SUSSEX HOUSE
LIFE & SOUL
The subtle renovation of a Georgian house celebrates gentle colours, the patina of history and the ongoing narrative of a life well lived
An appreciation of antiques and handcrafted items sits at the core of Alex Legendre’s life and style. She grew up in Brighton, on the Sussex coast, at a time when the city was at the epicentre of the country’s antiques trade. From the age of 11, she was buying and selling Art Deco silver marcasite jewellery and lace. At 15, she left home and school, finishing her art and art history exams remotely. She was awarded a graphic design internship, but without any financial means had to begin working instead.
Four years later, married to Keith, aka Ging, she began a new chapter in Asia and Australia, running restaurants and honing her creative eye for timeworn furniture and decorative finds, before returning to England aged 23, pregnant with their daughter Mizzy. The family lived in Hove for 18 years, and Alex co-founded the successful general store, i gigi, which ran for two decades.
Moving to Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, in 2013, she transformed their small Edwardian house in her signature style and built a strong reputation for interior design and property renovation. Alex’s formative years influenced her idea of home. It isn’t simply about a perfectly styled house – it is about her imagining the emotional past of furniture, collections and curiosities, and the stories of previous lives well lived, to create a home for her family.
The move to West Sussex coincided with the decision to close i gigi. ‘The market was being flooded with massproduced, high-street copies of what we had been sourcing authentically, and it felt the right time to change direction. I am half French, and we had always intended to live in Italy, but with Brexit and the pandemic, our plans changed, and we discovered this place by chance.’
The building is a Georgian beauty, built in 1790, and within a year Alex had painstakingly restored the house, coach house and gardens. She also transformed a derelict greenhouse into an atmospheric outdoor room, featuring a welcoming wood-burning stove and stunning chandelier.
‘The five-bedroom home had been owned by an architect and his creative family since 1963. Their paintings and ceramics filled the rooms and there was a magical atmosphere,’ explains Alex. The family appreciated Alex’s intention not to modernise the house, but instead to take it back to its original b
