It’s difficult to imagine that on the plot of land where the spectacular Summerdown Manor now stands, there was once a modest 1970s bungalow. Razed to the ground a few decades later, it was replaced by a dazzling family residence, a testament to the vision of its Italian owners. Toni Mascolo, the hairdresser and multi-millionaire businessman who created the Toni & Guy empire with his brother Gaetano, bought the land in the Surrey Hills in 1997.
His wife Pauline set about designing their dream home, which has evolved over the years to become a gathering place for friends and family. Enter through the double front doors and the stage is set with a cavernous hallway, complete with a sweeping marble twin staircase leading to ten bedrooms. On the ground floor are two conservatories, two family rooms, a drawing room, a dining room, a snooker room and a music room, decorated in a distinctive Italianate style with columns and arches, friezes and gilt-framed mirrors, ornate furniture and shiny marble floors, mostly imported from Italy.
Across this sparkling surface tip-tap three dogs – Roger the rescue chihuahua, pomeranian Baba and Mr Mooch – who bark excitedly as they welcome hello! to their home. Hot on their heels are their owners, Lilia and Pierre Mascolo, who, along with the rest of the family, are frequent visitors to the house, where Pauline, 78, still lives.
She met Toni in 1963 as a teenager when she worked as an assistant in his first salon in Clapham. He died in 2017 and his image – in the form of photos, painted portraits and even a bust – fills the rooms.
"Before he died, they were nearly 50 years married," says Pierre, 45, of his parents as he settles into a silk-upholstered armchair over lunch. "They were together since she was 15 years old and he was her best friend. When he died, a lot of people said: ‘'You should take some of the pictures down, to help you get over it.' Actually, I think she put up more and blew them up bigger."
The house is part of the legacy shared by Pauline and her children: daughter Sasha and son Christian, who run their father’s business, which has almost 700 salons across the UK and Europe, and actor and producer Pierre. It is where the family regularly meet for Sunday lunch and at Christmas – when Pauline puts up and decorates 17 Christmas trees – they hold fundraising events for the Toni & Guy Charitable Foundation.
There is even a chapel – the family are devout Catholics – and a family mausoleum in the 40-acre grounds, where Toni and his brother, and their parents’ ashes, have been laid to rest.
"When we had it built, I thought it was a bit creepy," Pierre says. "But now, I feel he’s here in soul, and with us all the time. I often go up there and have a conversation with him, and usually have an answer when I leave." Always make your own mistake. Don't make somebody else’s," he says, imitating his father's strong Italian accent. "If you want something done, do it yourself."
In a true rags-to-riches story, Toni came to the UK from southern Italy when he was just 15 years old. He followed his father into hairdressing, and despite speaking no English when he first arrived, was soon living and working in the West End. Aged 20, he opened his first salon in Clapham with his brother, promising "Florentine elegance and Roman flair".
MAKING A NAME
Other salons quickly followed and the business flourished, attracting wealthy and celebrity clients, among them Gregory Peck, Gina Lollobrigida, Hugh Grant and the Rolling Stones, as well as high-profile politicians. "He wasn’t a flash man; he was incredibly humble," Pierre says. "He used to get the train to work and pack his own packed lunch. Everything he did was for his family. I always knew we were privileged. But my mum was always the first to say: 'Don’t think you’re better than anyone else.'
These values were reiterated when Toni insisted that Pierre help out in the salons. "I used to work in Sloane Square, Covent Garden and Davie Street on a Saturday, and he’d give me £20, which was loads of money back then. I’d make the coffees and stand on three telephone directories so I could reach the basin to wash hair. He’d always say to me: 'You've got to learn that you got to go out to work.'"
Although he is a director and co-owner of Toni & Guy, Pierre chose not to work in the business, instead pursuing his passion for acting, going to the Italia Conti school and the Drama Centre London. He worked steadily in theatre and television after graduating, with roles in EastEnders and LoveSoup, and produced and co-starred alongside Gabriel Byrne, Rufus Sewell and Toby Stephens in the film The Deadly Game in 2013.
He also turned to film-making, acting as producer on 2006's Kidulthood and its sequel Adulthood. He met Lilia, 37, a marketing strategist and consultant who moved to London from her native Bulgaria when she was 19, while they were neighbours living at Imperial Wharf in Chelsea Harbour. They married at the Italian Church in Clerkenwell in 2022.
GIRL OF HIS DREAMS
"I was on the fourth floor and Lilia was on the third floor, but I saw her very rarely," remembers Pierre of their first acquaintance. "She was this moody, dark-haired girl who’d occasionally come out on to the balcony. I'd think: 'Ooh, she’s pretty,' but didn’t have the courage to call down to her."
It wasn’t until they both became dog owners that the pair struck up a friendship. "I had Mr Mooch and he had his little Baba, a pomeranian, and I was certain he was gay," says Lilia, laughing. "But then he started chatting me up." Pierre had been holding out for his dream woman. "I’m quite religious, and I remember praying to my angels, saying: 'I want someone who loves me as much as I love her, someone who tells the truth, who is their true self, so we can really trust each other.' ”
Lilia, meanwhile, was hoping to put some unhealthy relationships behind her. "I was like: 'When am I going to meet the person?’ I’ve always been an over-giver, and that never ends well.” After continually bumping into each other, "I had to say to her: 'I'm not stalking you, I promise!'" Pierre jokes – they eventually spent an evening together over a bowl of homemade spaghetti.
“We sat on my balcony and it felt as though we’d known each other forever. We talked for hours, and told each other the truth," Pierre says. "It wasn’t the kind of stuff you share on a first date, because it was so deep and personal," Lilia adds. "After about two months, I was like: 'We’re just friends,' but everyone was telling me, 'You’re dating!'"
Continues Pierre: "All her friends– and even her mother, who lives in Bulgaria – kept saying, 'Who's this Pierre?' I think the only person who didn’t know she was dating was her," he says, laughing. "We were with each other 24/7."
Pauline gave her seal of approval on meeting Lilia, welcoming her into the family. "Mum said: 'What's this girl doing with you? She can’t be going out with you – she’s together, business-oriented and driven.' At that point, I was an out-of-work actor. I was like: 'Thanks, Mum!'"
His dad was also at times sceptical about his son’s chosen career. "Before he died, he was cutting Hugh Grant’s hair. He said to me: 'Are you sure you don’t want a proper job? Because this man is a big Hollywood star and he says the same s**t you say: 'I’m waiting for my next job.' It doesn’t matter how big you get. Whereas I do a service, I have a craft, and if you have a craft, you will always be OK.’
"I said: 'But acting is a craft.' And he went: 'Yeah, but you do it for free.'"
FOLLOW YOUR HEART
Even so, Toni was always supportive, giving Pierre the funds to set up his own production company to make London-based dramas Kidulthood and Adulthood Adulthood. He is now working on another, more personal TV project, which he is keeping under wraps. In the meantime, Pierre’s energy is focused on the Toni & Guy Charitable Foundation, of which he is chief executive.
Established by Toni and Pauline in 2003, the foundation, which Pierre runs with Lilia, has given funds to causes including Macmillan Cancer Support, children’s charity Variety and the Stroke Association, as well as donating £700,000 to King’s College Hospital for a children’s ward. Having taken the reins of the foundation, which hasn’t been fully operational for several years, the couple plan to breathe new life into it.
GIVING BACK
They began in June with a soiree at the house, hosted by TV’s Andrea McLean and attended by Princess Katarina of Yugoslavia, designer Karen Millen and Domenico Bellantone, Italy’s consul general in London. "I’m the face of it, but she’s the brains," says Pierre proudly of Lilia. "She’s up from six in the morning until ten at night, doing the leg work."
Lilia says: "I didn't realise how hard it is – we’ve got an 80-page business plan and a board of directors. But I do it from my heart." Both are grateful for being able to continue an important part of the family’s legacy and using their position to help others. "When you're lucky enough, as we are, you give back and spread the love," says Pierre, heading back to their pooches who have been waiting patiently.
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Adds Lilia: "If I can help just one person in their struggles, I can live a life I can be proud of."