The Wirral builders who renovated 2 Blackburne Terrace were amazed. Some had worked in Toxteth but, even so, they had little idea that, next door, in an area known as Canning, central Liverpool, there's a handsome enclave of Georgian buildings more reminiscent of Bath than Bootle.
If stumbling across this so-called Georgian Quarter one of several layers that make Liverpool such an architecturally interesting city is a surprise, it is nothing on Blackburne Terrace itself. A discreet, luxury four-bedroom B&B, newly opened by Sarah and Glenn Whitter (an ex-musician and interior designer), it is furnished in an unusually bold, idiosyncratic fashion. From the "shattered" entrance-hall mirror to the enormous purple-lacquered dining table in the breakfast room (Prince, I imagine, has something similar in his Paisley Park studio), every bit of furniture makes a statement. Challenging paintings and sculptures dress rooms that pivot around vividly colourful, bespoke settees juxtaposed with more sober antique pieces. Deliberately, nothing matches. The effect is as striking and painstakingly styled as the huge coffee table art books in the lounge.
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