Leighton House in Holland Park was designed by George Aitchison for the painter Frederic Leighton as a home and studio. Leighton received the lease in April 1866, and the house cost 4,500 pounds. Extensions followed in 1869 and 1870, the Arab Hall in 1877 to 1879, a winter studio in 1889 and a top-lit picture gallery in 1895.
The exterior is restrained Classical in red Suffolk brick with Caen stone dressings, while the interiors are Orientalist. The two-story Arab Hall has a domed ceiling, a central floor fountain, a mosaic frieze by Walter Crane and gilded bird-shaped capitals. It uses 17th-century Damascus lattice windows and 16th-century Turkish tiles.
It has been open to the public since 1929 and is Grade II* listed. An 8 million pound refurbishment added a new wing in October 2022. It is open daily except Tuesdays, and the article gives no hours.
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