Carvalho, as his shoes attest, has an instinctive flair for colour, structure and proportion — which translates well into his living space. The one-bedroom apartment in Paddington, central London, which he shares with his boyfriend, Sean Powell, has palatially high ceilings, art-deco furniture and an abundance of oversized mirrors and artworks that lend it a grandeur belying its modest square footage. It is the perfect pad for luring style-savvy guests into buying his extravagant £250+ designer shoes.
Apart from the kitchen and the compact mezzanine office, it has only three rooms, each quite different in style. The bedroom is Mediterranean rustic meets Ralph Lauren, whereas the sitting room is a bold blend of modern art (Roy Lichtenstein, Steven Klein, Tamara de Lempicka, Salvador Dali, David LaChapelle) and design classics, with a few antiques thrown in for good measure. The lighter, pastel-hued gallery functions as a mirrored jewellery box, showcasing the shoes.
“The flat is quite international in feel,” says the Portuguese-born Carvalho. “We have some Japanese symbolic pieces, art-deco and modern furniture, as well as a bit of rustic, something refined in the lounge and a Buddha from Thailand in the hall.” The space is also peppered with fabrics, chairs and objets, such as the large propeller from Andrew Martin, but not all of it stays. “Martin Waller of Andrew Martin is very nice to us. We bring things home to try them, and decide after a month whether we want them. His shop is a great fusion of international styles, which we like. There’s rich, elaborate furniture, but also simpler things, like the lamps.”
Not everything in Carvalho’s apartment is bought or borrowed. Before training at Cordwainers, he studied architecture for two years, and this is reflected in the pieces he designed himself, such as the mahogany sideboard with steel handles and, flanking this, two unusual picture frames. These display beguiling photographs from Ecstatic Process, Steven Klein’s collaboration with Madonna, purchased from Hoxton Square’s Scout Gallery. “I didn’t think the original frames were quite right,” he says, “so I redesigned them myself.” Just another thing he cobbled together, then.
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