Page 70 - Homes amp Gardens UK February 2021

LIFESTYLE

aximalism’s love affair with

colour, pattern and whimsy
owes much to the art of Adam
Ellis. In his collaborations

with designers such as Martin
MBrudnizki and Olga Polizzi,
Adam creates dramatic scenes that seductively traverse

walls, ceilings and doors, from the romantic trail of
songbirds and wisteria enveloping the Brown’s Hotel
lobby in Mayfair to the gilded scenes of flora and fauna

found in many of The Ivy’s collection of brasseries.
‘There’s no space that can’t be enhanced or warmed
up by the right picture,’ enthuses Adam. Here in his
two-storey industrial space in west London, Adam has

combined a light-drenched design studio with a gallery
space for clients, both commercial and residential, to
see his work in action, as well as peruse the archive of

over 10,000 images Adam has collected since a student
at the Slade School of Fine Art over two decades ago. An early concept hand-
From natural history and botanical prints to antique painted botanical sketch
for a forthcoming project
maps, art-deco advertising posters and contemporary
abstract illustrations, Adam uses these as inspiration
to imaginatively rework by hand – through drawing,
painting or digitally with pen and tablet – to custom fit

designs to any room. For a recent project with Suzy
Hoodless, Adam wrapped an apartment bedroom ‘with
a wallpaper that goes from floor to ceiling, then across

the ceiling and up into a little stairwell,’ he explains.
It was Adam’s grandmother who first fired his
enthusiasm for art, with Sunday mornings spent

around her dining table ‘drawing dragons and all
sorts of wonderful things,’ he recalls. Today, he much
prefers creating site-specific art installations for a
restaurant or helping someone to curate a collection

of prints for their living room wall than the ‘loneliness
of being on my own in a studio,’ he says.
Applying print across wallpapers, fabrics and rugs is

a much more ‘interesting and satisfying way of thinking
about artistic processes outside galleries and painting
canvases,’ he says. And if people are too nervous
about living with that much colour, ‘an interesting

arrangement of pictures always works, even in the
smallest, most intimate spaces.’ It is important to be

bold, Adam affirms. ‘I like helping to create spaces with Just a few of the
10,000 images in
a bit of surprise, that maybe show something new.’ →
Adam’s extensive
archive library
■ adamellis.com

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