It seems rather appropriate, on entering The Captain’s House, that one should feel educated, enlightened and inspired. Classic and symmetrical on the outside, the moment you walk through the door of this grand family home you are met with an array of artworks and artifacts, curated by someone who clearly knows their stuff.

The person, or persons, in question were Nick and Deanna Levinson who, over nearly 20 years, restored the house and filled it with their ever-growing collection of art, furniture and objets trouvés. Nick Levinson was an acclaimed producer of the Open University who worked for the BBC for nearly 30 years.

During his time there he met his wife Deanna, who was his production assistant, and together they shared a life devoted to the arts as well as restoring houses and gardens. “My parents were supposed to be downsizing,” says their daughter Selina. “They wanted to be by the sea and found this house and just fell in love with it. Although we all loved the house, everyone tried to persuade them not to buy it.” As well as being a substantial and historic building – the rear of the house has 16th century origins – it also needed a huge amount of work. “All of the houses my parents bought over the years were labours of love.”

Until this, their last restoration project, Selina’s parents tended to move about every 10 years. “Each house we lived in was very different – when we were children we lived in a fairytale cottage in the middle of a wood, with a menagerie of pets plus ducks, peacocks, geese, chickens, rabbits… Later we lived in a Dower House with turrets and a spiral staircase.” But it’s the gardens Selina can’t imagine leaving behind: “Both my parents were skilled horticulturists and at every house they moved to they created amazing gardens. My mum, in particular, was mad about old English rose gardens and she created one here.

I don’t know how they managed to say goodbye to them – I would become too attached!” Huge sash windows are a feature of nearly every room, with many looking out over the large walled garden.
Inside the house, every room is a feast for the eyes: “Dad liked to mix it up… He collected a lot of art, but was very eclectic in his collecting, as you can see! He really appreciated art from all over the world.”

It’s hard to know where to start… To the right of the entrance hall is a huge front room with a Vermont stove that sits in a much older fireplace. Over the fireplace, and on the panels to either side of it, are hand-painted murals. Similar paintings appear in many other rooms and are just one of the features that make this house unique.

“All of the panel paintings needed a lot of restoration,” says Selina. “The ones over the fireplace, for example, were completely black – we had a painting restorer, called Maureen, practically living in!” Each room seems to have a different theme, from a dramatic country house and parkland, plus miscellaneous motifs, in the front sitting room, to stormy seascapes in the hallway, and fantastical fairytale scenes in the ‘lady’s bedchamber’. As well as painted images, that look almost like a framed picture, perhaps the most unusual – and remarkable – is the trompe l’oeil effect in the hallway, where antique pine panels are painted to appear scalloped, 3D and of a more expensive timber.

Although the house is not right on the seafront, it’s impossible to ignore its coastal location and the crisp light from the generous sash windows. The main house was built by Captain John Skinner, captain of the militia and bailiff of the town, and is Grade II listed. The back of the house, which dates from the 1500s, gives a flavour of a classic timber-framed hall house, while the grander, 18th century part of the house reflects Captain Skinner’s wealth and importance – as do the painted panels. “Smuggling was rife in this area,” says Selina. “As with several houses in the village, it’s said that there’s a secret tunnel that goes from the house, underground to the church – though we have never found it!”

To the left of the hallway, as you enter the house, is a grand dining room well-lit by huge sash windows and with a view to the back of the house, across the rose garden. The most striking feature of this room has to be the huge open fireplace. Kentish brick in the inglenook is topped by an ornate, carved wood and panelled surround, with four gilt-framed panel paintings. “We always had our Christmas meal in here, or ate in here if people came to stay,” says Selina.

As with all of the rooms, the paint scheme is both bold but also in-keeping: “Mum and dad were very interested in historic paint colours and colour combinations, especially paints by Farrow & Ball,” she says. “They spent quite a lot of time looking at historic houses such as Knole and Sissinghurst, and I guess they picked up ideas from there,” says Selina.
As for the walls, they are covered in an array of artworks.

“Dad liked to mix it up… He could have gone with everything ‘period’ but they had such broad interests and tastes”. That said, this room feels a touch more formal and restrained than elsewhere, with a collection of Piranesi prints and portraits on the walls. A huge oriental rug sets off the parquet floor to perfection — as they do in the other downstairs rooms.

The rooms to the back of the house feel more informal and intimate than the reception rooms to the front, as one might expect. “Mum and dad were often in here, reading by the fire,” says Selina. We take a look through into the attached sun room. “My dad was really into Derek Jarman, so collected various things on the beach, like metal and glass, to create a sort of Jarman-esqe conservatory and garden.

The conservatory looked really bland and boring – but my dad’s made it look really fun.”
It’s easy to imagine the couple sitting by the wood-burner, in this low-ceilinged part of the house. Windows all round keep it from being too dark and decorative touches such as Murano glass light sconces and chandeliers add to the mix of eras. A corner cabinet is home to brightly coloured ceramics, collected by Deanna. “Mum was really interested in different types of majolica, ceramics and glass – and loved going to the V&A.” A brightly coloured ceramic cat nestles on the top of a bookcase, a nod both to their love of ceramics as well as their love of animals.

A small kitchen to the back of the house is equally relaxed and informal and painted in a joyous yellow – setting off a collection of blue and white crockery to perfection. Dressers abound, along with vintage tins, colanders and jelly moulds. A Rayburn is the cherry on the cake, adding a level of cosiness that’s hard to escape. “My dad put this handle on the fridge,” says Selina, laughing. It’s a timber addition that gives the fairly standard refrigerator a touch of class. “That was very dad!” Upstairs, there are more signs of Nick Levinson’s sense of fun; his bedroom is filled with brightly coloured artworks from all around the world as well as graffiti-style artworks by his friend and neighbour Drew. “My dad loved this room as he loved the built-in wardrobes with fabric inserts – which are really unusual,” says Selina.

Historic bottles line the window sills. “Mum and dad had a very good eye for arranging and displaying items – which is something I think I have inherited,” says Selina, who at one time worked in fashion styling.
“These are signs from Africa – my mum didn’t really like these. She was a bit spooked out by them!” she continues. “Dad was a real character, very driven and very passionate about things. He was interested in everything. When we were children he used to go away filming a lot – but when he was around we’d always do really fun things. And he’d bring back amazing presents!”

Across the upstairs landing, with oriental rugs acting like stepping stones – leading the eye from one room to the other – is Deanna’s room. “This is probably my favourite room – it just has a nice feeling about it,” says Selina. “This wall was all covered up, and underneath they discovered these paintings and the trompe l’oeil.” A carved wooden fire surround frames a more modern fireplace. “They found the fire surround in one of the outbuildings – so mum restored it and put it there.” It works perfectly, marrying two entirely different eras.

A magnificent wide staircase links all of the rooms in this three-storey home, with generous landings on each floor. As you can imagine, artworks line the walls, with a Japanese theme between the ground and first floors. “Dad liked Japanese prints, as do I,” says Selina, “and collected quite a lot.” At the top of the first flight of stairs, is a glittering picture, reminiscent of Degas’ ballet dancers: “This was created by a neighbour of ours, using bottle tops! Dad appreciated naïve art and works by untrained artists.”
As we walk down the last flight of stairs, en route to grab a cup of tea in the back kitchen, my eye catches something disconcerting in the transom window over the front door – the outline of a rat.

“Dad put that there,” laughs Selina. “It’s made of plastic.” My heart rate lowers and I can’t help but smile. This house, as well as reflecting the curious minds, originality and aesthetic tastes of its former owners also reveals their warmth and humour. It’s a very special house indeed.