Kensington and Chelsea Council is to oversee the £1.3 million refurbishment and restoration of the Leighton House Museum, located on the edge of Holland Park.
Work is expected to include a complete rewiring; upgrading of the central heating system in order to create the right environmental conditions to preserve the museum’s paintings and the restoration of the original sumptuous decoration.
Council officials promise that by August this year the brick ziggurats that ran around the parapet wall of the Arab Hall and Silk Room will be reinstated and say that the planned works will see the house returned closer to its original spectacular appearance than at any time in living memory.
Cllr Nicholas Paget-Brown, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Environmental Management and Leisure, said: “Leighton House is a fantastic museum but the building is in need of some care and attention. It’s a very popular attraction visited by residents, budding artists and tourists. By restoring the services which maintain the fabric of the building we will help secure its future for at least another century to come. I very much look forward to seeing the changes and additions to the house when it reopens in 2009.”
