How Borris and Carrie spent £200,000 renovating Downing Street flat

This is what a £200,000 interior makeover looks like! Boris and Carrie Johnson are ridiculed for their taste as invoice reveals how they decked out Number 10 in ‘granny chic’ – with £15,000 sofas, £2,250 gold wallpaper and a £3,675 drinks trolley

• Boris Johnson’s Downing Street renovations cost over £200,000, invoice says
• The No11 flat makeover included a £7,000 rug and a £3,675 drinks trolley, it says
• The cheapest item on the bill was a £500 kitchen table cloth, document reveals 

Boris and Carrie Johnson have been ridiculed for their taste after an invoice revealed the makeover of their Downing Street home cost more than £200,000 – including a £3,675 drinks trolley and £8,500 lamp.

The couple, who share son Wilfred and daughter Romy, refitted the grace and favour apartment at No.11, which reportedly looked like a ‘John Lewis nightmare’ after Theresa May’s residency, with the help of society interiors guru Lulu Lytle.

Lytle is the founder of Soane Britain, a company offering clients wall-to-wall luxe with a promise of bringing ‘joie de vivre’ into the home – for a hefty price. A single rattan light can cost £7,200, while a desk can be more than £10,000. 

A leaked copy of the invoice for the renovation, seen by the Independent, reveals that the No11 flat makeover included a £7,000 rug, a £3,675 drinks trolley and two sofas which cost more than £15,000 in total.

However the couple were quickly mocked for their taste online, with many social media users tweeting their dismay at the cost of the renovations. 

Boris and Carrie Johnson’s makeover of their Downing Street home cost more than £200,000 – including a £3,675 drinks trolley and £8,500 lamp (pictured a living room designed by Lulu Lytel)

Lytle is the founder of Soane Britain, a company offering clients wall-to-wall luxe with a promise of bringing ‘joie de vivre’ into the home – for a hefty price. A single rattan light can cost £7,200, while a desk can be more than £10,000 (pictured, a room designed by Lytle) 

One commented: ‘Leaked: £200,000…That’s what it cost to transform Boris & Carrie’s flat into a Tunnock’s Tea Cake shrine.’

Meanwhile another wrote: ‘Surely this isn’t the result of the PM’s refurbishment of the flat in No.10! If you’re a migraine sufferer you must be really into pain to live with this.’

A third added: ‘I’m sorry but Caza taste is abysmal. Maybe they should of gone to Ikea.’

The cheapest item on the bill was a £500 kitchen table cloth, while £3,000 had been spent on a ‘paint effect’ for the flat’s hallway and two Aten hurricane lights cost £1,775 each.

A leaked copy of the invoice for the renovation reveals that the No11 flat makeover included a £3,675 drinks trolley (left) and two Aten hurricane lights (right) costing £1,775 each

Despite the controversy surrounding the renovation becoming known as ‘Wallpapergate’, the most expensive order from the wallpaper bill was £2,250 for 10 rolls of ‘Espalier Square design’ used in the entrance hall

Other items purchased by the couple included Lytle’s £3,650 Leighton table (left) as well as a £3,800 long, low bookcase from the designer (right) 

The couple, who share son Wilfred and daughter Romy, refitted the grace and favour apartment at No.11, which reportedly looked like a ‘ John Lewis nightmare’ after Theresa May ‘s residency, with the help of society interiors guru Lulu Lytle

The Johnsons also ordered a drawing room lamp for £6,000 along with a £2,500 lampshade, the leaked bill suggests.  

And despite the controversy surrounding the renovation becoming known as ‘Wallpapergate’, the most expensive order from the wallpaper bill was £2,250 for 10 rolls of ‘Espalier Square design’ used in the entrance hall.

Wallpaper in the drawing room came to £1,500, while 15 rolls for the kitchen came to £825, meaning £4,575 was spent on wallpaper in total. 

Although described as ’emerald and stone linen’ in colour, the ‘Espalier’ wallpaper is believed to have inspired Mr Johnson’s frustrated remark that his wife was ‘spending thousands on gold wallpaper’, reports say.  

However the couple were quickly mocked for their taste online, with many social media users tweeting their dismay at the cost of the renovations

Boris and Carrie’s very expensive BILL! How invoice came in at over £200,000 for the dining room, drawing room and kitchen 

DRAWING ROOM  

One rug – £7,000

One roll of wallpaper –  £1,500 

Two sofas – £15,120

One antique double wingback chair – £4,200 

36m fabric for sofa – £2880

One antique low ottomon – £1,000 

One Nureyev Trolley – £3,675 

One long book table/low bookcase – £3,800

One Leighton – £3650 

Two little side tables – £3,000 

One card table – £2,000

Two chairs – £2,000 

One large mirror – £3,000

One lamp – £6,000

Shades – £2,500

Curtains – £3,600

Window fabric – £6,400

Fire – £2,000 

Fabrics and upholstery – £5,000 

HALL

Antique mirror – £3,000 

Console table – £3,000 

Wallpaper – £2,250 

Centre table – £3,000 

Hanging light – £4,465 

DINING ROOM

One rug – £3,000 

Paint effect  -£3,100 

Eight dining chairs – £11,280

Fabric for dining chairs – £1,200

Serving table- £2,000 

Kitchen table cloth – £500

Curtains – £1,800 

Fabric for curtains – £3,200 

Gas fire – £2,000 

Wall lights – £3,550 

KITCHEN

 Dining table – £1,500

Wallpaper – £825

Chairs – £1,500 

Rug – £2,000

Loose cover – £2,000 

TV table – £1,000 

Curtains – £1,800

Fabric for curtains – £2,600

Lamps – £2,500 

Gas fire  £2,000 

BUILDING WORK 

Paintwork, installation, building – £30,000 

TOTAL = 208,104 

The building works estimate, which included painting, having the floorboards sanded, and installing new furnishings and fittings, came to £30,000. 

The Johnsons ordered a ‘Nureyev Trolley’ worth £3,675, and said to be ‘inspired by a French 1940s drinks trolley owned by ballet dancer Rudolph Nureyev’, according to the leaked bill.  

Eight dining chairs cost £11,280, and the couple spent £7,000 on a rug and £3,800 on an antique mirror for the hall. 

Meanwhile the £3,650 Leighton table is a cane framed table with a woven rattan top and wrapped joints, which is entirely hand-woven by skilled weavers at Soane’s rattan workshop in Leicestershire. 

Eight dining chairs cost £11,280, and the couple spent £7,000 on a rug and £3,800 on an antique mirror for the hall (pictured, a selection of items from Soane catalogue) 

Carrie and Boris spent £200,000 decking out the flat with the luxury interior designers latest products 

The Cabinet Office leak will revive the long-running controversy over the Johnsons’ refurbishment of their flat above No11. 

Money was at the centre of the backlash last year following the news Lytle had been brought in to redesign Downing Street, with critics questioning why the Johnsons needed such an expensive makeover, as well as, more importantly, how it had been funded. 

An estimate of £208,104 was sent to the Cabinet Office – which has an annual budget of £30,000 for renovating the Prime Minister’s residence – at the start of 2020 in the early stages of the project, the Independent reports. 

The remainder of the cost had been secretly funded by Lord Brownlow and the Conservative Party until Mr Johnson was told to pay for it himself when the scandal was uncovered. 

Interior designer Lulu (pictured) previously revealed she ‘hated every minute’ of being caught in the ‘political storm’ over her makeover of Boris and Carrie

Lytle slammed the ‘huge misinformation’ circulating about her brand during the controversy and defended her costs 

After a refurbishment of Johnson’s Downing Street flat – led by a celebrity designer and including gold wallpaper – Britain’s electoral commission fined the Conservatives £17,800 for failing to accurately report a donation to pay for it.

Johnson’s ethics adviser later criticised the prime minister for failing to disclose some messages exchanged with the donor. 

However, he concluded that Johnson had not intentionally lied about the messages.

Interior designer Lulu previously revealed she ‘hated every minute’ of being caught in the ‘political storm’ over her makeover of Boris and Carrie.

Pictured: A section of the leaked Soane’s bill, showing what was ordered for the drawing room

A further section of the invoice showed the spending in the kitchen, entrance hall and dining room 

The final part of the bill showed the cost of building work to the property, which was totted up at £30,000 

‘I hated every minute,’ she told the Financial Times. ‘I found it incredibly disquieting to be caught up in a political storm.’

Lytle slammed the ‘huge misinformation’ circulating about her brand and defended her costs, saying: ‘If you’re paying your staff properly, and there’s healthcare and there’s training, that all comes at a cost.

‘We don’t know how chemicals are being discarded of in manufacturing in certain parts of the world.’ 

Top designer who inspired Carrie Symonds’ chic eco-makeover: Mixing bold colours and old-fashioned glamour, Lulu Lytle is one of the country’s most successful interiors experts 

The woman who inspired Carrie’s lavish makeover is Lulu Lytle – one of the UK’s most influential and successful interior designers. 

Her designs combine a riot of bold colours and showstopping old-fashioned glamour.

Think oiled-oak shelving, rattan furniture, shimmering gold wallpaper and intricate textiles. A marble bathroom, perhaps, with wrought iron finishings.

Downing Street’s restyled décor is said to have been inspired by celebrated eco interior designer Lulu Lytle (pictured)

The founder and director of Soane Britain ‘designs and makes British-made furniture, upholstery, lighting, fabrics and wallpaper’ (sample designs pictured)

She is especially passionate about sustaining traditional British craftsmanship.

She built up her Soane Britain interior design studio by scouring the country for the best artisan blacksmiths, cabinet makers, upholsterers and stone carvers creating furniture, lighting and fabrics using skills going back to the 18th century and beyond.

In 2011, she put her money where her mouth is and bought the last rattan-weaving workshop left in England and started an apprenticeship programme. 

Prince Charles, himself passionate about sustaining traditional craftsmanship, visited the Leicester workshop a year ago, just before lockdown, to admire its creations.

Lytle’s designs (pictured) combine a riot of bold colours and showstopping old-fashioned glamour

Soane’s clients include five-star hotels and restaurants, private members’ clubs, boardrooms, yachts and private houses all over the world

Soane’s clients include five-star hotels and restaurants, private members’ clubs, boardrooms, yachts and private houses all over the world.

Mrs Lytle, 49, says her furniture, upholstery, lighting, fabrics and wallpapers all aim to ‘contribute to the joyful atmosphere of any interior’. 

Born and raised in Worcestershire, the youngest of four sisters, Lucy Elizabeth Kottler, known as ‘Lulu’, developed a romantic passion for Egypt and took a degree in Egyptology.

She met her husband Charles Patrick St John Lytle, known as Charlie, when he was training as a barrister. 

Mrs Lytle, 49, says her furniture, upholstery, lighting, fabrics and wallpapers all aim to ‘contribute to the joyful atmosphere of any interior’

Born and raised in Worcestershire, the youngest of four sisters, Lucy Elizabeth Kottler, known as ‘Lulu’, developed a romantic passion for Egypt and took a degree in Egyptology

He is now a senior investment banker at Goldman Sachs. Mrs Lytle worked in antiques for four years, before starting Soane when she was 25, originally from the couple’s one-bedroom flat in Notting Hill, west London.

Her plan was clear and has never changed — to create beautifully made contemporary furniture based on antiques. 

She said: ‘The life of an object is endlessly fascinating, there’s a depth to old things.’ The Lytles moved to a flat in one of London’s nicest squares, close to Hyde Park, in 1999.

She built up her Soane Britain interior design studio by scouring the country for the best artisan blacksmiths, cabinet makers, upholsterers and stone carvers

They then bought its neighbour and knocked through to create a £4million home, which is now a stunning exhibition of Mrs Lytle’s interior design genius and often showcased in glossy magazines.

It mixes old and new Soane pieces, along with textiles collected worldwide, paintings, maps and artefacts. 

Searing Chinese yellow walls make a study area dramatic, while hand-painted lapis lazuli rocks bring luxury to the master bedroom’s Carrara marble ensuite bathroom.

The couple share their home with their three children Tom, 20, Bunny, 18, and Xan, 15 – as well as a greyhound named Panther and Hammy the hamster.

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