Villa Maenza, Bedford

Ian Waller was invited to collaborate on the reimagining of Villa Maenza - a large 19th-century Georgian villa in Bedford, noted for its listed plasterwork and grand interiors. Working with interior designer Jamie Williams, Ian helped shape a bold and highly individual series of decorative schemes, giving each room a unique plaster identity.

Project: Full interior refurbishment of a Georgian villa with listed features

Role: Consultant on ceiling, cornice and wall panel designs; material specification; and installation

Key Challenges: Room-specific design complexity, listed heritage features, and manufacturing oversight

Outcome: A layered and highly expressive interior with playful, classically inspired details

Result: A cohesive and imaginative decorative scheme, tailored room by room

The Story

Villa Maenza in Bedford is a late Georgian villa of significant character, built in 1873 and notable for its listed bas-relief plaster plaques and grand architectural proportions. When the time came for a full interior reimagining, interior designer Jamie Williams brought in Ian Waller to advise on decorative plasterwork across the property.

Ian’s brief was both creative and technically demanding: to design unique ceiling and wall panelling schemes for each principal room, complete with bespoke cornices, overdoors and ornamental elements. The design ethos was confident and celebratory — rooted in classical tradition, but free to express variation and playfulness throughout the house.

Each room was considered in detail — formal spaces were treated with more opulence, while private rooms were pared back but still characterful. Ian provided ongoing design support, drawing on historical reference, client taste and spatial context. He developed bespoke detailing to integrate lighting, wall art, and furniture into the schemes — including the recreation of an external loggia and a set of custom frames for TV screens.

Working closely with the manufacturing teams, Ian also oversaw the production and installation process to ensure accuracy and finish. Even garden furniture and scagliola plinths were developed to reflect the plasterwork language of the interiors.

The result is a layered and expressive interior - with each room feeling complete, coherent, and confidently different. Plasterwork becomes part of the architecture, furniture, and atmosphere - a rare opportunity to explore both creativity and rigour in equal measure.