Inside Richard E. Grant's maximalist, eccentric home – with 'sofas in every room' and family keepsakes
The Celebrity Traitors star’s home is just as eclectic and larger-than-life as you might expect
His efforts as a Traitor might need some refining, but one thing that Richard E. Grant doesn’t need to work on is his innate sense of style.
The actor’s home is a perfect representation of his eccentric and quirky personality, full of the type of little touches sure to spark joy. But he also proves that personality and panache doesn’t have to feel gimmicky - indeed, the star’s love for patterned and statement sofas is so on-trend right now.
With a sofa in every room, even the kitchen, Richard and his late wife Joan Washington did more than design a house, they created an extension of their personality that is felt in every room, making the entire house one non-stop opportunity for conversation, culture and character.
In any room, the seating is what brings people together - and often it’s what a room is designed around. It creates the focal points and sets the mood for the space, so it’s perhaps not surprising that the actor’s home is full of inviting and statement seating that conjures up the feel of an old world arts club or private members’ room.
Richard has a go-to designer for his choice of sofas - George Smith. Describing himself as having an "aversion to L shaped sofas that resemble bouncy castle beds”, the statement-making designs and voluminous silhouettes of the British brand’s bespoke sofas make perfect sense for his aesthetic.
Richard shared, "The Signature sofa in Gollut was our first buy, quickly followed by sofas in every room, including the kitchen, covered in Kilim fabric.” He also has “one covered in Gollut, and the three-seater signature sofa is cream and caramel striped with the best view of the TV.”
These bold structural sofas and patterned upholstery might not be to everyone’s taste - and they do nod to the burgeoning 80s revival ushered in by the likes of the Rivals TV series - but, even if not quite as extreme, statement seating is having a moment.
"Sofas with statement sculptural silhouettes will be a big trend for 2026 - curved sofas, fluted sofas and ‘croissant sofas’ will all prove popular due to their ability to add instant interest and character to a living room", Magdalena Gierasinska, head of product and displays at Barker and Stonehouse, tells us.
She added, “Sculptural sofas also suit most living rooms, whether contemporary or traditional. I would suggest styling alongside brass finishes, fluted cabinetry and textural finishes to lean into the member’s club aesthetic.”
This is what Richard has done perfectly. Rather than having an out-of-place architectural, grand sofa in a mostly clinical or neutral space, he has made every room a maximalist collage of paintings, collectibles, bright colours and vintage furnishings - one of the surprisingly low-effort design tricks to elevate any space.
As well as spearheading the trend of a statement sofa, Richard revealed another way they made their home feel uniquely theirs, and it’s something worth taking note of.
The star shared in an interview for George Smith that their cushions were hand-embroidered each year by his late wife, with each one marking something special for their family.
He shared, "My late wife was an inveterate tapestry maker, so every sofa is piled with her hand-embroidered cushions, and each year she designed a cushion with all the key events of that year, recording our family history."
It’s art meets family history, and such an inspired idea to elevate your everyday interior design choices.
In a past interview with House and Garden, Richard declared of his home, "I sometimes worry that people will think this house is a bit Miss Havisham, as if I'm stuck in time, but it's not that. It is just a record of how [his wife Joan and he] lived together”.
After originally looking at the house next door, Richard and Joan would eventually move in, making the Richmond pad their home for over three decades. And how it looks now is not how it always looked.
The actor shared, "The previous owners were minimalists, so everything was white, with hardly any furniture. We thought we'd try to live like that, because that's what sophisticated Londoners were supposed to do."
It is, perhaps, no great shock that someone like the Withnail & I actor didn’t last too long with this minimalist approach - and now his space is not only on-trend but a living testament to the life he has lived with his family.
