Possibly one of my favourite museums - Leighton House Museum in Kensington, London. Once home to Frederic Leighton, (1830 - 1896) an english painter and sculptor. Leighton was very successful in his day, his first major painting was bought by Queen Victoria and he later became the president of the Royal Academy of Arts.
The most impressive part of the house is The Arab Hall, there is just so much pattern and detail to take in all around you. Leighton was a great traveller and purchased ceramics, textiles and woodwork from the Middle East to recreate his own paradise in London. Throughout The Arab Hall there are exquisitely patterned tiles which were purchased from Syria and date from the late seventeenth century. But this is only one small part, not to mention the great staircase that boasts a prize peacock, or Leightons studio with copious amounts of art. The whole house is truly beautiful.
