswax, iris, linseed oil and tobacco to evoke the associations of a Georgian working study. The creak of the timber floor and the ticking of a clock give the space an audible life. This room is experienced through all of the senses.

The Westland Room expresses Darren’s interest in the space between architecture, interiors, and the way people inhabit spaces. How proportion, movement, craftsmanship and objects combine to create atmosphere. Bringing the past to life depends on these relationships. Architecture gives the room its order, antiques introduce time, activation of the senses make it immediate, and to the viewer, Chambers could return at any moment.

To read more about Darren’s showroom at the Westland Gallery, click here.