Belgravian Rhapsody

Elizabeth Gage loves her home so much, she bought it twice. The renowned jewellery designer first purchased her three-storey Georgian mews house in Belgravia in the late 1960s. She sold up when she moved to America a few years later, only to rebuy it on her return in the 1970s.

“Both times, it had everything I was looking for from a house in London,” she recalls. “I had poured so much love and effort into renovating it that it was a wrench to sell when I moved. So when I returned and saw it was for sale, it was an opportunity I couldn’t resist.” She especially values her central London outside space: “The garden is where I draw a lot of my inspiration to create jewellery, and this house has a terrace garden where I can sit and design, as well as keep my fingers green – I love planting beautiful flowers and watching them flourish.”

One of Britain’s most respected jewellers, Elizabeth Gage has earned a reputation for distinctively bold and colourful designs over a career spanning more than 60 years. She received an MBE from the late Queen Elizabeth II and six of her pieces are on display at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

When she first bought her home, her jewellery career was just beginning. Having studied fine art, followed by years training as a goldsmith at the Sir John Cass School of Art (now the School of Art, Architecture and Design at London Metropolitan University), Gage received her first major commission in 1968, from Cartier New York. “My business took off following an article in Connoisseur magazine, which brought the American clients into my first atelier in Beauchamp Place,” she says.

On acquiring the Belgravia mews house, Gage renovated it to create the expansive open-plan drawing and dining room where she has hosted many a lunch and supper for friends over the years. She also filled the rooms with texture and pattern, including elaborate fabric wallpapers, plush rugs and a large collection of art – a richly layered look that has come back into vogue in recent years.

Explaining her approach to interiors, she extols the emotional power of a well-chosen shade: “I love colour, be it in my jewellery, in paintings or on my walls and carpets. Colours make you feel – they can uplift or calm a person. I have a fresh green kitchen that makes me want to create fabulous dishes even on the darkest of winter days, and a pink and cream bedroom that is always restful.”

Having spent many years in America as a child, Gage decided to return there in the mid-1970s and sold her Belgravia house. “I went to Virginia and travelled around the US,” she recalls. “I spent a lot of time visiting friends in New York, going from museum to museum. It was a home from home for me, as I had spent years of my childhood in New York with my grandmother who lived there. But I frequently came back to London to meet clients who wanted special jewellery commissions.”

She eventually returned home permanently to work with British craftspeople, who, she says, understand her design aesthetic – a style that can also be found in her home. “I have filled the house with statement colours and furnishings that reflect my love of history,” she says. “Drawing heavily from ancient cultures, medieval times and the Renaissance, I infuse historical references into my living space and my jewellery.”

Belgravia is one of London’s most sought-after enclaves, and it is the neighbourhood’s charm and sense of community that Gage values. “It couldn’t be more central, but it still has that village feeling,” she says. “People stop to say hello, and it’s lovely having independent and artisan shops where everybody knows you and greets you with a warm smile.” And although London has become busier over the years, her corner feels largely unchanged in character: “Belgravia has been lucky in avoiding the development of high-rises and modern building,” she says. “And I live in a wonderful mews, so I don’t have that thud of traffic. It is truly an elegant part of London, and long may it be so. It is and will always be the place I come home to.”

Elizabeth Gage