Home Tour // A Georgian Apartment in the Heart of Bath, England

BATH, ENGLAND

We booked an apartment in Bath for the end of our Cotswold Way walk for a little R&R (plus sightseeing in Bath!) and wow, it was a stunner. The 102-mile trail ends right in the heart of the city at the gates of the Bath Abbey and this little apartment was just a short walk away. From the listing photos, I knew it would be good, but goodness, I didn’t expect to love it this much! Honestly, it’s my dream apartment and if Garrett and I were still twenty-somethings living in a city, this is where we’d want to live. The kids loved it too and said they’d happily move in with us, so there’s that :) I asked our host, Anastasia, if we could share a tour here on the Grit and Polish and she kindly said yes. Step into 1700s Bath…

Bath is an incredible city! Have you been? If you’ve watched Persuasion or Bridgerton, you’ve seen it. The whole city is awash in honey-colored local stone and 1700s Georgian architecture, and it’s a walker’s paradise. There are big pedestrian streets throughout, packed with people and musicians, and it’s SO much fun. On our free guided walking tour we learned that Bath is one of only two entire cities in Europe that UNESCO has named a World Heritage Site (the other is Venice!), not just a historic district or a few landmarks, and I can totally see why. It’s like walking back in time. We all loved it!

Our apartment took up the top two floors of a Grade II listed, mid 18th-century building in the city center, with big windows overlooking the street. It has three bedrooms (plus a hidden fold-down Murphy bed in the living room), two bathrooms, and is filled with original period details - fireplaces, antiques, vintage art, and the kind of thoughtful layers that only come from collecting over time. Let me show you around…

the Living room, A space That Makes You Want to Slow Down

The front door opens into the living room, which was probably my favorite space in the apartment. It’s light and bright yet still cozy, full of character and charm, and incredibly comfortable. For our first couple of evenings, we piled onto the sofas, watched Young Sherlock Holmes (we are a wee bit into England at the moment!), ordered takeaway, and just recovered.

It was glorious.

The paint colors are Farrow & Ball throughout. The white in the main rooms is School House White.

Anastasia obviously has great taste, but you can also tell that she put a lot of love into decorating the apartment. There are stacks of magazines and books everywhere, sofas you actually want to sit on, old paintings covering the walls, little tables within reach, lamps instead of one giant overhead light, and rugs layered underfoot (I think all the rugs in this apartment are vintage!). Anastasia sourced most everything from local auctions and flea markets (what I wouldn’t give to attend one of those with her!) and said her aim was to “bring Bath’s history and Georgian heritage into the interiors, allowing guests to feel as though they’ve stepped back in time, both when exploring the city and when returning to their accommodation.” She did just that!

This room just feels good. I wanted to spend every Sunday here with a stack of magazines, coffee going cold beside me, and absolutely nowhere to be. The space is designed for living, for lingering, and for indulging. It’s beautiful, yes. But it’s also so comfortable.

That set of double doors hides a fold-down double bed. Clever, right?! The apartment doesn’t have a giant footprint, but it sleeps a lot of people, and I love that they made the most of the square footage they had.

This room is also a good reminder that a neutral room doesn’t have to be boring. The walls are light. The sofas are light. The architectural trim is white. And yet there is SO much going on. Antique paintings in gilt frames, a blue-and-white ginger jar, brass sconces with little black shades, old wooden chairs upholstered in a bold blue fabric, a glass-and-brass coffee table, a tiny Persian rug layered over sisal, velvet pillows, heavy drapes, an old fireplace, and a beautiful oversized gilt mirror.

I love that nothing is matchy-matchy, and yet it all goes together perfectly. I noticed that again and again in England, and goodness, it’s reminding me to keep collecting old things instead of shopping for new.

The Kitchen Tells You Everything About the Person Who Lives Here

This kitchen! Garrett walked into the combo kitchen/dining room and said, “Wow, the person who owns this place must be FUN.” And I knew exactly what he meant. The open wood shelves are loaded with glassware, wine glasses, tumblers, eclectic decanters, bowls and vintage plates. It’s like a party on a shelf.

Anastasia says she loves “combining different styles and periods to create interiors that feel both timeless and personal.” And that’s exactly what it feels like. The cabinets and appliances are new, but the dining table is old and worn, surrounded by mismatched wooden chairs, with the prettiest vintage pendants hanging above it (I think all the lighting in this apartment is vintage). Oh, and there’s a fireplace in the room because, of course there is :)

The design itself is simple and the walls are white, so the character comes from the historic architecture (the trim, the fireplace, the large window) and the layers of vintage and eclectic pieces on top. Anastasia said of her Grade II listed apartment, “we try to preserve its original features, including the beautiful high ceilings and architectural details.” The combined effect is warm, welcoming and collected. The kind of place you know people are just hoping to get a dinner party invite to.

Of course this is a European kitchen, so under the counter is a small fridge (no Costco hauls here!) and a washing machine. The “dryer” is a stand-up drying rack in the pantry. Just enough.

The colorful bedrooms

Then you walk upstairs and suddenly the rooms get colorful. Anastasia used Farrow & Ball again up here with “Indian Yellow, Inchira Blue, and Moles Breath adding character to the interiors”. The kids’ bedroom has vintage wood headboards, another fireplace, thoughtful art, and thick yellow drapes. It’s SO charming! And comfortable, too. The mattresses were a hit with all of us and the French linens were the best ‘holiday let’ sheets I’ve ever slept on (I wanted a set for our own house but alas, they’re from a UK company). BTW not a single spot we stayed had a top sheet and I’m still trying to get used to it.

Down the hall is another room painted a warm ochre (F&B Indian Yellow) that practically glows when the sun comes through the curtains. Again, the color looks great with the vintage wood bed and drapes.

The third bedroom is one of those colors that you can’t quite nail down (is it blue? gray? brown?), and it’s filled with old portraits, brass and dark wood. It has an attached bathroom with colorful tile, a wall-hung toilet, and just enough space for the essentials. We’ve put lots of bathrooms into small spaces, but this one is even more efficient. I’d guess the footprint is no more than 3.5' x 7', and it still fits everything you need. Europeans know how to do tight bathrooms!

Vintage lighting everywhere!

There’s a second larger bathroom at the top of the stairs and a little desk on the landing.

Old Things Everywhere

There’s vintage and antique art in every room. Landscapes tucked beside doorways, portraits featured prominently, tiny gilt frames hung unexpectedly low, old mirrors over fireplaces, and pieces that clearly weren’t bought for the wall they’re currently hanging on but yet also perfect there. Every single piece is old, interesting and lovely. Ditto the lighting. Ditto the rugs. Ditto the furniture. Even the drapes are vintage. I asked Anastasia about them, because they were such a special detail and she said, “most of our curtains come from Curtain Exchange, a lovely family-run business in Bath that resells and adapts curtains from country houses and Georgian properties. We love their traditional approach and the idea of reusing beautiful pieces.” How cool is that?!

This inlaid chest was my favorite piece.

It’s Still an Old Apartment

And I mean that as a compliment. It’s on the third floor with no elevator. The hallways are narrow. Some doors stick. The attic ceilings are short. The rooms aren’t all perfectly square. And I think that’s exactly why it’s so charming and special. We’ve seen a few sheetrock boxes on our travels, but this was anything but. It’s an old apartment that is full of charm but still very much up to date.

What I’m Taking Home From This Place

I don’t think I’m coming home and suddenly turning the Hill House into a Regency apartment. But there are lots of things here I want to remember. Vintage art can go anywhere. Comfort and old don’t have to be opposites. A small home can be everything you need. White walls can have enormous character with the right accoutrements. And perhaps most importantly: a house should make you want to live in it.

Read the magazine.
Use the good glassware.
Invite people over.
Spend Sunday on the sofa.

That feels like a pretty good design goal to me :)

This little home will forever have my heart and will go down as my favorite holiday let (aka Airbnb) to date. Thanks for letting us share it, Anastasia!

xx