ATTENTION TO DETAIL A seventeenth-century Cumbrian farmhouse dressed for the festivities.

The hall, at the centre of the house, is the perfect room for entertaining. The pink-andgold sofa, pink chair and blue footstool are all covered in fabric designed for Annabel by Marina Mill in Kent. “I am obsessed with deep button furniture,” says Annabel.

Attention

TO DETAIL

Annabel Lewis, owner of specialist haberdasher V V Rouleaux, has dressed her seventeenth-century Cumbrian farmhouse for a festive celebration

FEATURE HANNAH NEWTON PHOTOGRAPHY CLAIRE WORTHY

ABOVE Annabel has several beautiful antique design documents, each containining collections of ribbons and fabrics from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and she often uses them as reference points for new designs and colourways.

ABOVE LEFT & RIGHT A large Stilton cheese from Cropwell Bishop Creamery takes centre stage on the pine table in the kitchen. The Windsor chairs were inherited and the baskets hanging from the ceiling are from her father’s former mill. The paintings above the door and to the right are by Annabel’s cousin Michael Green, who is based in Yorkshire. B orn and raised in the fertile heartlands of Cumbria, and a countrywoman through and through, Annabel Lewis is in her element in the kitchen of her farmhouse, apron on, BBC Radio 4 playing, carefully preparing locally caught lobsters for supper.

Annabel’s attention to detail and sense of creativity are what keep her specialist trimmings company V V Rouleaux at the heart of London’s fashion and design scene. Designers, stylists, costumiers and artists have flocked to her Marylebone Lane shop for inspiration and influence since she first opened it 30 years ago. This same attention to detail can be seen in the the lavish festive decor of her house. Outside, vast wicker baskets bursting with evergreen branches and dense green foliage create a welcoming sight for guests, whilst inside, mantelpieces, mirrors, banisters and walls are adorned with a rich array of festive garlands, wreaths and pine cones. Flickering candlelight bathes piles of baubles and reams of ribbons in a soft golden glow.

An abundance of colour, braids, silks and tassels can be seen throughout Annabel’s home, with furnishings embellished with eye-catching, decorative details. The dining table is dressed in readiness for festivities with wide velvet ribbons in soft pinks and greens, and large velvet ivy leaves trimmed in gold sequins decorate each place setting. Such careful consideration is placed on the styling, that to dine here is to feel cherished. “Dining should be glamorous for the festive season,” she says, “with the best china, crisp white napkins and tablecloth, and there must be huge amounts of fresh foliage.”

Annabel’s creative aptitude for reinventing and adapting is fundamental to her business and came to the fore when she spotted the seventeenth-century

LEFT The central section of the Grade II listed farmhouse is Georgian and its symmetry is enhanced with grand displays of foliage either side of the steps up to the front door. As a former florist Annabel can quickly and simply create sensational arrangements, including these huge displays. Pine cones and garlands along the stair rails and a wreath on the door add warmth to this ancient and much-loved home. ABOVE Hand-crafted in India to Annabel’s exacting specifications, this beautiful wooden console table displays a treasured collection of Victorian glassware. Bowls piled high with satsumas, baubles and brass flowers and stems of striking red amaryllis demanding attention create a cheery scene. An arresting bespoke English berry wreath by V V Rouleaux is on display above.

ABOVE The doubleheight kitchen is a wonderful mix of exposed brick walls and dark painted cladding and cabinetry. Cooking centres around an Everhot range and the stone sink is one of Elle’s favourite salvage buys. Reclaimed iroko work surfaces bring warmth to the space.

The mantelpiece in the snug has been decorated with V V Rouleaux garlands, ribbons and hand-painted baubles to create a sumptuous affair. Ribbons are also used to hang baubles at the window. Fly-fishing flies have been used to decorate a lampshade, typical of Annabel’s tendency to embellish.

‘I enjoy reinventing old-fashioned chairs, using millinery velvet or woven ribbon fabric’

farmhouse over 10 years ago, when she was fly fishing with her husband and business partner, Richard. The couple spent the next three years negotiating to rent it from the National Trust, to whom the farmhouse had been gifted by a Reverend Harrison in 1947, and it finally became their home in 2010.

“We were fishing and noticed it because there was a huge tree with a bicycle in the top of it,” Annabel says. “The place was a wreck. There was a water wheel, a threshing barn, there were fabrics on all the walls. It was a major fire hazard and virtually derelict. The cobbles were covered in earth. The whole place needed love, attention and someone to look after it, and luckily we were chosen as the custodians.”

This is typical of Annabel’s intrepid approach to everything – creating beauty from chaos. As a natural artist, she is always looking to recreate and make. Her creative energy and positive outlook is infectious, and this has naturally infused the way she styles her own home. Her instinctive, bold use of colour is evident throughout, especially in the drawing room and snug. Beautifully upholstered pieces sit alongside hand-tied ribbon lampshades, and all lend themselves perfectly to the elegant Palladian symmetry of these rooms.

ABOVE The parrots from V V Rouleaux bring a dash of joy and brightness to the winter months. The antique chair in the foreground has been reupholstered with purple millinery velvet and a glamorous beaded fringe for a theatrical touch. A horse sculpture, bought at auction, sits on top of an antique wooden bread dough bin, inherited from a great aunt.

The painting above the fireplace in the dining room was a gift from Richard to Annabel and depicts Bellagio in Italy, one of their favourite places to source trimmings. On the mantelpiece a V V Rouleaux pine cone garland is threaded around golden crowns and candles. Velvet ribbons decorate the New Year table, with wire-edged bows adorning the chairs.

ABOVE Annabel’s Grade II listed farmhouse stands in verdant nature. The original seventeenth-century Georgian building can be seen in the middle, flanked by later additions to the left and the right. As with many old country properties, the house is a mishmash of history. The original central structure was built in 1670 and subsequent centuries saw extensions added either side, as well as a smoke house, and the aforementioned threshing barn and water wheel constructed in the grounds.

The kitchen at the heart of the original building remains true to its Georgian roots, with large flagstone flooring, white-painted exposed-brick walls and wooden beams. An Aga adds to the warmth and provides the feel of a working farmhouse. Annabel’s father was a Yorkshire mill owner and before his mill closed down last century, she managed to retrieve the original wool baskets that were used to store yarns and has hung them from the ceiling in the kitchen.

The house sits nestled in a nature-lovers’ haven, surrounded on all sides by fields, forests, grazing cattle and flocks of sheep. The River Derwent flows peacefully nearby, and all is flawlessly framed by the rolling hills of the Lake District.

Annabel grew up on a farm on the other side of the hill, where her brother still lives today. She left the area in her teens, relocating to West London and setting up her first flower shop at the tender age of 21. Success followed, and Annabel soon had a client list that included the 2nd Earl of Snowdon and Princess Diana who was, she says, “obsessed with sweetpeas”. By the age of 25, not only had she opened a second flower shop, but had two children, and was expecting twins.

ABOVE LEFT In the dining room, a mirror from Anna French hangs above a wooden console table which was bought in Mumbai and painted by Kim Sisson, who also painted the trompe l’oeil panels on the walls. ABOVE RIGHT Stripped back to reveal the original stone underneath, the stairs allow the Venetian windows to take centre stage. Antique suitcases, bought in a junk shop in London in 1979, are topped with a braided tassel. Candlelit golden crowns light the way to bed.

‘I learnt how to mix colours when I worked in Covent Garden. I absolutely loved the flowers and displays, but we were selling so many ribbons!’

ABOVE An antique fauteuil armchair, reupholstered by Annabel, sits beside an antique chest of drawers in the master bedroom. ABOVE RIGHT A trompe l’oeil mantelpiece painted by Kim Sisson surrounds the fireplace in the master bedroom. RIGHT A serene bathroom with stripped floorboards, is decorated with a Victorian child’s chair, and pieces of chandelier glass, threaded and hanging from the window to filter the sunlight and create beautiful reflections across the room. For Annabel, after the twins were born, the three o’clock in the morning starts required of a florist became rather more challenging. So, after noticing her customers’ keen interest in ribbons and trimmings, she decided to open V V Rouleaux in 1990. “I learnt how to mix colours when I worked in Covent Garden, and although I absolutely loved the flowers and displays, we were selling so many ribbons!” she exclaims.

Upstairs there are five bedrooms, and Annabel and Richard, who now have two grandchildren, have created a calmer environment on this floor. The master bedroom, which looks across the fields and down to the River Derwent, features a number of antique chairs collected by Annabel. “I love oldfashioned chairs and enjoy reinventing them, changing the fabrics, using millinery velvet or woven ribbon fabric, often from Whitchurch Silk Mill.”

Further clever additions have been made to the house in the form of the painting techniques employed by friend and trompe l’oeil artist Kim Sisson, whose impeccable work is barely noticed unless you look very carefully at the panelling in the dining room, or the fireplace in the master bedroom.

Annabel, who celebrates the Cumbrian tradition of inviting guests in on New Year’s Eve with a tot of whisky to celebrate and a piece of coal for the fire, says, “There is simply nothing better than coming home.”

What are some of your favourite ways to decorate at Christmas?

“Festooning ribbons along staircases is always fun. And I like to mix our gorgeous shiny brass flowers with natural mini fir cones and add our pretty glass bugs and bees to mantelpiece displays. I often use huge fir cones to add drama to a room and I position stunning mock birds on windowsills. My favourites are the large parrots, which resemble real ones. They perch perfectly on bookcases and always make our guests look twice! I often position a wreath above a fireplace or take down paintings to make room for a wreath on the wall. I also drape mirrors with garlands and position candles up the stairs, lighting the way to bed.”

What colours and textures do you like to use when decorating for the festive season?

“My favourite colours to decorate with are warm golds, silvers, greens, rich reds and burgundy. I love to embellish the house at Christmas with a myriad of tactile decorations, including oversized wreaths with red berries and garlands made of gold leaves to add drama. This year I’ve hung shimmering, brightly coloured glass baubles at the windows, which catch the light beautifully.”

How do you decorate for Christmas using foliage and natural elements?

“I think it’s really important to decorate all year round with foliage. If you have nothing, even an apple branch with lichen works. As a former florist, flowers and foliage are key when I decorate for the festive season. I collect great stems of conifers, sweeping branches of ivy, rosemary, rhododendron and bay, which I use to fill wicker baskets outside the front door to create impact. I bring the outside in with moss, fir cones, and branches covered in lichen to add lots of texture and interest. I also like to mix branches of artificial berries with fresh, evergreen foliage. I’m lucky to have a garden, but if you don’t, try to get rhododendron leaves from a florist, keep changing the water, and they will last for weeks, well after New Year.”

How have you made your festive dining table feel layered and luxurious this year?

“I adore simple tricks such as displaying a pretty tassel on a napkin or adding bows to the backs of chairs. This year I’ve created

ALL THE TRIMMINGS

Annabel Lewis relishes dressing her home for the festive season, adorning it with ribbons, trims, tassels, foliage and more to create a joyful feast for the eyes

a festive centrepiece using a selection of our metal flower decorations with candles nestled within. I’ve placed velvet ribbons across the dining table, decorated each napkin with V V Rouleaux velvet leaves and brought out my favourite chinaware inherited from Great Aunty Margey. I’ve also twisted green, wire-edged ribbon into bows, which I’ve added to the back of each antique chair.”

What are the most unusual ways you use your trims and ribbons at home?

“I like to use ribbon around large mirrors to soften a straight frame, or an oversized beaded trim around the bottom of a little armchair to add a theatrical touch. Plain sofas can be transformed with a beautiful striped ribbon on the back. I like to cover old lampshades and wrap them in reams of silk ribbons, or hang rows of iridescent chandelier glass from a window, as an alternative to a blind. I adore silk ribbon embroidery and I’m passionate about colour, texture and finding trims that people wouldn’t normally use – for example, military braids to line a wall or a pom-pom trim on a lampshade.

“My personal passion is to find a skilled craftsman, such as an upholsterer to collaborate with, and design or work with a completely unique material, like millinery velvet or uncut ribbon fabric to create something unusual.”

Would you agree with the saying, more is more?

“Absolutely, I’m a maximalist and love a bit of everything, but not plain greige. I love colour, colour, and more colour, as well as mixing textures together and finding the unusual.” ■

vvrouleaux.com