Home Truths: An echo of George II

Cheryl Markosky meets film producer Charles Salmon

Charles Salmon's recent projects include 'Stranded: Swiss Family Robinson', 'Two Gentlemen Sharing', 'Therese Raquin', 'Tom's Midnight Garden' and 'Hamish MacBeth'. He lives with his girlfriend in an early Georgian three-storey terrace house overlooking Kew Green in south-west London

When I first came to London to work as a film location manager for the BBC, I drove past Kew Green and thought, "This is where I want to live." We first moved into one of the Watcombe Cottages down by the river in the north-west corner of the Green. In 1991, we bought this wonderful early Georgian house, less than a hundred yards from the entrance to Kew Gardens.

"I was brought up in north Devon, so I love the countryside. I started out in natural history in television, but when I moved into drama I needed to live closer to the London studios. The trouble is, I can't stand looking at bricks. I wanted to see green. So Kew is perfect – a little bit of country in the town.

"The house has a fascinating history. The earliest part, which we use as a dining room, dates back to 1640, when the house was a simple one-up one-down. Then it was in the Royal Hunting Grounds. In 1715, a Georgian terrace was built onto the front, facing north, with the garden at the back. Legend has it George II met with his first mistress here. One early owner was the equivalent of the head gardener at Kew. There is a section bricked up in the back wall and in his day, he could walk straight out of his private garden through this entrance into Kew Gardens. Our wisteria is as old as the one in Kew. There are still some very old, incredibly scented plants in the garden. One white shrub is flowering beautifully right now.

"When I first walked into the house, it didn't look its best, but as a location manager I could see the potential. I am used to working with directors and designers who visualise how a location can work. They love rooms that aren't just square, with interesting levels and shapes, like this one. The house hadn't been decorated for 40 years, so luckily it hadn't suffered like a lot of houses did in the Sixties, when everything was painted over or removed.

"It's been fun keeping the original Georgian style. It's lovely to have a historic house, but we needed to make it comfortable. We took down the old Victorian kitchen and rebuilt it. We used only small radiators, so they don't stand out too much. When we moved in, the house had only two night storage heaters, and open fires that I still use today. The plumbing was a bit odd and the wiring ancient. It all needed a huge amount of work, so we spent far more than we should have.

"We have kept as many of the original Georgian features as possible. My favourite part is the original Thomas Englehart ceiling in the L-shaped first-floor reception room, which I've been using as a bedroom. I have been known to lie on the floor and stare up at it. It was once a music room and still has the original Georgian cupboard for storing musical instruments. This house is never boring, because the rooms have these interesting shapes.

"Late Georgian houses used vivid colours inside, but early Georgian taste was more pastel, so that's what we've done. Georgian homes can be difficult to keep warm, because they used such large windows to let in the light. There are no curtains; we use the original shutters. I love Staffordshire china and it fits in really well. I've always kept the Georgian style in mind, but have added some pretty eclectic pieces as well. A Thai table has recently sneaked in – this is not a museum, after all. I've never filmed in the house; it's been rather nice to keep it for myself.

"The area around Kew Green is great. When we first moved here there were just a few restaurants, but now The Glass House in Station Parade does Mediterranean cooking, there are top-notch Greek, Indian and Italian places and a gastro-type pub, The Greyhound on the Green. There is always something going on at Kew Gardens and of course I have a Friends' ticket. The towpath along the Thames is good for walks and Old Deer Park and Richmond Park provide country-ish living.

"There are nice schools here – my kids went to the Unicorn and I enjoyed walking through Kew Gardens to collect them. I divorced three years ago, but didn't want to sell the house suddenly, so I've kept it. I met my girlfriend filming Swiss Family Robinson in Thailand. We plan to live in Thailand in the winter and London in the summer. We'll probably buy a flat in Kew, maybe in one of the new riverside developments – something I can lock up and leave. My kids absolutely adore Thailand; we have just spent seven weeks there. I'm off to India in March to shoot Marigold, a comedy crossover – part western, part Bollywood – using Bollywood musical numbers and top Bollywood talent. It's a true collaboration between the English and Indian film industries. We're casting now and it will be released next year. I still see myself as a newcomer in the film industry. The whole global market is changing now. It can be tough. We do have the talent here, but finding projects that work is sometimes difficult.

"There are so many original Georgian features in this house that a part of me wants to hang onto to it. But I am now spending so much time away, it no longer makes sense to keep it. Anyway, the house deserves to have a family living in it, so I hope one buys it."

Charles Salmon's house is for sale at £1.5m, or to let at £5,500 a week through Featherstone Leigh 020-8940 7676