What a clever trick: this Wandsworth cottage doubles as an art showcase and a practical family home

The first thing you see when you walk into Oliver Howell’s sitting room is a Harland Miller canvas emblazoned with the words Bull Seeks China Shop. It’s a witty in-joke and the focal point of the room.

As managing director of fine art shipping and interior design installation company Gander & White, which transports and installs artworks for A-list clients, Howell is the exact opposite of a bull in a china shop. But he is a fan of Yorkshire-born Miller’s work.

As well as the Bull painting, he has one of the artist and writer’s faux-Penguin book cover canvases entitled Too Cool to Lose.

It’s no surprise that Howell collects contemporary art. Gander & White Shipping has worked on installations for the Tate, the V&A and the British Council. Last year it was awarded a Royal Warrant for fine art services.

Howell began collecting as a boy. His parents became antiques dealers in their fifties so during school holidays he was sent off to bid at auction.

“We lived in West Sussex so there were all those auctions houses like Sotheby’s Summer Place, Gorringe’s and Bellmans. The funny thing is, the owner of Gander & White, Patrick White, also owns Bellmans, but when I went to bid as a kid I had no idea it would be my future career.”

He has lived in his four-bedroom Victorian railway cottage, in a quiet road in the heart of the sought-after Tonsleys area of Wandsworth, for nearly 10 years. Up to the last century, Wandsworth was a busy industrial centre and the Tonsleys — small Victorian artisans’ cottages — housed local workers.

Howell’s is a classic “Tonsleys house” with leaves and blossoms carved over the windows and a tiled front path. “If you walk up this street most of the houses are absolutely identical, everyone’s done everything you can possibly do to them. So I thought I’d make this house a bit different.”

He commissioned dRAW Architecture of Wandsworth and brought in his own team of Sussex builders. “A few years ago I did a big barn conversion in Sussex and the builders were so methodical I knew I wanted them to do my house in London.”

The new interior is a showcase for his art collection. On one wall of the sitting room is Swimmer, a sensuous print of a floating nude, while on the facing wall is Big Island, a Hawaiian seascape, both by photographer Alistair Taylor Young.

In the kitchen is a print, In Shadows I Boogie, by photographer Miles Aldridge. The model in it holds a Harland Miller novel. “I started out by buying one of his little Polaroids, which is a great way to start collecting,” says Howell.

In the hall is a print by Moroccan artist Lalla Essaydi, and the industrial-style print above the sitting room fireplace is by Dutch visual artist Berndnaut Smilde: “For me, it’s just so peaceful.”

Seamus Shanks of dRAW says: “We designed the front of the house as quite a muted area for Oliver’s collection. It’s clean, tranquil. Then as you walk through the back of the house, your eye is drawn to the architectural features. It’s a brighter, more vibrant space.”

It’s also a relaxed family home. Howell’s three teenage daughters come to stay every other weekend, so it’s certainly not a white-walled art gallery. “And with three teenagers rushing up the staircase with their bags, it has to be practical.”

Shelves either side of the fireplace display curios given by Howell’s parents, including a Buddha and seagull sculptures. “My parents always say to me, ‘What would you like for your birthday?’ And I say, ‘Just get me an antique oddity.’”

Over six months he and his builders ripped out the interior, dug out the back of the kitchen to create a lower level that leads out on to the southwest-facing garden, and converted one bedroom to a bathroom/walk-in wardrobe. Howell sourced the marble for the bathroom himself, from Italy.

His architects showed him how to streamline the house. The same wood flooring runs through from the front door to the kitchen where, halfway along, steps lead down to the lower living area with its long sofa.

Full-height, industrial-style, glazed doors lead into the garden and make the most of natural light. “My builder had the doors made down in Sussex and then they had to be lifted manually over the roof of the house.”

Materials used in the garden — Sydney stone blocks, wood and brick — reflect the interior scheme and pay homage to the fact that this was once a rail workers’ cottage.

In the kitchen are cupboards made by Wandsworth kitchen designer Mark Plant and a high, marble-topped island for family meals.

A striking exposed brick wall runs under the kitchen’s new glass roof, illuminated from beneath.

Here, Howell has hung a sculptural “noticeboard” made by artist Mat Kemp which he bought at Wimbledon Art Studios for £300.

“We’ve bought a massive one for the Gander & White office. We have a fund where staff decide how to spend £5,000 a year on artwork for the office. It supports local artists and makes the whole process more accessible.”

He knows people find the art world intimidating. “That’s why it’s great to have someone loosely connected to the industry, a gallery or an individual, who can advise you along the way, whether you’re spending £50 or £5,000.”

His own mentors include art consultant Wendy Goldsmith of Goldsmith Art, who helped persuade Harland Miller that Howell was the perfect person to buy Bull Seeks China Shop. But Howell is not precious. He loves the fact that his daughters did their own version of a Miller for him with Daddy Cool picked out in wonky lettering. It’s up there on the bedroom wall, along with his other treasures.

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