When recent history-of-art graduate and one-time The World of Interiors alumna Aliénor Cros met military signaller Maximilian Shapiro at a ceilidh, she was surprised when he revealed his passion for creating miniature scenes. An unusual pastime, she thought, for someone in his line of work. She was smitten. After they married in 2020, Aliénor joined Maximilian in his Aldershot army posting, in digs that left much to be desired in terms of decoration. Soon, the couple were ready to leave army life behind and turn their shared love for creativity into a business, so they relocated to London to set up ShaCros, their own line of ‘maximalist, colourful and historically inspired cards’. Finally free of those military magnolia walls, it wasn’t long before they were elbow deep in paint. The newlyweds were champing at the bit to make their mark and establish their own space. A small 1930s rental flat in Acton, north London, provided the answer.
Once you have found the unassuming front door sandwiched between two shop fronts and climbed the narrow grey hallway and stairs, the joyful burst of colour you are met with at the top is as unexpected and welcoming as their rescue greyhound, Drake. Anticipating the visit of the inquisitive WoI camera, Maximilian has removed Drake’s blanket from the sofa and told him, in no uncertain terms, not to get on it.
In between her job at Sterling Studios and her work for the Art Workers’ Guild, Aliénor also co-designs the cards for ShaCros. ‘I’m lines and she’s colour,’ Maximilian says, a theme that carries through into their home. Every wall was seen as a canvas waiting for Aliénor’s keen eye to decide their fate. The living room is a sunny shock of yellow that she chose for its adaptable nature: ‘I wanted a colour that was going to transition well from dark to the few moments when we do get sunlight and be quite cheerful in winter.’ The yellow is offset by dark-green accents in a stencilled dado inspired by the original detailing on the fireplace.
What rental would be complete without a classic Ikea ‘Billy’ bookcase? Even here, among the carefully selected antiques and artworks, there stands one (or four). Now nestled in the uneven curves of this new home, they were a lockdown project and an attempt to add some character to the couple’s blank army billet. Ordered not to paint the walls, Aliénor decided to paint the shelves instead and paper the backs with Cole & Son ‘Sweet Pea’ wallpaper. The armchairs come from Salvage Style in Bridport and sit around a small coffee table Maximilian rescued and restored, having discovered it abandoned in a disused army garage. He has carefully covered the lampshades using fabric by Aleta.
The kitchen was one of the most difficult spaces to adapt – short of ripping out the cupboards and voiding their renters agreement. They decided a lick of paint and some new handles would suffice for now. Unfortunately (or fortunately for Aliénor), their substantial suburban refrigerator was too large to get into their new flat. Not one to miss an opportunity for colour, she quickly replaced that huge white slab with a more modestly sized duck-egg-blue Amica fridge. The dining nook is framed by hand-painted faux marbling by Maximilian’s father, who picked up the skill from Paint Magic by Jocasta Innes; according to Aliénor, ‘It has been his bible for many years.’ It took some careful persuading to convince her father-in-law to stray from his classic style and create her ‘fantasy marble’ of peach and blue shades. The whole thing is offset by the William Burges-inspired wall painting above, designed by Aliénor and carefully digitised and executed by Maximilian.
Upstairs, Maximilian’s workshop is the only room free from the trademark colour that runs riot throughout the rest of the house. Instead, this space is all about clean lines and function. A large table inherited from Aliénor’s mother in Normandy takes up most of the room, the top carefully covered with a protective board. Thanks to his training as a signaller, Maximilian is no stranger when it comes to technology. He uses his computer to carefully create and 3D-print moulds for his plaster architectural miniatures. ‘I used to be really hung up about traditional methods,’ he says, but he has since changed his stance and now feels, ‘It’s all about leveraging technology the right amount.’
Propped against the wall is a print of the gates of London that used to hang in Maximilian’s childhood home and has inspired his latest collection of plaster pieces. Each one is a miniature relief of the different and now (almost) lost gates to the city. On the far wall hangs a clock with ‘This time is yours’ written around it. ‘It came to me in a dream,’ he says. As Aliénor laughs, rolling her eyes, he explains that early on he felt very anxious about whether their decision to start a new creative life away from the army would work. ‘We were burning through savings, but I woke up one morning and just felt: do it. Do it.’ So he wrote the words in his workshop as a morale stiffener.
The bedroom is a return to colour and a vision of lilac and coral. The military campaign chest by the bed was found by Maximilian’s father, missing a handle. Having contacted every restorer in London to no avail, they gave up the hunt and hope of ever restoring the piece. Later, while on a trip to Bute, a brief pitstop in a small town turned into antique triumph. There, nestled inside a shop window, was a single handle – the perfect fit for their chest.
Aliénor and Maximilian’s home is a reminder that property ownership should not be the prerequisite for fun-filled interior design: with a careful eye and several tins of paint, they have made their rented flat a distinctive and cheerily inspirational place. It’s sad to leave their colourful slice of life and head off down the drab London streets, but I do so with a smile, both because of the unexpected jewel I have just discovered and also because I noticed that Drake did indeed find his way on to the forbidden sofa.
Details: shacros.com
