Robert Amstad by Bruce Hemming

Robert Amstad
Pictures Bruce Hemming
Words Katie Tregidden
‘I had been looking for a house for several years, when I went to a friend’s house who’s a photographer,’ says Robert Amstad. ‘He had lovely great big spacious rooms. All the houses I had been looking at were little boxes, and I thought, “I don’t want to live in a box. I want somewhere with space like this.” And then the penny dropped – I already owned somewhere with that kind of space.’ Robert converted the upper floors of his antiques business on trendy Norman Road in St Leonards on Sea into a spacious home filled with beautiful and interesting furniture and art. He was careful to not ‘overdevelop’ the building, retaining the patina and character that had come with time.