Van Gogh House: restoring a historic London home with natural paint

In a quiet street in Stockwell, South London, stands a house with an extraordinary history. Between 1873 and 1874, a young Vincent van Gogh lived at 87 Hackford Road, long before he became one of the world’s most celebrated artists.

Today, the Grade II listed building has been carefully restored and given a new purpose as a space for contemporary art, exhibitions and artist residencies.

Led by Livia Wang and her family, the restoration sought to preserve the house’s historic character while making it suitable for everyday use. Edward Bulmer Natural Paint was chosen for its breathable properties and compatibility with lime plaster, as well as the range of colours available.

The restoration of Van Gogh House

When Livia Wang and her family acquired the property in 2012, it had fallen into considerable disrepair.

Restoring the early 19th-century house required a careful balance between conservation and adaptation. The intention was not to create a museum frozen in time, but to establish a working domestic space where artists could live, make work and welcome visitors.

As Livia explains:

“My vision is for the house to be a working domestic space, though we open the building to the public, it’s important that artists and designers can live in the Van Gogh room, cook here, and work in the garden studio.”

This approach has shaped the restoration, from the retention of original architectural features to the selection of materials suitable for a historic building.

Why natural paint was chosen for the lime plaster walls

In a building of this age, choosing appropriate decorative materials is an important part of the conservation process.

Traditional lime plaster needs to be able to release moisture, making the breathability of a paint finish particularly relevant. Using a compatible paint helps preserve the performance of the underlying materials.

Working with designer James Rogers-Coltman, Livia selected Edward Bulmer Natural Paint for the interiors.

As she explains, it was the paint’s technical properties, particularly its breathability and compatibility with lime plaster, alongside the colour palette, that made it the right choice for the project.

The result demonstrates how traditional building materials and carefully considered modern products can work together to support the continued use of a historic house.

Choosing colours for Van Gogh House

Colour was an important part of the restoration, with each room given its own identity.

Livia and James approached the palette by considering both the building’s Victorian history and the layers of decoration uncovered during the renovation.

On the ground floor, darker colours reference the house’s 19th-century character, while the upper rooms introduce brighter, more unexpected combinations.

The scheme reflects the building’s history without attempting to recreate a single period of decoration.

Sang de Boeuf in the front parlour

The front parlour was painted in Sang de Boeuf, a rich brown-red made using red oxide and yellow ochre pigments.

Its earthy colouring creates a substantial backdrop for the room, complemented by dark skirting boards and window frames.

The choice reflects Livia’s intention to reference the Victorian history of the building through the deeper colours used on the ground floor.

Wash Stop and Portland in the bedroom

In one of the smaller bedrooms, the walls were painted in Wash Stop, a soft lavender-grey, with Portland Eggshell on the woodwork.

The combination introduces a lighter palette while allowing the exposed oak floorboards to remain an important feature of the room.

Livia was particularly interested in the unexpected colours and patterns uncovered during the restoration, when layers of wallpaper and flooring revealed evidence of the house’s decorative past.

Rather than simply reproducing these earlier schemes, she used them as inspiration for a different colour in each room.

Persian in the bathroom

For the bathroom, Livia selected Persian, a strong, brown-based yellow.

The colour provides a striking contrast to the blue tiles and exposed plumbing, creating a scheme that feels both playful and appropriate to the building.

Persian takes its name from the historic use of Persian buckthorn to produce yellow dyes, reflecting the wider history of colour that informs the Edward Bulmer Natural Paint palette.

White Lead 60% in the kitchen

The kitchen has a very different atmosphere, with generous natural light entering through glazed doors and overhead skylights.

Here, White Lead 60% was chosen for the walls.

This lighter interpretation of White Lead complements the simple materials and pale wooden surfaces, allowing the architecture and natural light to remain the focus.

Buff in the hallway

In the circulation spaces, some of the original woodwork has been left exposed, revealing the building’s historic fabric and the evidence of earlier repairs.

Livia chose Buff for the painted walls, creating a subtle relationship with the uncovered timber.

Based on an 18th-century colour recipe, Buff combines yellow ochre, white and a little red to produce a clear, stony shade.

Its use allows the historic materials to remain visible without introducing an unnecessarily strong contrast.

A historic house with a new creative purpose

Van Gogh House is more than a restored historic building. It has been reimagined as a place where contemporary artists can live, work and engage with the local community.

Through exhibitions, residencies and public programmes, the house connects its association with Vincent van Gogh to the experiences of artists working today.

For Edward Bulmer Natural Paint, the project is a particularly meaningful example of how natural materials and colour can contribute to the conservation of historic buildings while allowing them to remain active, useful spaces.

Discover more about Van Gogh House and explore why we make natural paint to learn more about our approach to ingredients, colour and traditional buildings.