The English Home March/ April 2020 US Edition

ENGLISH HOME The

WIN a luxury British

HOLIDAY WITH FREE FLIGHTS

Celebrating the essence of English style

CHARACTER & COLOUR Regency terrace, beamed cottage, Victorian country house

DISCOVER YOUR DECORATING STYLE • Romantic & pretty • Classically elegant • Colourfully eclectic

DREAMY THATCHED PROPERTIES

Design of the time Period inspiration for interiors today

U.S. $6.99 CANADA $6.99

MRS MINERVA ON SPRING CLEANING

MY DESIGN HERO Nina Campbell on John Fowler

April 2020

U.S./CAN $7.99

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CONTENTS APRIL 2020

32

48

40 Beautiful Buys

Quintessentially

6 HOME COMFORTS Enchanting updates for the home.

79 TIME FOR TEA Beautiful china for home bakes.

14 EARTH TONES Bring natural materials to the fore.

English Homes 16 BREATH OF FRESH AIR An elegantly redesigned

1920s Edwardian-style home in Kent.

24 HIDDEN POTENTIAL In rural Rutland, a stone

farmhouse is transformed into a family home.

32 EFFORTLESS GRACE A once-faded country house

in Kent is lovingly restored to its former glory.

80 RESTORATION BEAUTY Interior designer Janie

Money on redecorating key rooms at Weston Park.

87 HAND-CRAFTED FOR THE GARDEN Traditional

English crafts to enrich outside spaces.

92 HOUSES WITH CHARACTER Our selection of

beautiful, quintessential thatched cottages

95 THE ART OF SPRING CLEANING Mrs M on bringing

order to the home with a deep clean.

98 MY DESIGN HERO Interior designer Nina Campbell

on ‘the prince of decorators’ John Fowler.

40 ANCIENT HEART The transformation of a Grade II

Regulars

48 ECLECTIC PANACHE An elegant townhouse in Bath

4 A LETTER FROM HOME A warm welcome from

listed Sussex cottage allows antiques to shine.

is home to a diverse collection of art.

Style Inspiration 59 POWER OF PATTERN Look to large-scale embroidery.

60 FIND YOUR STYLE TRIBE Hone your decorative

aesthetic with inspiration from like-minded talents.

72 ESSENCE OF AN ERA Take inspiration from Georgian,

art deco and Bloomsbury-style buys for the home.

our Editor-in-Chief.

58 INTERIOR DESIGN GUIDE Treat yourself to The

English Home’s essential 2020 decorating bible.

78 READER TRAVEL OFFER A tailor-made luxury trip

to the Channel Islands, part of the British Isles.

97 ADDRESS BOOK Useful contact details.

ENGLISH HOME The

WIN

a luxury British

HOLIDAY WITH FREE FLIGHTS

Celebrating the essence of English style

CHARACTER & COLOUR Regency terrace, beamed cottage, Victorian country house

DISCOVER YOUR DECORATING STYLE • Romantic & pretty • Classically elegant • Colourfully eclectic

MRS MINERVA ON SPRING CLEANING

MY DESIGN HERO Nina Campbell on John Fowler

DREAMY THATCHED PROPERTIES

Design of the time Period inspiration for interiors today

U.S. $6.99 CANADA $6.99

PHOTOGRAPHS CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT © CLAIRE WORTHY; NICHOLAS YARSLEY; ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL

12 FRESHLY MINTED Design details in a verdant hue.

April 2020

U.S./CAN $7.99

TEH US MAR/APRIL 20 COVER v4.indd 1

19/12/2019 15:31

COVER IMAGE: © JOHN HAYWARD/ALAMY

THE ENGLISH HOME 3

Which is your style tribe? Turn to page 60 to find out.

WRITE TO US AT

The English Home, Cumberland House, Oriel Road, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 1BB, UK Tel +44 (0)333 014 3215 Email: theenglishhome@chelseamagazines.com

www.theenglishhome.co.uk EDITORIAL

Editor-in-Chief Kerryn Harper-Cuss Executive Editor Samantha Scott-Jeffries Managing Editor Sarah Feeley Art Editor Claire Hicks Contributing Art Editors Matt Griffiths, Mark Bradley & Rebecca Stead Sub Editor Lea Tacey Decorating Editor Katy Mclean Features Editor Eve Middleton Homes & Lifestyle Editor Clair Wayman Editor-at-Large Kate Freud

ADVERTISING

R

egular readers will know that English interior style places comfort at its heart, but adds a touch of eclecticism and wit.

Within this aesthetic there are many different approaches: some of our nation’s decorators favour a maximalist, colourful use of pattern-on-pattern, whilst others lean towards pretty prints and soft colour palettes or keep to the symmetry and elegant restraint of classical design.

Inside this spring edition, we unpick this variety of approaches in two features. The first, on finding your style tribe (page 60), considers romantic, classical or bohemian approaches to interior style. I think it is incredibly useful to glean influences from those whose taste you share, to define your personal style in a way that encapsulates an overarching mood that makes you feel most happy and ‘at home’.

The second feature, Essence of an Era (page 72), considers the enormous relevance of historical influences on English interiors today – from the expressive decoration of Charleston Farmhouse by the Bloomsbury group to the sleek glamour of the art deco look and the elegance of Georgian design – all of which, whilst truly English in style, shows a wonderful diversity of approach.

I hope you find both features inspirational when decorating your own home this year.

With warmest regards,

Kerryn Harper-Cuss, Editor-in-Chief

PUBLISHING

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© The Chelsea Magazine Company Ltd 2020. All rights reserved. Text and pictures are copyright restricted and must not be reproduced without permission of the publishers. The information in The English Home has been published in good faith and every effort has been made to ensure its accuracy. However, where appropriate, you are advised to check prices, opening times and dates, etc, before making final arrangements. All liability for loss, disappointment, negligence or damage caused by reliance on the information within this publication is hereby excluded. The opinions expressed by the contributors of The English Home are not necessarily those of the publisher. www.chelseamagazines.com: Publisher of Artists & Illustrators, Baby, BRITAIN, Classic Boat, Cruise International, Discover Britain, The English Garden, Independent School Parent and associated Guides, Little London, Popshot, Racecar Engineering, Sailing Today, Scotland Magazine, Yachts & Yachting and Wedding Ideas.

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HOMEComforts Fresh tones and a light feel combine to create a seasonal shift in the home this month

Reading corner Creating a relaxing spot with cushions, side table and a reading light provides the perfect opportunity for enjoying the season’s changes.

Cushion covers (from left): Palmyra, £60; Chyangra (Cheetah), £100; Anar, Blue, £60; Fontana side table (Recycled Elm), £675; Grisewood lamp and shade in Paprika and Loganberry, £175 each, Oka

6 THE ENGLISH HOME

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT Deftly woven Influenced by Phulkhari embroideries from India, the jacquard weave of this chic dual-toned pattern makes it ideal for smart upholstery and window treatments.

Chair, Lotus Weave, Campari, £210 a metre, Guy Goodfellow Shine a light As part of a new collection to celebrate 30 years of Beaumont & Fletcher, the design of this elegant wall light draws on neo-classical style for a timeless look.

Adam wall light, £1,465, Beaumont & Fletcher Green gauge The verdant tones of Emma Bridgewater’s new botanical Hawthorn and Green Toast patterns make for a lovely, colourful addition to the breakfast table.

Hawthorn small tureen, £39.95; Organic & Green 8½-inch plate, £17.95; Polka Dot teacup and saucer, £34.95; French bowl, £19.95, all Emma Bridgewater

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THE ENGLISH HOME 7

WESTLAND

LONDON

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Playful pigment This delightful pink hue is one of seven colours recently added to the Classic range of Earthborn’s environmentally-friendly breathable paints.

Wall, Delilah, £43 for 2.5l, Earthborn Paints Sumptuous velvet Used here as a counterpoint to pinks, greens and greys, this delicious teal is amongst 18 new Beauchamp Velvet shades by James Hare.

Chair, Beauchamp Velvet, Fontainebleau, £50 a metre; curtains, Fitzrovia, Pink/Multi, £120 a metre; throw in Charleston, Blue, £75 a metre, all James Hare Delicate detail The cream and gold pattern and crenellated edges of these pretty tables make them a pleasing addition to many settings.

Blossom hand-painted metal table, Cream, £295; Blossom side table, Cream, £125, all Sophie Conran Diffusion range Brookmans, the newly launched sister brand to Smallbone of Devizes offers affordable luxury in the form of kitchens and freestanding furniture that can be delivered and installed in under 12 weeks from design confirmation.

K1 Pantry, from £15,000, Brookmans by Smallbone

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THE ENGLISH HOME 9

FEATURE EVE MIDDLETON PHOTOGRAPHS P16 (GUY GOODFELLOW) © ASTRID TEMPLIER; P18 (STUDIO DUGGAN) © MARIELL LIND HANSEN

CLOCKWISE FROM ABOVE Printed porcelain These stoneware slabs are printed using a digital ink-jet technique, offering the look of wallpaper with the durability of porcelain.

Peacock Decor Slabs (120cm x 240cm x 6mm), £1,316 a square metre, Devon & Devon Historical form The romantic history of Transylvania forms the inspiration for The Transylvanian Manor collection, including this classical royal design wallpaper.

Fairyland wallpaper, £175 for three rolls (52 x 300cm); The Manor Cushion, £109, both Mind the Gap New additions Interior design firm Studio Duggan has created Trove, a range of homeware that encapsulates a nomadic yet enduring look.

Elsie headboard covered in Jungle, Faded on Oyster by Bennison, £1,228; Silk mini cushion, £45; Lampe à Poser Globo, £585; Silk oblong cushion, £150; square cushion, Faded on Oyster, £200; 100 per cent linen throw, £200, all Trove by Studio Duggan n

10 THE ENGLISH HOME

THE

SALE

Victorian Classic, California, USA

For more information please call 781 933 1993 or visit www.hartley-botanic.com

HANDMADE IN ENGLAND CHERISHED IN AMERICA The only aluminium Glasshouses and Greenhouses endorsed by the RHS © The Royal Horticultural Society 2018 Endorsed by the Royal Horticultural Society. Registered Charity No 222879/SC038262 rhs.org.uk

Camellia Chinoiserie Jade Green wallpaper mural, from £40, V&A collection at Surface View

Haines Manalapan Emerald armchair, £1,395, Jonathan Adler

Aurora Green Glass wall mirror, £95, Oliver Bonas

Hand-painted Bamboo Songbird tea caddy lamp (T3-032SB) (shade not included), £906, Besselink & Jones

FRESHLY MINTED

Mint is as sweet as it is calm. It sits elegantly in a tone-on-tone decorating scheme as well as combining effortlessly with pale blues and even with the occasional highlight of crimson. From grand country houses to streamlined city abodes, it is the perfect hue for injecting interiors with a fresh, airy mood.

Jasper Peony Green Glaze A4 document file, £39, Joanna Wood

London glazed wall cupboard in Trinity Blue, from £1,330, deVOL

Holland fixed cover small sofa (W172cm) in Aqua velvet, £3,100, Darlings of Chelsea

British Standard recycled glass in Malachite Green, £7, Heal’s 12 THE ENGLISH HOME

FEATURE CHARIS WHITE PHOTOGRAPH (SURFACE VIEW) © OLIVER PERROTT

Hand-printed Alok cushion with wavy olive trim, £180, Penny Morrison

Luxury Lighting

Design Studio

Lighting Consultancy

www.villaverde.london Collaboration with Plum Interiors www.pluminteriors.com - Photographed by Sam Gray

Made in Italy

Ellesmere hand-knotted jute rug, £1,750, Oka Hetty Hare table lamp, £135, Graham & Green

Malawai cane 80cm mirror, £335, The Interior Spy

BACK TO EARTH

London glazed wall cupboard in Trinity Blue, from £1,330, deVOL

Brown and taupe tones are having an interior design renaissance.

Not since the 1970s have rustic textures and colours such as London Brown been at the centre of a design scheme. From cabinetry to walls, fabrics and passementerie, earth hues can look as tailored or as relaxed as desired. Just weave in some tactile textures by way of accessories and furniture.

Mock croc padded photo frame, £65, India Jane

Fine leather piping, perfect for highlighting upholstery, £19 a metre, Ian Sanderson

Natural jute knot rope doorstop, £18, Gisela Graham Papyrus Desert Sand fabric, £98 a metre, Lewis & Wood

Hand-printed Majolica wallpaper in Gaucho, £24 a metre, Rapture & Wright at Telescope Style 14 THE ENGLISH HOME

Pascoe rattan armchair, £450, India Jane

FEATURE CHARIS WHITE

London Brown wall paint, £49.50 for 2.5l Emulsion, Edward Bulmer Natural Paint

Gifts that last forever with Avant Garden’s superb range of bronzes for your home.

The Avant Garden Bronze Collection consists of over 500 fabulous Solid Bronze Sculptures, large & small.

All of their solid bronze sculptures can live inside or outside of your home, lasting forever.

Solid Bronze cannot rust or corrode no matter how harsh the weather conditions.

Shipping & posting the Bronze Sculptures to the USA is very easy indeed. Delivery is generally within 10 to 14 days. As Solid Bronze Sculptures are classed as Fine Art there is no extra import duty.

View website at: AVANTGARDENONLINE.COM

Fine Cast Solid Bronze Ribbon Dancer Sculpture 69cm

Fine Cast Solid Bronze Sculpture Deer Stag Standing Lifesize 6ft high

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Solid Bronze Cheetah Racing Modern Sculpture

USA DELIVERY QUOTES AVAILABL E

Breath of FRESH AIR Following a decade-long wait, a 1920s Edwardian-style home in Kent is given a longed-for redesign in keeping with its architectural roots FEATURE CAROLINE FOSTER PHOTOGRAPHY DAVID MEREWETHER

The comfortable velvet chesterfield sofa in the drawing room fits neatly in the bay window and is enlivened with patterned cushions in a matching soft blue hue. For a similar sofa, try Sofa.com The armchair is covered in Ashok in Petrol by Penny Morrison.

THE ENGLISH HOME 17

18 THE ENGLISH HOME

Introducing panelling finished in Little Greene’s Oak Apple adds period style to a blank wall. The bespoke curtains made up in Face Fabric from Design Forum are lined in Penny Morrison’s Ashok Yellow fabric.

W

hen Katherine and Andrew Summers first saw their future family home in Kent, it was not a case of love at first sight. “I admit that when we initially viewed the house all those years ago, I hated it,” Katherine says. “The interior was awful, with pea green walls in every room. But even though it was in a sorry state and in desperate need of refurbishment, we did rather like the high ceilings and feeling of space.”

Despite their reservations about the interior, the couple decided to live with the existing decor, threadbare carpets and layout for the next 10 years.

“We were a young family and I didn’t want to worry about our boys – William, now 20 and Edward, now 18 – running through the house in muddy wellington boots or the dog sleeping on the sofas,” Katherine says.

Over time, Katherine became acquainted with a neighbour who told her that his grandparents had originally built the house in an Edwardian style in 1924 to suit their own needs. “For instance,” she explains, “the staircase treads are unusually shallow and a very genteel way of climbing the stairs. And there were only three bedrooms – including one for their maid – because that was all they required.

I always had a sense of the original owners and it was wonderful to hear about the history of the house. However, in due course, we needed extra bedrooms and a more flexible space that would work for us as a growing family.”

Eventually, with their children now in their teens, Katherine and Andrew decided to make the changes they had been planning over the previous 10 years. They had already purchased six acres of surrounding fields from a local farmer to give them the privacy and views they valued and were keen to bring that sense of space to their home’s tired interior. “The state of the interior could no longer be described as ‘shabby chic’ and was just embarrassing, so I decided to employ local interior designer Belinda Benton of Evernden Interiors,” Katherine explains. “Belinda is well known in our close community and I adore her English furnishing style. I wanted her to design an interior that would visually flow in a relaxed, classic style that would look good for years to come.”

Committed to a complete house renovation, Katherine made the bold decision to dispose of most of the existing furniture and start afresh. “We’d made 

OPPOSITE TOP The lamps on the sofa table are from Heathfield & Co with bespoke shades made up in fabric from Fermoie.

OPPOSITE FAR LEFT A mixture of collectables, sourced through local auctions and antique shops, combine with the bespoke furnishings in the drawing room.

OPPOSITE LEFT The cushions on the principal sofa are made up in Killi

by Penny Morrison to complement the armchairs and the chesterfield sofa.

THE ENGLISH HOME 19

The tired parquet flooring in the entrance hall was replaced with wide Georgian-style oak floorboards by Deacon & Sandys.

The ceiling lantern is from Vaughan Designs and the table lamps are from Porta Romana with bespoke shades in a printed linen by David Oliver through Paint & Paper Library.

20 THE ENGLISH HOME

do with hand-me-downs from my mother, which were functional but old and would not have been my choice,” she says. “It was a terrifying but thrilling decision to create a brand new interior, as if all my Christmases had come at once.”

With help from Belinda, an assortment of bespoke pieces and carefully chosen antiques were combined to produce an interior with a natural, not too formal feel to it. In the drawing room, a palette of neutral shades enhanced with slate blues and lime green accents was chosen for its timeless elegance and relaxing tones. “The builders demolished a dilapidated orangery and extended the drawing room into the garden,” Katherine explains. “Belinda redesigned the layout to allow for a cosier seating area with bespoke armchairs flanking the fireplace and a buttoned velvet chesterfield in the bay window. In addition to the hard floor surfaces, we chose tiger’s eye sisal flooring to give a smart but relaxed country house feel.”

More challenging was the second reception room that had been used as the children’s playroom over the years and which Katherine had always disliked and avoided. “It was dingy, north facing, had no

storage and was a very odd shape due to a small five-sided turret attached to the house forming part of the room,” she explains. “It had no defined purpose.

I wanted it to become the family snug – somewhere we could all relax, watch films together or read.” This was achieved by the addition of French windows to allow more natural light to flood in and new joinery to improve storage. Now, shelving for books gives the room a library feel and cupboards provide somewhere to store board games. A large L-shaped sofa works well within the turret shape and two stylish armchairs create a cosy space where family members can relax in front of the new wood-burning stove.

The kitchen’s existing layout was largely maintained and simply updated by repainting the cabinetry and repositioning the breakfast bar. “It previously sat at an angle but was squared off to create a better-shaped space for the table and chairs in the dining area of the kitchen,” Katherine explains. One of the few pieces of furniture not to be replaced during the renovation was the pine table in the kitchen. “When we first moved in we didn’t have kitchen table, so the previous homeowner kindly left it for us and although I got 

ABOVE The snug is made cosier with bespoke tub chairs

by Evernden Interiors in a Design Forum heavy herringbone linen with cuffs in a Linwood velvet and backs in a William Yeoward jute stripe.

The walls are painted in Tarlatan by Paper & Paint Library, the mirror is from Overmantels and the lamps are by Heathfield & Co with bespoke lampshades in Braemar by Nina Campbell.

THE ENGLISH HOME 21

ABOVE & RIGHT Inspiration for the guest bedroom’s colour scheme came from the Pomeroy fabric from Blithfield, used to make up the cushions and blinds and echoed in the Pearl wall-paint finish from Little Greene.

The lampbases are from Oka and the handmade pleated lampshades are in Nile & York’s Ilex Green.

rid of all my other furniture, I didn’t have the heart to say goodbye to this old pine table. We’d had so many happy family meals around it, so it remained.”

Upstairs, Katherine and Andrew took a more radical approach, opting to change the layout to maximise the space. All the internal walls were taken down to allow for reconfiguring and the enormous landing was reduced in size. “Even though I was in a dilemma about whether to lose the spectacular landing, we were able to gain a fourth bedroom so I have no regrets,” Katherine explains. “The extension to the drawing room also meant we could build a master en suite to our bedroom above it.”

With her home perfectly redesigned to suit her family’s needs, Katherine reflects on the journey to get to this point. “I always felt that our house never belonged to us because the interior remained the same from the day we bought it and we had inherited most of our furniture,” she says. “To literally start anew was frightening but so freeing, and although we always respected the essence of the house, I now walk through the front door and truly feel that this is my home.” n

22 THE ENGLISH HOME

The dramatic use of colour enhances the intimate feel of this entrance hall in the original part of the house.

The paint is Mid Azure Green

by Little Greene and the curtain fabric is Shaftesbury

by Mulberry Home.

24 THE ENGLISH HOME

Hidden POTENTIAL Zoe Mossman overcame her family’s initial doubts and transformed a stone farmhouse in rural Rutland into the welcoming home they all longed for FEATURE CHRISTINE STOVELL PHOTOGRAPHS ROWLAND ROQUES-O’NEIL STYLING SARAH DAVENPORT

ABOVE Purdey the deerhound enjoys a nap in the dining area. The distinctive birdcage lamps by Elizabeth Stanhope hang above a table made in two days by Zoe’s carpenter and joiner. The chairs are from One World.

Fabric by William Yeoward was used for the blinds.

LEFT Zoe loves to cook and often gives students cooking lessons in her capacious kitchen.

RIGHT Maude, the family’s Airedale terrier, sits in the kitchen by Smallbone of Devizes. The bar stools are by deVOL. The Smallbone team and Zoe mixed the paint colour until it was right.

26 THE ENGLISH HOME

M

any prospective house-buyers discover that a checklist of property requirements drawn up before a viewing may be overturned in an instant when a house speaks to the heart. For Zoe Mossman and her family, however, their first impression of an eighteenthcentury stone farmhouse made their hearts sink.

“My stepmother cried, my daughter cried and James, my husband, refused to live in it,” Zoe says.

It was a growing dissatisfaction with their existing home – a vast, sprawling property described by Zoe as “permanently cold” – that prompted her, in December 2015, to explore other options. James, whose company specialises in sourcing and supplying bricks for all types of building projects, wanted only to remain in beautiful rural Rutland, but suitable properties were scarce and none matched their expectations.

Zoe’s thoughts kept returning to the unpromising farmhouse her husband had dismissed. “There really wasn’t anything nice about it, and yet I knew I could do something with it,” she says. The Grade II listed property with its Collyweston stone roof required complete modernisation, but came with a large adjoining L-shaped brick outbuilding which had potential for incorporation within the house. Its location on the edge of a quiet hamlet of mainly 

ABOVE In the elegantly informal drawing room a glass top has been mounted on top of stone lions from Haddonstone to create a coffee table.

The curtain fabric is

by William Yeoward and the woodburner is from Chesneys.

The vibrant painting above the fireplace is by acclaimed Dublin artist, Marie Carroll.

The fire surround is from Stamford Stone.

LEFT A door of faux books in the entrance hall leads into the drawing room.

period properties clustered around a picturesque parish church was attractive but, more importantly, the house was set in some 29 acres of pasture and offered excellent riding on the doorstep. “Horses are a big part of our life,” explains Zoe. “James and I returned to the property and walked for two hours in the surrounding countryside. I asked him what he’d heard in that time and, of course, there was nothing except the sound of country life.”

With James on board, Zoe’s first call was to Kavan Brook Shanahan of Pavilion Estates, whose specialists design and refurbish listed and period properties throughout the East Midlands. “Kavan arrived with pen and paper and asked me what I wanted to gain from the house,” she says. “I love to cook and occasionally give cooking lessons to students. What I wanted most of all was an enormous, sociable kitchen which would also be a beautiful entertaining space, so Kavan, with his clever eye, began sketching his designs over the sales particulars.” Plans were drawn up to transform the house into a six-bedroom home tailored exactly to the family’s needs, including what Zoe playfully describes as the “rugby room, where everyone

“What I wanted most of all was an enormous, sociable kitchen which would also be a beautiful entertaining space” can pile in to watch a game”, and a riding room for equestrian equipment.

With the necessary permissions in place, local builder David Mee was brought in to carry out the work whilst Zoe took on the role of project manager.

“We’d sit down every day and agree what needed to be done,” she says, adding that there was never a cross word between them. As a measure of their successful working relationship, the work was completed on time and within budget. “Even the weather was on our side,” Zoe observes. It took 15 months for the unsatisfactory layout of the existing farmhouse to be completely reconfigured by the incorporation and major overhaul of the outbuilding. One consideration of the design was to create cohesion between the old and new parts of the house so a light-flooded link room leading to the large kitchen-diner now ensures that the space functions as beautifully as it looks.

Having previously lived in a house where the vast dining room needed to be brought up to temperature hours in advance so guests didn’t freeze, Zoe was keen to make her new home welcoming and inviting. Local soft-furnishing specialist Chloe Jonason stepped in to imaginatively help with alterations to existing curtains and make all the curtains in the old part of the house.

Then, to continue the fresh, classically contemporary look she wanted to achieve, Zoe approached designer Elizabeth Stanhope to help with the new rooms. “I was a regular visitor to her shop and we’d become friends.

We have similar tastes; I got her and she got me, so I knew that we would work well together.”

Elizabeth took the pieces of furniture and art that Zoe and James had brought with them from their old home as her starting point, blending them with new lighting, textures and an easy-to-live-with palette of stone hues enlivened by vibrant bursts of colour in 

ABOVE LEFT An antique storage bench fits neatly in an alcove in the passage leading off the entrance hall. The fabric for the blind is

by GP & J Baker and the orange trim is by Samuel & Sons.

ABOVE RIGHT The colours in the Roger Oates stair runner echo the Milan Tumbled Limestone flooring by Mandarin Stone. The glass pendant light is by Bomma from Heal’s.

THE ENGLISH HOME 29

An easy-to-live-with palette of stone hues is enlivened by vibrant bursts of colour ABOVE The ottoman at the end of the bed in this restful bedroom is covered in Mountain Pass by Ralph Lauren. The Holly table lamps and Coral Fans lampshades are both Pooky.

RIGHT A winged headboard in Georgia’s bedroom is subtly enfolding.

The walls are painted in French Grey by Little Greene and the pleated lampshade is made to order by Sarah Davenport.

a composition that immediately makes a comfortable home. Elizabeth modestly suggests that the fruitful collaboration was due to her clients. “Zoe and James are a joy to work with and their house is a beautiful reflection of them both. That, to me, is the definition of a successful project,” she says.

Today, the house is far removed from the dated rather joyless property the family first viewed and is an oasis of calm surrounded by rolling countryside.

With her clarity of vision and dedication, Zoe has transformed the farmhouse into a spacious, inviting home where her family can relax and guests feel welcome. Any lingering memories of shivering in their previous home are dissipating. “My three children live and work in London but regularly return at weekends, often with a gang,” Zoe says, with a smile. “My son, Max, was here recently and one of the first things he said was, ‘Isn’t it lovely that you can walk in any room and be warm and not have to think about it.’” n

30 THE ENGLISH HOME

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A pair of Baccarat crystal vases converted into lamps by Hector Finch sit on mid-century side tables in the drawing room. The two Aubusson ‘cartoons’ above the sofa would have been used by weavers as a template.

Effortless GRACE A once faded country house in Kent with an intriguing past has been lovingly brought back to its former glory FEATURE & STYLING CLAIR WAYMAN PHOTOGRAPHY NICHOLAS YARSLEY

THE ENGLISH HOME 33

ABOVE The pair of nineteenth-century Coalbrookdale wrought-iron benches in the orangery are teamed with seat pads covered in Leaf Original from Claremont. A large oriental blue-andwhite urn, picked up at a local auction, takes centre stage.

S

tepping into the spacious, inviting entrance hall of Annabelle and Mike Thompson’s home, Mount Offham, visitors are instantly struck by the harmonious atmosphere.

“It’s an instinctive feeling when you go into a home that’s welcoming and has a happy history,” says Annabelle.

The seven-bedroom country house has a colourful past. It was once owned by Patrick Plunkett, 7th Baron Plunkett – long-standing equerry to Her Majesty The Queen and Deputy Master of the Household for the Royal Household – who was known for his kind nature and sense of fun, often inviting friends for weekend sojourns. The most notable regular guests included HM The Queen and HRH Princess Margaret.

Whilst the impressive early-Victorian property is tucked away in the leafy Kent countryside, it is still within easy commuting distance of London. Being in such a convenient spot was one reason why Mike came to buy the house back in 1997 as an office for his thriving market research business.

34 THE ENGLISH HOME

The couple first met when Annabelle, a corporate lawyer, came to the house for a meeting in 2002.

“Mike was selling his business and I was hired to do the legal work,” she explains. “I remember sitting at the boardroom table in the dining room, with light pouring in through those wonderful windows and gazing out at magnificent trees in the grounds. The drawing room was divided up and full of desks. The conservatory was leaking and piled high with boxes, so it was in quite a poor state, but I could see that somebody had really cared for the house in the past.”

Annabelle and Mike married in 2003 and lived in a house nearby, as, although they had a shared vision to transform the property back into a private home again, the new owners of the market research company were still renting the property as business premises. Finally able to move into the property in 2008, the couple put all their plans to update it into action, including replumbing, rewiring and reroofing.

The renovation was done in three phases, with the first phase focusing on the main part of the house. 

The dining room has a cocooning, inviting feel thanks to the fabric-covered walls and blinds in warm, earthy tones. The dining chair pads are covered in Matelas de Laine fabric from Claremont and the bespoke trim on the blinds is also by Claremont.

‘I could see that someone had really cared for the house in the past’

TOP The couple already had some Miele appliances so they had a raised area with a mirror at the end of the island designed to conceal them.

The Jura fabric by Christopher Moore adds a splash of colour to the kitchen.

36 THE ENGLISH HOME

ABOVE The dresser in the dining area of the kitchen used to sit in the scullery in Annabelle’s parents’ house in Devon. She had it stripped to reveal the beautiful wood underneath. For similar pendant lights, try Hector Finch.

“The layout was very much a Victorian house, with separate back stairs for servants, so it was a bit of a warren. The back hall was dark and cramped, with a butler’s pantry which we removed to open up the space,” says Annabelle. “There were also some pretty heinous bathrooms, including our main en suite with a huge jacuzzi bath which I’m sure was the height of fashion in 1960. We had a little battle over that. Mike said ‘We don’t want to spoil the bathroom’ and I said ‘I don’t want to spoil the house’! We ended up dividing our en suite to create a dressing room on one side. One day I went out and bought six bathrooms at West One Bathrooms, which was quite fun.”

The second stage involved replacing a shabby single-storey extension at the rear of the house with a three-storey wing, which houses the spacious, openplan kitchen/dining area on the ground floor. Lastly, they transformed the leaky conservatory – now known as ‘the orangery’ – into a more solid structure, adding large windows, doors and a roof lantern.

Passionate about preserving the house for future generations, Annabelle enlisted the help of skilled 

Specialist painter Jake Howard meticulously painted the trompe l’oeil panelling and mouldings in the entrance hall. Warm, inviting earth tones have been introduced via the rug from Robert Stephenson and the textiles on the antique bench.

THE ENGLISH HOME 37

ABOVE A classic mix of blue, cream and taupe tones keep the mood calm in the master bedroom. The sense of serenity is further enhanced by the fabric-covered walls in Artigny by Pierre Frey. The lampshades and bed drapes are both in Plumettes

by Le Manach.

RIGHT Annabelle had the four-poster bed in this bedroom made by Cotswood Fine Furniture. The Mapleton Floral fabric used for the canopy and blinds is

by Ralph Lauren at Designers Guild.

local tradesmen to restore the exquisite mouldings in the main rooms. “They worked on site to restore and replace the delicate cornices and central roses in both the drawing room and dining room,” she explains.

“These tradesmen normally have to go up to London for work, so they were thrilled to do something local.

I feel like I have a duty to leave a house in a better condition than when I found it, for the next person.

These big country houses are part of the English landscape – it’s like one big garden.”

The property’s interiors reflect Annabelle’s sense of style. “There’s one side of me which loves minimalism and modernism, having previously been married to a Swede for 22 years and owned property in Sweden,” she says. “Then there’s another part of me that loves the quintessentially English country house style, which I get from my mother.

I had the idea that the house shouldn’t completely exist in the past. It should be a slightly more modern take on a country house.”

The master bedroom’s calm, pared-back blue-andwhite palette lends it a lightly Swedish feel. “I think our bedroom is a triumph because it’s quite subtle,

38 THE ENGLISH HOME

but the fabric walls give it a depth that you can’t get with paint and wallpaper,” says Annabelle.

With the help of her decorator, Karen Day from Pavilion Interiors, Annabelle has brought together a rich array of antiques, art and textiles to create rooms that exude elegance and character. “I was thrilled to have this big house to fill because I could go to auctions and pick up over-sized oil paintings and antiques,” Annabelle says. “I also went to the Toulouse Antiques Fair in the South West of France with Karen and bought some lovely pieces. She knows the dealers there because she’s done a lot of business with them over the years.”

Annabelle has always worked in London as a busy corporate lawyer, but coming from generations of farmers, her roots are firmly embedded in the countryside and she loves looking out at the garden from her home office. “Great spotted woodpeckers are bashing away at peanuts on my bird table, I can just catch a glimpse of our horses in the stables and my hens are clucking contentedly in the yard. It’s really magical here,” she says. n

ABOVE The Braquenié fabric curtains which had previously hung in Annabelle’s London house were the starting point for the scheme in this guest bedroom. The 1950s Swedish flatweave rug from Robert Stephenson adds interest underfoot.

LEFT The master en-suite bathroom, with fittings from West One Bathrooms, is neutral and calming with honed travertine and mixed marble mosaic floor tiles.

Mount Offham is available for holiday lets through Kate & Tom’s.

THE ENGLISH HOME 39

Ancient HEART

The pared-back transformation of a 300-year-old Grade II listed Sussex cottage allows the antiques within to shine FEATURE & STYLING AMANDA HARLING PHOTOGRAPHY ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL

40 THE ENGLISH HOME

The informal dining area, which forms part of the redesigned kitchen, features a pair of utilitarian Original BTC pendant lamps, contrasted by an ornate, electrified French altar light, reflected in the gilded mirror.

Seating around the rustic oak farmhouse table consists of a distressed Hungarian bench and Eames-style dining chairs.

OPPOSITE The rear of the tile-hung house with labradors Boots and Molly.

ABOVE A collection of jugs, glasses and decorative objects is displayed on the shelves of the substantial Belgian armoire, which dates from the 1940s.

RIGHT A trio of east European painted factory lampshades, bought in France, hang above the granite-topped island unit in the kitchen which was supplied

by Howdens.

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ucked away behind a high hedge, in a historic Sussex village, Francesca Fudge’s eighteenth-century Grade II listed house, dating back to 1704, is easy to miss. “The house looks small from the outside, but inside it is deceptively spacious,” she says, “With three teenage children, we needed at least four bedrooms and plenty of space inside and out.”

When Francesca and her Canadian husband Brian moved into the house three years ago with children, Megan, 21, Amy, 17 and Alex, 16, they set about planning how to adapt it to twentieth-century family life without destroying its character.

Back in the 1960s, previous owners had constructed a two-storey extension at the back which added an extra bedroom and bathroom on the first floor plus a kitchen and dining area downstairs. “Although the

house required updating, all the essentials were there; five bedrooms (although one is now my office), a large garden and lots of parking,” Francesca says. “The icing on the cake was a barn where I could store my stock.”

Francesca is an antiques dealer, so easily accessible storage space for her treasures makes life less complicated. “I spend days on the road, and make frequent, sometimes weekly trips to the continent,” she explains. “Often, I’ll get back just in time to offload the haul before heading off on the school run. In between trips abroad, I buy closer to home, getting up at dawn to trawl through the antique fairs at Kempton or Ardingly, the latter being conveniently just a couple of hundred yards up the road from my shop, Ardingly Antiques & Interiors.”

Despite the profusion of ancient beams, Francesca and Brian’s house has a pared-back, 

ABOVE Natural textures abound in the sitting room where a Victorian button-back sofa, bought at Sunbury Antiques Market, is paired with a well-worn Dutch leather wing chair, and a decorative mid-century French metal and glass coffee table.

THE ENGLISH HOME 43

‘I have no hesitation when it comes to mixing styles and periods’ ABOVE In a little ante room adjacent to the kitchen, a decadent, early nineteenth-century crystal chandelier is juxtaposed with a traditional French school desk and a delicate ebonizedwood chair.

LEFT Detail of the antique chandelier.

44 THE ENGLISH HOME

uncluttered look. “Although the house required updating, we were intent on retaining the period details such as the beams and fireplaces,” Francesca explains. “Underfloor heating, which we installed beneath a new limestone floor and runs from the hall through to the kitchen, doesn’t detract from the period style in any way.”

Other changes the couple made include knocking out the plaster in the beamed walls between the sitting room and an adjoining small side room to enhance the flow of light into the space without detracting from the traditional look. “In places, we even knocked out ceilings,” says Francesca.

Although the existing kitchen was spacious, Francesca was keen to put her own stamp on it.

Working with a local builders’ merchant, she specified a classic combination of grey-painted Shaker-style units contrasted by work surfaces of black granite. The dining area in the kitchen, with French windows opening onto the garden, has an inviting feel with rustic, distressed furniture, presided over by a striking nineteenth-century portrait of a French priest. 

In the rear section of the sitting room a Swedish dining chair is teamed with a well-worn English oak table. The painted buffet was bought in Normandy whilst the India Jane lamp base was a fortunate find at a car boot sale. The ceiling and the plaster in the internal beamed wall have been knocked out to allow light to flow through into the main sitting area.

THE ENGLISH HOME 45

ABOVE Checks and colourful vintage oil paintings create a welcoming look in the entrance hall. The limestone floor was supplied and laid by Mandarin Stone. The blue-and-white blind fabric is Agnes by Kate Forman.

RIGHT Francesca with labrador Molly.

The garden itself looks remarkably mature, thanks to Brian’s hard work. “He put the word out locally that if someone’s garden was becoming overgrown, he’d dig up any trees or shrubs that needed thinning out,” Francesca says. “In that way, we ended up with a more or less instant garden for remarkably little cost.”

Upstairs, each of the bedrooms has a contemporary bathroom or shower room designed by Francesca. She has juxtaposed the clean lines of grey stone tiles and contemporary-style sanitaryware with the 300-year-old beams and ancient, uneven plaster walls, to create an unexpected twist.

The walls throughout the house are painted white, but there is no lack of colour. “Painted furniture, cushions, upholstery and decorative paintings, which generally come from France and Belgium,

46 THE ENGLISH HOME

add the colour accent,” Francesca says. “As I swap everything around so frequently, having a mainly plain backdrop means that most pieces, even those upholstered in a strong pattern, don’t look out of place.”

Francesca’s interest in antiques and interior decoration developed early on in life, and was encouraged by her late mother. “She was an avid reader of interior design magazines and moving furniture around was second nature to her. It didn’t take long for me to start joining in,” Francesca says.

“At the drop of a hat, she would completely change the furniture in our family home in Fulham, and I’ve followed her example. I often move everything around on a whim – perhaps an armchair I’ve bought will propel me into a change-around or a Fauve-like still life will become a focal point in a new arrangement.

A pair of marble-topped nineteenthcentury French bedside cabinets stand on either side of the wrought-iron gilded bed, a collaboration between Francesca and a Sussex blacksmith friend. The lamps are French, whilst the lampshades were made by Ruby Watts Lighting.

Having the shop does make that part of life easier – a surplus sofa simply goes into stock.”

Life as an antiques dealer for Francesca took off soon after she and Brian moved from London to the Sussex village of Ditchling in 2004. “I’d just finished studying for my law degree and for a bit of fun I entered an interior design magazine competition,” she says. “I was only a runner-up, but it got me thinking about what I liked doing. Interiors and antiques had always fascinated me, so I decided it was time to try my hand with antiques. I held ‘open houses’ at weekends, with a ‘For Sale’ ticket on pretty much everything. Subsequently, I had my own antiques and interiors shop in Hurstpierpoint, until I found larger premises in Ardingly.”

Francesca has developed a strong interiors style and is constantly on the lookout for pieces to try at home. She edits carefully and keeps to a pared-back colour palette. “I have no hesitation when it comes to mixing styles and periods, but sticking to similar finishes, such brass and gilt, plus shades of blue and white, establishes a sense of cohesion,” she says.

It is clear to see Francesca has an eagle eye for quirky antiques and her home acts as the perfect canvas for the constantly evolving treasures that she picks up along the way. “Over the years you get a feel for what looks right,” says Francesca.

“Being able to indulge my passion for antiques and experiment with pieces at home makes it a fascinating way of life.” n

THE ENGLISH HOME 47

The aqua-hued walls in the dining room create a perfect contrast to the gold-toned accessories and time-worn antique furniture. For a similar colour, try Farrow & Ball’s Green Blue.

The sideboard and oil painting above are inherited and the tableware is by Emma Bridgewater.

48 THE ENGLISH HOME

Eclectic PANACHE An elegant townhouse in Bath with a wealth of Georgian features has proven to be the perfect backdrop for a diverse collection of art and family heirlooms FEATURE & STYLING HANNAH NEWTON PHOTOGRAPHY CLAIRE WORTHY

ABOVE Bill inherited the large oak dining table, which unfolds to seat 10, from his grandparents. The trio of contemporary red paintings are

by Brazilian artist Régis Gonzales – a friend of Bill’s, LEFT An Aga sets the tone in this refined basement kitchen.

The ceramic crustacean dish is French and belonged to Bill’s mother and the Turkish tile next to the window maintains the colourful flourishes.

The original floor tiles are beautifully patinated with age.

50 THE ENGLISH HOME

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here is a pleasing symmetry to the rows of honey-coloured Georgian houses that line the hills overlooking Bath. The city’s rich history, its sweeping crescents and the grand proportions of its houses are what drew Bill Keeling to it. “I find the entire city architecturally beautiful,” he explains.

Bill bought his home in Bath five years ago as a bolthole from the fast pace of life in London, where his work as co-owner of Prestat, the chocolate company with a Royal warrant, keeps him busy during the week.

As soon as Friday afternoon comes around, he jumps on a train at Paddington station to be whisked to Bath.

His elegant house is just a stone’s throw from the train station, allowing him to walk there in no time.

“Bath, logistically, for me was perfect, and its Georgian Regency heart is a period I love,” he says. “It was a transformative part of history, with canals being built, the Industrial Revolution and the death of high society with the incoming of the railways.”

Since purchasing the four-storey townhouse from two elderly authors in 2014, Bill has done very little to it. Fortunately, it retains a wealth of original features allowing the integrity and history of the building to remain firmly intact. Bill’s appreciation of Georgian architecture and the history of the house is paramount 

The floor-to-ceiling sash windows flood the drawing room with light. A ceramic bowl by Walter Keeler sits on top of the coffee table. The ceramic eye above the door frame is by South Korean artist Myung Nam An.

THE ENGLISH HOME 51

‘The paintings, pictures and pieces become companions.

I move them around to reconnect with them’ ABOVE “This is my Fred Flinstone bed,” Bill says. The bed and side-tables are both from Indonesia, the picture above the fireplace is from Bali, the mirror is Native American bought from an antiques shop in London, whilst the jug on top of the cupboard is by an English artist in Bath. For a similar rug, try the Darica Rug from Oka and Lombok for Indonesian beds made from solid teak.

to the way he lives. He has enhanced the interiors with his inherited furniture, artworks and instinctive flair for styling, exemplified in the vintage mannequins he sourced from a shop in Bath and repurposed into lamp stands. These striking lamps are also used

by Bill to display his favourite jackets, bought from a much-loved Nepalese clothing brand and a nod to his playful sense of style.

“I’m not interested in any one period over another and I don’t have a preference for ‘modern’ against ‘antique’. I like the juxtaposition of the two,” he explains. This is a contrast that plays out throughout his home, with its satisfying symmetrical architecture lending itself perfectly to Bill’s large collection of contemporary artworks.

Walking through the front door into the long hallway, the eye is immediately drawn towards the large and pleasingly square drawing room, painted in Tivoli, a classic blue by Little Greene. Sunlight floods into the room through the generous floor-to-ceiling sash windows which look out over the city. “My style is

52 THE ENGLISH HOME

eclectic,” Bill says of the many abstract paintings and ceramics that adorn the walls and shelves in the room. A Knole sofa which once belonged to Bill’s grandparents, strikingly reupholstered in Napoleon Bee by Timorous Beasties, sits perfectly within the Georgian proportions in the room.

Having travelled extensively, working for many years as a foreign correspondent for the Financial Times in places such as West Africa and Indonesia, Bill’s design aesthetic and furniture reflect his globetrotting past. A large wooden desk from Indonesia, intricately inlaid with mother-of-pearl, is host to his books and post. “I love craft: the layers, the process, the construct – I look for that,” he says.

Bill’s devotion to art stems from his mother, who would take him and his three brothers to museums and galleries whenever she could. Shaped by a strict Catholic childhood and having been sent to boarding school aged eight, Bill also found solace in books, particularly within the pages of Hergé’s Tintin, whose humorous influence can be felt around the house. 

The eclectic combination of furniture and accessories in the master bedroom includes a cabinet from Russia, a Vietnamese painting, a cloth from Sumatra and a chair Bill inherited from his grandparents. Try the Heron standing lamp and the Kirkwall club chair from Oka for a similar look.

THE ENGLISH HOME 53

‘For me, the contents of my home are a link to my grandparents and parents. They are the context of my lifetime’ ABOVE LEFT The spare bedroom at the top of the house has walls decorated with Broad Stripe Fontana wallpaper by Little Greene and art deco wall lights which Bill found at The Chelsea Antiques Fair.

ABOVE RIGHT Bill wearing a beloved Tintin jumper and next to one of his repurposed mannequin lamps.

The painting is by Tai Shan Schierenberg.

On the third floor, Bill’s bedroom enjoys glorious views over Bath and is enhanced with large kilim rugs on the floor and soft Brighton paint from Little Greene on the walls. The large room is perfect for Bill’s Indonesian bed and bedside tables, which are crafted from chunky planks of wood. Original Georgian inbuilt cupboards his clothes store and provide display spots for a pair of ceramic jugs.

A contemporary painting from Bali hangs above the elegant original fireplace. The top floor has two further guest bedrooms and a bathroom.

The basement is home to the kitchen and dining room and demonstrates Bill’s love of colour and his eclectic taste. Three modern red paintings by Bill’s friend, Brazilian artist Régis Gonzales, gaze down onto his grandparents’ antique oak dining table with

54 THE ENGLISH HOME

Jacobean chairs and an heirloom sideboard. An ornate antique oil painting of an eighteenth-century lady and several bowls of fruit, also inherited from his grandparents, hangs above the sideboard.

There is no planning or alignment in the pieces Bill chooses to surround himself with – he simply buys things because he loves them – yet his array of art, history, colour and humour combines to create a palpable sense of testimony. The quirky collections and cherished inherited heirlooms sit comfortably within the elegant Georgian interiors. “For me, the contents of my home are a link to my grandparents and parents. They are the context of my lifetime,” he says. “They encapsulate everything, from the relatives I was brought up with to the pieces I’ve acquired during my own short time on earth.” n

WIN

A GREAT BRITISH HOLIDAY

Your once-in-a-lifetime trip includes: ree intern tion l i ht (if applicable) o ni ht on on t ic et on le oni n leeper to in ur h o ni ht t in in ur h riti h oo tour ic et to lenhei l ce ni ht in ot ol hotel Afternoon tea e t n tic et ith inner

Enter our competition for the chance to win a holiday to Great Britain for two, worth up to £5,000, including free international flights

W

hat would your dream holiday to Britain include? A five-star stay in London and tickets to a West End show? A trip to historic Edinburgh? How about a stay in the Cotswolds, including a visit to one of Britain’s finest stately homes? Well, with our Great British Holiday competition, you can win all of this and more.

LONDON LUXURY Starting with free flights (for overseas entrants), the winner and a guest will travel to London for two nights at the five-star Shangri-La Hotel At The Shard – a London landmark. Enjoy afternoon tea at the TÎNG Restaurant, also in The Shard, 35 floors up, with magnificent views

56 THE ENGLISH HOME

of the London skyline. Your visit to London will also include tickets to a top West End show of your choice, with a lavish three-course meal to make your night in the capital one to remember.

DREAM YOUR WAY TO EDINBURGH Next, you will be whisked to Edinburgh on the Caledonian Sleeper train. Departing central London at night, you will bed down in a Club Room and wake for breakfast in the Club Car before arriving in Edinburgh.

Your base in the city will be the luxury Radisson Collection Edinburgh, located on the famous Royal Mile, with stunning views of the Old Town. During your stay you will enjoy a food tour of the city, with tastings of

Scottish dishes and drinks, rounded off with traditional afternoon tea.

THE CHARMING COTSWOLDS To conclude your trip, it is time to head to the English countryside to visit one of Britain’s finest stately homes and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill: Blenheim Palace.

Accommodation for the night will be at The Feathers hotel, an inviting seventeenthcentury townhouse hotel in the historic market town of Woodstock. After a traditional English breakfast, you will be free to explore your surroundings: the idyllic Oxfordshire Cotswolds, home to some of England’s most beautiful villages.

COMPETITION

Two-night stay for two including breakfast and afternoon tea at the Shangri-La Hotel At The Shard, London, the capital’s highest hotel. shangri-la.com

Two premium theatre tickets in the stalls or dress circle, plus a three-course meal with wine from Buyagift, the UK’s leading provider of experience days. buyagift.co.uk

Two-night stay for two including breakfast at the Radisson Collection Edinburgh on the city's Royal Mile. radissonhotels.com

Two tickets to Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, one of the country's finest stately homes and the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. blenheimpalace.com

Return tickets for two on Caledonian Sleeper from London to Edinburgh.

Accommodation and breakfast included. sleeper.scot

Enjoy an Edinburgh British Food Tour for two with upgraded drinks package, including traditional afternoon tea, from go-to gift experience company Red Letter Days. redletterdays.co.uk

One-night stay for two at The Feathers, a charming seventeenth-century townhouse hotel near Blenheim Palace.

Includes breakfast. feathers.co.uk

HOW TO ENTER Go to theenglishhome.co.uk/ GBH2020 or fill in the coupon on the right with the answer to the question: Question: Which of these cities sits on an extinct volcano? a) London b) Edinburgh c) Newcastle TERMS & CONDITIONS Closing date for entries is 31 July 2020. The winner will be announced on theenglishhome. co.uk on 7 August 2020, and the holiday can be taken between 1 September 2020 and 31 May 2021, subject to availability. For full terms and conditions, go to theenglishhome.co.uk/ GBH2020

SEND YOUR COUPON TO: US readers – Great British Holiday Competition 2020, The English Home, C/O NPS Media Group, 2 Corporate Drive, Suite 945, Shelton, CT 06484 UK and ROW – Great British Holiday Competition 2020, The English Home, Jubilee House, 2 Jubilee Place, London, SW3 3TQ, UK

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ALL THE WAY FROM THE UK

DECORATING GUIDE 2020

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E ID 0 U 2 20IGN G

INTERIOR DESIGN

Versatile pink 2 1

CREATING THE PERFECT ENGLISH HOME

SUCCESS WITH COLOUR

Comprehensive guide to choosing & using perfect tones

Ranging from an almost neutral plaster pink to mid-tones of rose and peony to lively corals and vibrant fuchsias, pink has many characters. The colour seemed to be having a ‘moment’ a couple of years ago and its popularity has not waned, with tones of blush sweeping into interiors in beguiling combinations and myriad styles.

Feminine, floral schemes naturally suit the delicate romance of rose pinks, but pink can also be smart, sophisticated and punchy. It provides a graceful counterbalance to grey decor; adds dynamic contrast to greens and blues; and produces classical echoes with yellow, also suited to fresh, uplifting rooms.

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PROFESSIONAL DESIGN TIPS

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Collating moodboards & planning layouts

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FEATURE KATY MCLEAN PHOTOGRAPHS (4 & 6) © KIP DAWKINS, (8) © ADAM CARTER

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WHICH HUE? The choice of pink will tend to set the mood and energy for the room.

Shades differ so vastly, each creating its own ambience and tone. To avoid a saccharine look, steer away from pinks that tend to have a blue base note and evoke the feel of a young girl’s bedroom. Pinks with a yellow or muted brown undertone have a far more grown-up effect.

Earthy plaster tones are barely pink but an almost nude colour that can provide a soft introduction to using pink and, alongside cosseting hues of beige and brown, result in a warming, neutral look. Or they can be prettied up with accents in deeper pinks or smudgy blues which, being soft, gentle and slightly dirty tones, suit quiet, restful spaces. Edward Bulmer Natural Paint’s Cuisse de Nymphe Emue is popular for this look. For a deeper shade, Farrow & Ball’s Sulking Room Pink has a moodier appeal.

Petal pinks instantly feel more feminine and bring a brighter approach.

If desired, they are perfect for a more romantic country look full of charm: think ditsy patterns, faded antique linens and rose prints. Alternatively, used in a more graphic way, for instance contrasted against whites and greys, they can look modern and crisp.

Teaming green with mid-pink tones creates a striking combination. Bold botanical motifs in a deep evergreen hue can be exquisite against a rose backdrop. Blues, from deep navy to powder blue, work well with most tones of pink; particularly interesting is contrasting sky blue with a deep coral pink.

A ‘hot palette’ – including pinks, reds, oranges or yellows – whilst usually avoided due to the thought that these colours clash, can produce bright and dynamic, or rich and comforting results when the right balance is used.

Pink can provide a classic backdrop to traditional furniture whose warm wood, antique brass and gold tones sit comfortably with most shades. For a contemporary lift, try cooler nickel and silver finishes and geometric patterns.

And for the eternal romantic, pink will always look perfect on florals.  1 Wallpaper, Batali, Pink, £79 a roll, and all fabrics, Jane Churchill 2 Wallpaper, Trellis, Pink Sand, £356 a roll, No9 Thompson 3 (From top): Espinillo Hot Pink Patchwork cushion, £45; Espinillo Hot Pink Oxford pillowcase, £15; Espinillo Pink throw, £75, all Clarissa Hulse 4 Manor collection, Pale Pink Series, Anna French 5 Blind, Margot, Pink, £78 a metre, Kate Forman

6 Chair and curtains, Merabu, £140 a metre, and all other fabrics, Travers 7 Wall, Josephine, £25 for 1l Chalky Interior Matt, M&L Paints 8 Bespokeupholstered full bed in Embroidered Pink Rosebud Linen, from £1,995, and all other fabrics and furniture, Susie Watson Designs 9 Chair upholstered in Rivoli, Rose Ancien, £78 a metre, and cushion fabrics, all Manuel Canovas

THE ENGLISH HOME 79

TEH 2020 BOOKAZINE Decorate with Pink.indd 78-79

22/10/2019 15:55

CARLOS GARCÍA

How to use pattern successfully

DECORATING ADVICE

Using pattern Adding focal points Attention to details Incorporating antiques

The founder of Carlos Garcia Interiors explains the importance of pattern in the home and summarises his considerations when employing beautiful prints

ABOVE Carlos loves Middle Eastern fabrics, chinoiserie, pattern and plenty of bold colour. Here a golden yellow armchair looks striking amidst the blend of pattern and antique furniture.

RIGHT Here, classic English country house fabrics are deftly combined with spicier hued tones from warmer climes.

ABOVE RIGHT An eye-catching suzani forms a backdrop for the assortment of cushions on the sofa.

A rich red in the patterned elements unites the scheme.

BUY PLUS INTERIOR DESIGNER CASE STUDIES & INSIGHTS YOUR COPY

What does the addition of pattern give to an interior? And why is pattern an important element to introduce?

My aim when decorating a house is to transform it into a home.

Pattern adds warmth, softens, makes wide spaces feel cosier, rooms feel comfortable and it can be an economical way of filling a room without much in it.

Do you have favourite types of pattern, and why?

I can’t conceive of a room without pattern. I love pattern.

I’m terribly fond of small geometric patterns. I also like patterned weaves as they provide both pattern and texture.

When adding patterns to a room, where do you start? For example, with the colour, the mood, the period of the room?

Wendy Nicholls [a director at Sybil Colefax & John Fowler] once told me houses tell you what they want. I wholeheartedly concur.

Listen to a house/room and you’ll know what to do. If starting with a blank canvas, I always begin with walls, whether colour

or pattern, and build up from there. Otherwise an existing object – a rug, a painting, etc – may be a good departing point to inform the rest of the design.

Do you have any personal rules for using pattern. For example, odd numbers of different patterns, never mix X and Y, etc?

I tend to mix antique and new patterned textiles to add a lived-in feel and I always introduce a stripe in a room to let pattern ‘breathe’. I sometimes use a profusion of small geometric patterns to bring ‘order’.

What helps different patterns sit comfortably together?

And are there ever any that will never be friends?

Ideally, although not necessarily, I maintain an almost imperceptible thread running through. One small area of a pattern can inform the next. However, I tend to throw in something ever so slightly dissonant to add interest and/or wit, to take seriousness away. 

THE ENGLISH HOME 15

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Interior Design is the ultimate guide dedicated to helping readers create their perfect English home. From the publishers of The English Home magazine, it features invaluable advice from some of Britain’s finest designers and interiors experts on success with colour, pattern, design details, focal points & more.

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Buy online for $10.95 (plus shipping and handling) and have it direct to your home. Visit chelseamagazines.com/interiordesign 58 delivered THE ENGLISH HOME

22/10/2019 15:58

STYLE INSPIRATION

Our special section dedicated to design and decorating inspiration begins here

POWER OF PATTERN

FEATURE KATY MCLEAN

Confidence in using a large-scale, boldly coloured pattern does not necessarily mean using it all over walls. Judicious use can allow pattern to create a transformative impact upon a room. This smart, colourful room, with a considered mix of patterns on the sofa, is further enlivened with the striking embroidery on the Roman blind.

A relatively small, but perfectly placed use of vibrant pattern.

Blind, Daula, ÂŁ79 a metre, and all other fabrics, from the new Caspian collection, Sanderson

THE ENGLISH HOME 59

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Find your

STYLE TRIBE We believe most readers will find themselves drawn to a particular design aesthetic, with fabrics they cannot resist and furniture they covet. Here we present key ingredients and influencers for three style tribes

STYLE TRIBE:

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True Romantic

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hose drawn to florals, faded antique linens, ginghams, ticking stripes and gently distressed painted furniture will find a natural affinity to the True Romantic style.

This look exudes femininity in a lovely palette of pastel tones, offset with dove greys and chalky whites.

These dreamy looks are gentle on the eye – no strong, vibrant colours or harsh, strong lines here.

Romantic schemes are pretty and relaxed – perhaps with loose covers on a plump, cosy sofa. However, delicate flourishes and details such as ruffles, ribbons or a pom-pom trim elevate the simple to something beautiful. Vintage pieces might sit along Scandinavian and French influences, and cherished pieces of furniture are often given a new lease of life with 

Key elements • • • • •

Florals, tickings and gingham Authentic vintage acessories Pastel colours, whites and greys Painted furniture Possible French and Scandinavian design influences • Country-inspired details

6

1 Shabby Chic founder Rachel Ashwell embraces the true romantic style with her range of furniture and floral fabrics.

2 Faded linens with charming rose motifs are an absolute essential for the True Romantic. Fabric, Faded Roses, in a selection of colours, £59 a metre, Sarah Hardaker 3 Ticking stripes, florals and sweet country motifs such as birds or bees work well on linens and cottons. Seamist linen, £75 a metre; Pom Poms, £14.95 a metre; all other fabrics £64 a metre, Peony & Sage 4 Combining a lovely stripe in a soft blue with a delicate pattern of trailing flowers this linen is utterly romantic.

Beauclerc Narrow in Wedgwood, £120 a metre, Inchyra 5 Though more recent collections from Kate Forman would suit the Smart Bohemian tribe (see page 84), her roots are as a True Romantic.

Christobel, Oyster, £75 a metre, Kate Forman 6 A True Romantic would be wise to source bedlinens from Cabbages & Roses for a wonderfully dreamy room.

Clementine duvet cover, from £40 for a single, Cabbages & Roses PAINTS LEFT TO RIGHT Rose Ash Light, Sanderson; Lily Lily Rose, Earthborn; Pale Wedgwood, Little Greene; Water Glass, Edward Bulmer Natural Paint THE ENGLISH HOME 61

chalk paint gently sanded back for a distressed appearance. As with the Smart Bohemians (see page 68), True Romantics usually eschew anything too glitzy – though perhaps a few drop crystals on lights might add a lustrous note.

Textiles are simple, but quality linens, printed cottons and florals abound in both ditsy motifs and blowsy chintzes. Whilst sleeker versions of this look might be implemented by those who live in town yet yearn for the country, generally speaking this tribe is to be found living in sweet rural cottages and informal country homes. 

1 Design influencers

2

• Vanessa Arbuthnott • Rachel Ashwell • Pippa Blacker • Willow Crossley • Kate Forman • Sarah Hardaker • Caroline Inchyra • Christina Strutt • Susie Watson

3 62 THE ENGLISH HOME

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1 With a range of textiles inspired by nature in a soft palette of faded pastels, Pippa Blacker is a romantic at heart. Arabella Maxi, from £65 a metre, Pippa Blacker Interiors 2 Hand-printed on linen, Cloth & Clover’s beautiful fabrics are often inspired by or recreated from archive documents and precious fragments of materials, giving them a timeless charm. Table in Ullington, Lettuce/Fennel, £130 a metre, and all other fabrics and paper, all Cloth & Clover 3 Pale blues are just as pretty as pinks and this sweet paisleyinspired motif is ideal for a feminine look. Paisley Rose Country Blue, £52 a metre, Jacqueline Milton 4 Traditional English country blooms have a natural affinity with the true romantic aesthetic. Large Hydrangea linen, £54 a metre, Meg Morton

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THE ENGLISH HOME 63

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STYLE TRIBE:

Classic English

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efined, considered and enduring, this look appeals to owners of period properties, usually Regency or Georgian. Admirers of the Classic English aesthetic have a love of symmetry, a predilection towards smart co-ordination and an appreciation of fine period features.

The period and architecture of the property generally plays a pivotal role in decorative schemes, with cornicing, architraving, fireplaces and ornate ceilings being sympathetically restored and celebrated.

Fabric choices gently chime without being strictly matched, with a nod towards more traditional patterns – damasks, structured florals, plaids, stripes, paisley and so on, but all in a limited palette. Tending towards a range of heritage hues as well as a neutral rather than a vibrant mix, the overall decorative palette is refined.

Key elements • Symmetry • Traditional furniture • Heritage hues • Smart lines • Georgian influences • Architectural details • Passementerie • Formal window treatments

10

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1 Large-scale tree of life designs are ideal for a classic scheme.

Jacaranda, Gold, £105 a metre, Marvic Textiles 2 Preserving or restoring period features, such as plasterwork on ceilings, is essential in the grand country homes or elegant townhouses of the Classic English tribe. Bespoke plasterwork by Geoffrey Preston 3 A warm but neutral palette is the general choice for the Classic English tribe, but richer colours can add depth and are particualry good for displaying traditional art (as seen through the doorway).

Hallway in Wash Stop, £49.20 for 2.5l, Edward Bulmer Natural Paint 4 A sitting room designed by Guy Goodfellow, full of classic touches and smart yet comfortable and inviting. 5 Give antique furniture a modern twist by mixing patterns on upholstery. Chair back in Pasha Embroidery, £130 a metre and all other fabrics, Ian Sanderson 6 Antiques or quality reproductions set a traditional note. Here Will Fisher of Jamb has combined old and new with aplomb. The Campbell table, £4,560, and all other furniture, Jamb 7 Edward Bulmer is an exemplar of Classic English style and his eponymous range of paints features shades that suit heritage properties. Mummy, £49.50 for 2.5l, Edward Bulmer Natural Paint 8 Botanical and floral designs in large or trailing motifs are a popular choice with the Classic English tribe. Trailing Sycamore weave, £69 a metre, Sanderson 9 Passementerie such as fringing, borders and braids adds some lovely detail to curtains, cushions and upholstery. Selection of Trianon Trimmings from Nina Campbell at Osborne & Little 10 A Classic English home would not be complete without a canine companion. Chair seat in Kempsey, £85 a metre, Colefax and Fowler PAINTS LEFT TO RIGHT Porcelain Glaze, Benjamin Moore; Bandstand, Period Collection, Crown; Deep Sung Cream, Craig & Rose; Elephant’s Breath, Farrow & Ball THE ENGLISH HOME 65

1

A strong neutral base of cream and stone hues, enriched with sophisticated tones of blue, sage, rich reds and burnt oranges, is a perfect backdrop for antique furniture and classically inspired pieces. The look is smart but comfortable. Armchairs and sofas have strong outlines and tactile, rich upholstery.

Windows are dressed with decadently pooling drapes, perhaps with swags for the very traditional at heart, or a box-pelmet for a fresher look. Modern twists and uplifts can be introduced – this is not a look devout to a particular period, though it remains coherent and respectful to perhaps a Georgian or neo-classical aesthetic, whether in town or country. 

2 Design influencers • Edward Bulmer • Nina Campbell • Guy Goodfellow • Will Fisher (Jamb) • David Mlinaric • Colin Orchard • Ben Pentreath • Max Rollitt • Christopher Vane Percy • Joanna Wood

3 66 THE ENGLISH HOME

1 Decadent damasks, either as curtains or wallpaper, are appealing in a classic scheme.

This design has an aged appearance and emulates the look of a silk. Mitford Weave, £99 a metre, Zoffany 2 The strong symmetrical repeat of this floral wallpaper is the perfect scale for a classic English home. Chelwood wallpaper, £69 a roll, Nina Campbell at Osborne & Little 3 Interior designer Henriette von Stockhausen has maximised the architectural features in this beautiful scheme.

4 Quality textiles with traditional trimmings are a mainstay of the Classic English tribe. Selection from Colefax and Fowler

4

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Editor’s Choice Award Most Romantic Hotel La Sablonnerie, Sark

For a truly memorable daybeorsure stay,tobe surethe to enjoy thebeauty magical of thishaunt. famous haunt.

Rest andyourself refreshatyourself at La Sablonnerie For a truly memorable day or stay, enjoy magical of beauty this famous Rest and refresh La Sablonnerie Hotel andHotel and Tea Gardens, where a delicious or Sark a superb Sark Cream Tea in is served in this idyllicAlso, setting. dine romantically by candlelight Tea Gardens, where a delicious Gourmet Gourmet LuncheonLuncheon or a superb Cream Tea is served this idyllic setting. dineAlso, romantically by candlelight inCentury the 16threstaurant, Century restaurant, for its excellent cuisine. hotel recommended is highly recommended leading hotel for itsand comfort in the 16th renownedrenowned for its excellent cuisine. The hotelThe is highly by leadingbyhotel guides forguides its comfort good and food.good food.

Own horses and carriages forSablonnerie hire. La Sablonnerie washighlighted recently highlighted by guide the hotel guideas Which? as “The place in the Islands”.

Channel Islands”.

Own horses and carriages for hire. La was recently by the hotel Which?

“The place to stay in to thestay Channel Fordetails further details and reservations call Elizabeth on832061 (01481)or832061 or Fax832408 (01481)www.sablonneriesark.com 832408 www.sablonneriesark.com For further and reservations call Elizabeth Perrée onPerrée (01481) Fax (01481) Don’t the Channel Islandsvisiting withoutSark visiting Little Sark. be an experience thatwith will you live with you forever’.

Don’t leave the leave Channel Islands without andSark Littleand Sark.

‘It will be‘It anwill experience that will live forever’.

THE ENGLISH HOME 67

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STYLE TRIBE:

Smart Bohemian

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overs of colour, pattern and craftsmanship will find they are drawn to the relaxed, softly eclectic, playful look of Smart Bohemian style. With a range of global influences combining with touches of the Classic English aesthetic, the bohemian house is lovingly evolved with a sense of the well-travelled.

This should not be a haphazard look; there is a loose cohesion, perhaps in the colour palette, which could be bright and vibrant with bursts of pure colour or rich, dark and moody with navy, plum, mustard and fuchsia hues.

Tapestries and detailed embroidery might nestle alongside geometric prints, ikats and simple stripes.

Textiles amassed over years are used for an array of appealing cushions or on lampshades; suzanis and kilims used as rugs, throws and wall hangings.

Antique heirlooms find their place next to restored vintage pieces, newer, contemporary additions or something brought home from a far-flung holiday.

This look is maximalist, confident and radiates comfort, with every piece seeming to tell a story, often showcasing craftsmanship, too – be it hand-blockprinting, wood-carving or intricate crewelwork.

6

Key elements • Confident mixtures of colour and pattern • Global influences • Maximalist details • Blending styles of furniture • Suzanis, ikats and crewelwork • Carved furniture

1 The epitome of smart bohemian, this sitting room by Salvesen Graham combines a range of colourful patterns against a classic backdrop, along with vintage and contemporary pieces. 2 Confidence with colour and pattern is core to the bohemian tribe. Asca rug, £4,481; Matlock chair, £2,400, both A Rum Fellow 3 Zara Bolingbroke-Kent of Bombay Sprout exemplifies the bohemian spirit with her interior styling and collections of vibrant Indian textiles and rugs with a modern twist. 4 Smart Bohemians seek out quirky textiles such as this stiped cotton with bold marigolds.

Mughal Marigold, £85 a metre, Bombay Sprout 5 Though the Smart Bohemian tends to mix and match across collections and collate over years, this range provides a strong foundation with a varied mix of patterns and colours. Selection of fabrics from the Bohemian Travels collection, Mulberry Home 6 Smart Bohemians use textiles to make a statement, such as this vibrant upholstery. Combined with an antique rug, furniture showcasing craftsmanship of another culture and a modern shade on a traditional lamp base, the look is evolved yet curated. Chair, Stormy Weather, Sunset, £140 a metre; lampshade, Lisboa, Rose, £120 a metre, Jim Thompson 7 Along with crewelworks, velvets, tapestry and weaves, beautiful prints, ikats are a particularly essential part of the bohemian’s textile choices.

Hand-woven silk cotton ikat in Turquoise/Off-white, £45 a metre, Susan Deliss PAINTS LEFT TO RIGHT Inglenook, Earthborn Paints; Sulking Room Pink, Farrow & Ball; Vintage Denim, Designers Guild; Pleat, Little Greene

7 THE ENGLISH HOME 69

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This results in a vibrant, inviting and curated feel. It should not be cluttered or muddled; there can still be a clean freshness and a plain backdrop allows for the playful blend of fabrics. Textiles really are a crucial ingredient, with cushions and upholstery taking centre stage, though supporting textures are also important.

There should not be anything too shiny, glossy or glamorous – think naturally finished wood, or perhaps woven furniture, antiqued metals and mirrors with patina. For flooring, look to wood or natural fibres, topped with richly hued and patterned rugs. n

Design influencers • Lucy Barlow • Susan Deliss • Luke Edward Hall • Kit Kemp • Lulu Lytle • Molly Mahon • Sarah Vanrenen

4 70 THE ENGLISH HOME

1 Textiles that champion craftsmanship such as hand-block-printing are a much-loved ingredient of the Smart Bohemian tribe.

Patee, £162 a metre, Molly Mahon 2 Woven in England, this fabric has artisan quality combined with smart use of colour and pattern. Firenze, £230 a metre, Teyssier 3 A hot palette of reds, pinks and oranges is tempered by cool, stylish blue-greys in this vibrant scheme full of ethnic patterns. Blinds, Tapestry Stripe, £98 a metre; sofa, Inara, £69 a metre; selection of other fabrics from the Azara collection, from £39 a metre, Jane Churchill 4 Bright, bold colour, ethnic artwork, bamboo-framed mirrors, fringe -trimmed cushions and a wicker ottoman are just some of the elements that make this a beautifully smart bohemian bedroom by Barlow & Barlow

FEATURE KATY MCLEAN PHOTOGRAPHY P61 (PEONY & SAGE) © PHIL TAYLOR; P65 (GUY GOODFELLOW) © ASTRID TEMPLIER; (NINA CAMPBELL) © RICK POTTER; P65 & P66 (COLEFAX AND FOWLER) © JAN BALDWIN; P69 (JIM THOMPSON) © DAVID CHRISTENSEN; (SUSAN DELISS) © ANDREW D STEEL

3

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THE ENGLISH HOME 71

A graceful fireplace with clean lines and smooth, rounded mouldings takes centre stage in this Georgian-style sitting room.

Oxford stone fireplace with marble frieze, ÂŁ6,800, Jamb

ESSENCE OF AN ERA When creating a Georgian, art deco or Bloomsbury-style scheme, take decorating cues from exemplary English homes of these periods whose style endures today

72 THE ENGLISH HOME

Almond Blossom Temple Jar, £195, Orchid Furniture Peckover House is owned by the National Trust and open to visit

GEORGIAN STYLE INSPIRED BY

PECKOVER GEORGIAN HOUSE Once owned by Quakers with a successful private bank, Peckover House in Cambridgeshire is a lesson in restraint, featuring well-chosen key pieces set to endure. To emulate, paint walls in a historically accurate hue, add handmade furniture or heirlooms that will stand the test of time and layer with Oriental ceramics, opulent flourishes and pieces imbued with their own history.

Walnut chair, £POA, Titchmarsh & Goodwin

Adam Demi Lune gilt side table, £4,765, English Georgian

Hand-carved giltwood mirror (after a circa 1770 George III original), £3,480, Brights of Nettlebed

Boringdon Green paint, £45 for 2.5l Absolute Matt Emulsion, Little Greene

Ionic creamware candlestick, £75, Pentreath & Hall

Soane Decorative Finial, £79, India Jane

Print of Flowers in a Glass Vase by Ambrosius Bosschaert the Elder, from £50 with the frame, The National Gallery

Buffet plate in Blue Italian design, £21, Spode

Sunburst designs are an enduring art deco motif.

Sunray Pink Rug, hand-knotted Tibetan wool and silk, from ÂŁ4,688 (1.83m x 1.22m) or ÂŁ2,100 a square metre, by Mary Katrantzou for The Rug Company

74 THE ENGLISH HOME

Indulge in an art deco day out at Eltham Palace

Deco Border Rug

by Tim Gosling, from £2,902, The Rug Company

Pillar Offset wall light in polished brass, £699, Davey Lighting

ART DECO STYLE INSPIRED BY

ELTHAM PALACE Commissioned as a futuristic home by an eccentric textile millionaire and his wife in 1933, Eltham Palace in South East London epitomises the glamorous art deco style of the Roaring Twenties and creative optimism of the 1930s. Known also as ‘style moderne’, it was influenced by art nouveau, Bauhaus and the Ballets Russes. Prepare for cocktail hour with sunburst motifs and chic designs in metallic and velvet finishes.

Manette bedstead, Green Velvet, from £2,295 (for a king size), Soho Home

Almack Chair, £3,575 plus five metres of fabric, And Objects for George Smith

The Glasgow fire surround, £6,534, Eric Cohler for Chesneys Art Deco coral glass vase, £18 Beaumonde

Chandler Stool Latte, £295, Andrew Martin

Magdalyn Sunburst two-door cabinet, £2,098, Turnball & Thomas THE ENGLISH HOME 75

Emulate the style of the Bloomsbury group’s country retreat, Charleston, by creating decorative masterpieces on walls and furniture.

Charleston collection Chalk Paint in Firle (green), Rodmell (lilac) and Tilton (yellow), ÂŁ19.95 for 1l, Annie Sloan 76 THE ENGLISH HOME

Clive Bell’s Study at Charleston.

The house and garden in the South Downs National Park is open to the public to enjoy.

Spey Stripe wallpaper in Quince/Blue, £48 a roll, Angie Lewin, St Judes

Design with Vases and Flowers by Omega Workshops, from £15 for print only, printed in collaboration with The Courtauld Gallery by King & McGaw

BLOOMSBURY STYLE INSPIRED BY

CHARLESTON

Window Seat in fabric and paint to customer specifications, from £1,500, Salvesen Graham Nieves quilt, from £228 (double), Anthropologie

Limited Edition Charleston Pond Design Rug, £1,875, Cressida Bell, Charleston Shop

Tin-glazed ceramic plate, £98 from a selection by Polly Fern

Hand-turned and hand-painted Moorish lamp, £460, Max Rollitt

PHOTOGRAPHS P72 © SIMON UPTON; P73 (PECKOVER HOUSE) © NATIONAL TRUST IMAGES (NATIONALTRUST.ORG.UK)/ANDREAS VON EINSIEDEL; (INDIA JANE) © ADAMOWICZ ADAMSKI; P75 (THE RUG COMPANY) © EDWARD FOX; (ELTHAM PALACE) © ENGLISH HERITAGE/JONATHAN BAILEY; (CHESNEYS) © ANNIE SCHLECHTER P77 (CLIVE BELL’S STUDY) © PENELOPE FEWSTER; (ST JUDES) © MIKE ELLIS; (MAX ROLLITT) © TOM MANNION

Painted Portrait 1 Viriginia Woolf Limited Edition Print by Michaela Gall, from £75, The Shop Floor Project

When artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant moved to Charleston farmhouse in East Sussex, they painted frescoes and motifs in every room. To them (and eventually the Bloomsbury Group), their home was their canvas and creativity a way of life that spread across every surface. Pieces with bold brushstrokes, handmade appeal and freedom of colour and expression epitomise the look. n

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THE ENGLISH HOME PRESENTS AN EXCLUSIVE READER TRAVEL OFFER

The Channel Islands

Explore the islands of Jersey and Guernsey on this small group adventure to these charming British Isles!

SEPTEMBER 10–19 2020 Inspired by the wonderful, best-selling novel, and recent motion picture, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, we’re happy to offer a tour of the Channel Islands. These lovely islands offer a range of experiences, from wildlife sanctuaries and military museums, to breathtaking scenery and Royal Horticultural Society gardens!

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TOUR HIGHLIGHTS: ▪ Visit Sausmarez Manor, which is listed in the book 1001 Gardens to See Before You Die ▪ Explore the medieval thirteenth-century Gorey Castle and the German Underground Hospital ▪ Enjoy a wonderful mix of scheduled group activities combined with time for independent exploration ▪ Stay in first-class hotels full of charm and character ▪ Small group – a maximum of 15 participants

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QUINTESSENTIALLY

Inspiration for seasonal pastimes and making the most of life at home starts here

FEATURE EVE MIDDLETON

FEATURE EVE MIDDLETON

TIME FOR TEA

Elevate the enjoyment of home-baked delights by presenting them on beautiful plates together with a freshly made pot of tea. We like Burleigh’s collaboration with Soho Home, notably in this elegant green-and-white botanical design.

Green Hibiscus china, from £12, Burleigh x Soho Home

THE ENGLISH HOME 79

Restoring ELEGANCE Interior designer Janie Money of Sybil Colefax & John Fowler provides insights into redecorating Weston Park in Shropshire, former seat of the Earls of Bradford

80 THE ENGLISH HOME

The circular Tea Room in the Temple of Diana was defined by the existing wall colours and the original paintings depicting the myth of Diana by ‘Signor Colombo’, thought to be the Swiss artist Giovanni Battista Innocenzo Colombo.

S Janie Money is Associate Director Interior Designer at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, a division of The Colefax Group.

She joined in 1998, and has led her own interior design team since 2003.

Her enviable project portfolio includes stately homes, an award-winning yacht, and countless private residences throughout Europe and the USA.

82 THE ENGLISH HOME

ituated within 1,000 acres of sweeping parkland, Weston Park was built in the seventeenth century as a family home for the Earls of Bradford. The 28-bedroom property was lived in continually until 1986, when Richard, the 7th Earl, gifted the house, park and gardens and the historic collections to the nation with the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund. Today, Weston Park is cared for by the Trustees of the Weston Park Foundation, an independent charitable trust which uses all venue proceeds to maintain and conserve the estate.

When areas in the central part of the house needed redecoration, the foundation sought expert help from Janie Money at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler for her invaluable insight and sensitivity to the restoration and redecoration of historically important properties and homes.

She is known for specialisms in antiques, architect-inspired furniture and architectural drawings, having worked for one of the earliest antique dealers in London’s Pimlico Road and before moving into interior design.

Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler was established in the late 1930s by Sibyl Colefax, an influential socialite and interior decorator, and the highly talented artist and decorator John Fowler. Lady Colefax then sold her share of the company to the American heiress Nancy Lancaster in the late 1940s.

Nancy Lancaster, long settled in England, had a reputation amongst those who knew her of having the ‘finest taste of anyone in the world’. The beautiful rooms she and Fowler created together epitomised the country house style for which the company became renowned. Today, the company’s

current generation of designers have over 150 years of experience between them and are as practised in creating 21st-century interiors as they are at working on historic buildings. Here, Janie considers the work at Weston Park.

Please tell us about this beautiful project.

I was initially asked to advise on the repainting and reallocation of furniture in the central parts of Weston Park in February 2005. I then went on to work on the redecoration of the drawing room of the main house, before overseeing the decoration of the Temple of Diana. It is an exceptional Grade I building, originally designed by James Paine circa 1770 as a tea house for guests staying at Weston Park. My brief was to make it appealing for living today.

How long did the project take and what was the design process like? Did you work with an architect?

When I undertook the decoration of the Temple of Diana, likewise when working in the main house, the Trustees 

ABOVE LEFT Stunning views over the ‘Capability’ Brown parkland can be enjoyed from the Orangery in the Temple of Diana.

ABOVE RIGHT Works by artists including Sir Peter Lely inspired the scheme created

by Janie Money in the Drawing Room of Weston Park.

LEFT The Blue Bedroom is one of three bedrooms in the Temple of Diana.

THE ENGLISH HOME 83

ABOVE LEFT The Marble Staircase in the main house features architectural details picked out from the hall.

RIGHT Designed by James Paine circa 1770 for Sir Henry Bridgeman, the three-bedroom Temple of Diana is set over three floors.

84 THE ENGLISH HOME

of Weston Park were totally on board as part of the team, together with the CEO of the Trust, the curator and the project surveyor. The surveyor was key when liaising with the historic bodies involved. The project took five months to complete.

You used well-considered wall colours. Choosing a paint colour can be difficult, can you share advice?

Paint colours have to be carefully chosen as it depends very much on the location of a house and in which direction each room faces, both of which are affected by the light, which in turn determines the colours you choose.

There may also be key elements to go into the room, for example an antique carpet or a specific painting, which may influence one’s choice of colour.

How can one create a grand country house feel on a budget?

The best way is through furniture and there is no time like the present to invest – good George I and George II furniture continues to be incredibly good value.

The furniture of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries is beautifully designed, has wonderful patina and is made of timbers and materials that are no longer available. It is also worth looking at the pieces that were brought in from India, the Americas and the Far East of this period; they are wonderfully constructed and made from exceptional materials.

ABOVE As the perfect foil for Weston Park’s impressive art collection, the first and second salons are glaze-painted in a specially mixed fine stipple.

LEFT A glaze-painted wall colour designed for the Drawing Room is described as a shade of ‘overblown rose’.

Can you explain how you use furnishings and accessories to transform a space. Where do you start?

The key is what you already have with which to work – for example, the Lely portraits in the drawing room at Weston Park are outstanding and were the inspiration for the room.

The use of the room is considered first. For example, if a room is to be a library, the bookcasing will be a strong element. Good lighting is hugely important. Curtain colour and material, as well as paint colours, are usually an early point of decorative reference, as they are first within one’s sight line. Both antique and modern designed carpets come into play as they literally ground the room whilst significant pieces of furniture – either antique or modern – need to sit well within the space.

What might visitors take from the design of Weston Park?

It is important to respect the integrity of a building – both grander and smaller historical buildings need to be maintained and they will tell you what is needed, not vice versa. For Weston Park, we employed specialists in their fields to maintain the buildings’ integrity. To see the enthusiasm and hard work from each was invaluable. n THE ENGLISH HOME 85

FEATURE KATE FREUD PORTRAIT © MAT COLLISHAW PHOTOGRAPHS (TEMPLE OF DIANA, INTERIORS & EXTERIOR) © DYLAN THOMAS; (WESTON PARK INTERIORS) © SIMON UPTON. ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF COLEFAX AND FOWLER.

What were the greatest challenges you faced?

The main house of Weston Park and the Temple of Diana are both Grade I listed (which means they are deemed to be of exceptional interest and significant national importance) so it was absolutely imperative that we didn’t break into the structure of the buildings in any way.

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86 THE ENGLISH HOME

Hand-crafted FOR THE GARDEN Celebrate the beauty of traditional English crafts that enrich our outside space and help heritage skills thrive FEATURE JILL MORGAN

FOR WHERE TO BUY SEE ADDRESS BOOK

THE ENGLISH HOME 87

PREVIOUS PAGE A well-proportioned swing bench makes the perfect place for contemplation. Made from solid oak, it will gently silver over time. Three Seater Oak Pergola & Tranquillity Curve Back Swing Seat, £6,142, Sitting Spiritually ABOVE Cornish slate focal water feature.

Slate Watersphere, from £2,400, Jeremy Hastings

B

orn out of necessity and developed over centuries, traditional English crafts encompass a plethora of skills that are still relevant today. Crafts such as fine furniture making, weaving hazel hurdles for the garden, throwing clay pots and shaping white-hot metal, which were once everyday and highly valued skills, are thankfully enjoying a resurgence.

Whether it is a subconscious reaction to today’s throwaway culture or a desire to reconnect with a sense of being as a valued individual, many homeowners are seeking out ways to surround themselves with considered and thoughtfully made pieces. Gardens have long been spaces to indulge in individual taste as well as a chance to impress visitors, so it is no surprise that many of these skills are being embraced for style outdoors.

Blacksmith skills, long supported by farmers to maintain their machinery, can now be spotted in the design of imaginative garden railings, gates and pergolas, as Sussex-based blacksmith James Price explains. “Gardens offer a fantastic opportunity for site-specific metalwork. The expressive nature of forged steel really enriches our outdoor spaces and can help to create a truly unique feature in any design.”

88 THE ENGLISH HOME

HANDMADE WITH PRIDE Whilst there is something comforting about being surrounded by pieces that are aesthetically pleasing, and useful too – as identified by William Morris – today there is a deeper desire for items with a handcrafted link. Discerning consumers are striving to discover individual makers and their signature designs as a way of sharing common values and a reassurance of what it is to be human.

Gaze Burvill, which makes quality oak outdoor furniture in Hampshire, is a company that takes great pride in its team. “Our furniture is finished to the highest possible quality,” says company founder Simon Burvill. “Our craftsmen put their own unique mark on every finished piece and take satisfaction in the knowledge that it will give lasting pleasure to its owner for years to come.” Other makers include Tom Raffield – a designer of home and garden pieces in steambent timber – who has a similar ethos and is steadily becoming a sought-after name.

The time taken to create a single hand-thrown pot, or to hone the skills and knowledge required, is something to marvel at, but it also conveys a sense mindfulness and core values shared between maker and owner. Revered craftspeople such as Jim Keeling,

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT A bespoke forged gate creates a dramatic entrance. £POA, Black Forge Art Use sweet chestnut for features that last. Green Sweet Chestnut Arch, from £320; Minorcan Gate, from £300, both Green Man Woodcrafts Add structure to borders with obelisks. Painted Obelisk, from £369, The Wooden Garden Obelisk Company

The hands-on approach

Many art institutions and individual makers offer courses ranging from an afternoon in a workshop to week-long residential getaways. A chance to learn skills direct from the maker and to put creative ideas into action, they also enable would-be creators to try their hand before investing in any costly equipment and materials. Local art colleges offer advice on a wide variety of short- and long-term learning opportunities, and many public gardens offer courses too.

Craft Courses is a comprehensive online resource listing courses across the country in a wide variety of skills. craftcourses.com • West Dean College of Arts & Conservation in West Sussex holds around 800 short courses hosted in its beautiful nineteenth-century flint mansion in the South Downs. Tel 01243 818210; westdean.org.uk • The Craft Revolution at Dartington in Devon has a wide programme of evening and weekend maker courses. Tel 01803 847221; dartington.org • AW Artist Blacksmith holds regular blacksmithing day courses in Yorkshire and the North East. Tel 07876 744805; awartistblacksmiths.co.uk • The Dry Stone Walling Association organises two-day weekend workshops for beginners. Tel 01539 567953; dswa.org.uk • The Weald & Downland Living Museum near Chichester in Sussex has a comprehensive programme of traditional rural trades and craft courses.

Tel 01243 811021; wealddown.co.uk •

Traditional methods are used at the Cotswold-based Whichford Pottery

THE ENGLISH HOME 89

who established the highly regarded Whichford Pottery in 1976, support ‘rediscovering old skills and keeping alive a communal way of working’.

MATERIAL VALUE With today’s focus on sustainability, it is no surprise that consumers are increasingly aware and more appreciative of objects that are made from natural, locally sourced materials. For skilled craftspeople, intimately knowing the unique characteristics of their chosen material, plus where and how it is sourced, is a key part of the creative process. This is something that has influenced the work of Jeremy Hastings, a sculptor and designer of water features who has long prized his local resources. “All the slate I work with is Cornish – often from Trevillet Quarry, but also from Delabole Quarry,” he says. “These quarries may only be a few miles apart, but the slate has different characteristics; a natural grey slate or a mix of more rustic brown and grey-coloured slate.”

Besides heritage, it is also the sensory qualities of a material that can prove a draw for both maker and admirer. Whether it is the smooth grain of oak, the flexibility of cleaved sweet chestnut or the subtle colouring of willow withies (a tough, flexible branch used for woven panels and basketry), all can be highlighted in the design and the placement of the final piece. Martin Young, founder of Sitting Spiritually, recalls this experience when first viewing a design by collaborator Simon Thomas Pirie. “The scorching on the Yakisugi Swing Bench gives the oak incredible deep texture and a colour which a stain or paint just can’t recreate. Everyone who sees it wants to run their hand along it.”

ABOVE This hazel arch is full of rural charm. Created from full- and half-split hazel, it is best set on bricks above soil level.

Hazel Arch (3ft wide), from £300, in a garden by Claudia de Yong Designs RIGHT Warm tones coupled with intricate detailing and an inviting shape make this garden seat a worthy centrepiece.

Biddenham Curved Seat, from £3,543 for a two-seat design, Andrew Crace

90 THE ENGLISH HOME

SEEK INSPIRATION There are plenty of different sources for discovering high quality English craftsmanship. A good starting point is The Guild of Master Craftsmen website where accredited members are listed, including blacksmiths, joiners, stone workers and thatchers.

Regional sculpture parks feature a wide range of craft work in different media, and change their displays regularly. They offer a list of artists and can facilitate introductions and commissions. Try the new Devon Sculpture Park near Exeter, or visit one of the RHS spring shows at Cardiff and Malvern in April and May 2020. The Burngate Stone Carving centre on the Isle of Purbeck in Dorset has an exhibition centre by a range of artists, and offers courses as well.

PERSONAL TREASURES Commissioning craftwork is an experience to be cherished. Research local makers and ask to see examples of their work, both through photographs and, if possible, first-hand. Talk to the makers direct and discuss hopes, preferred materials and the outdoor setting for which the piece is destined. Be prepared to be open-minded, as their experience can often result in a more imaginative piece or chosen location for the finished item.

Ensure that the maker conducts a site visit to discuss ideas and assess access, outlines the timings involved, such as how long the project and installation will take, and identifies the total cost and any payment stages.

They may require a deposit if it is a large task. It is also important to ask for care and maintenance advice once the work is complete. n THE ENGLISH HOME 91

FEATURE JILL MORGAN PHOTOGRAPHS P91 (FORAS) © PAUL TIBBS

ABOVE Handmade clay tiles top an oak-framed gazebo. £POA, Border Oak RIGHT An engraved sandstone birdbath adds a personal touch.

Acorn Shark Sandstone Birdbath, £210 (bowl only, lettering extra), Foras BELOW Revel in paving that bears all the marks of its handmade heritage.

Bricks from York Handmade Brick Company

PROPERTIES FOR SALE

HOUSES WITH CHARACTER Our selection of beautiful properties are quintessential thatched cottages

1

FAIRYTALE SETTING Located near the New Forest in the Dorset village of Burton, it is impossible not to be enchanted

by Burton Cottage. In fact, it captured the imagination of Romantic poet Robert Southey, who penned the fairytale Goldilocks and the Three Bears whilst living in the house between 1799 and 1805.

Many of the Grade II listed property’s period details remain, such as exposed timber beams, woodburning fireplaces and wooden floors. Downstairs, the welcoming entrance hall doubles as a study, and the reception rooms provide ample space for entertaining or relaxing, whether in the 10-seater dining room or triple-aspect sitting room as well as in the country-style kitchen. The four double bedrooms are on the first floor and include an opulent master suite with underfloor heating.

Burton Cottage, Dorset, ÂŁ995,000, Fine & Country

2

3

2

COUNTRY CHARMER Positioned off a quiet country road, Draycott Cottage is Grade II listed and sits in its namesake village not far from Oxford.

The four-bedroom property has an array of original features, which include flagstone floors, inglenook fireplaces, exposed ceiling and wall timbers, leaded windows and wooden latched doors. Unusual for a period thatched cottage, the residence also boasts high ceilings, which create a light and airy ambience in the reception rooms. Outside, most of the surrounding large garden is laid to lawn, with a pathway leading to a curved terrace that is a sun-trap in warm weather.

Of the outbuildings, the old granary is of historical interest as it still sits on the original staddle stones.

Draycott Cottage, Oxfordshire, £1,250,000, Knight Frank

3

QUAINT & COSY Believed to have been built in the sixteenth century, Rabbits Corner is a delightful Grade II listed thatched cottage in the village of Harvel, situated on the edge of the North Downs in the South East. Full of character, the two-bedroom house has leaded windows, exposed wall and ceiling timbers, and brick and wooden flooring. On chilly days, take a seat by the cosy sitting room’s inglenook fireplace.

When the weather is sunny, the beautifully landscaped garden is a favoured spot, particularly the raised decked area that offers sunken seating and is covered by an attractive arbour. A newly built separate annexe provides additional accommodation, and the thatched barn on the property serves as an ideal workshop.

Rabbits Corner, Kent, £725,000, Savills  THE ENGLISH HOME 93

4 5 6

WOODLAND SECLUSION Nestled at the foot of the Marlborough Downs in Wiltshire, The Yews is a thatched cottage originally dating from the seventeenth century. Beamed ceilings, inglenook fireplaces, a bread oven and exposed stone walling are some of the period details that have been retained in this three-bedroom house. Most of these features can be found in the reception rooms, whilst the kitchen is a wonderful later addition that offers triple-aspect views of the garden. Step out onto the sunny terrace to enjoy the residence’s idyllic seclusion, as it is surrounded by woodland and framed by banks of wild flowers.

Gardeners will take delight in the grounds, planted for year-round interest and enhanced by a live well that feeds a rivulet running through the property’s grounds.

The Yews, Wiltshire, £595,000, Carter Jonas

94 THE ENGLISH HOME

5

PICTURE PERFECT With its chocolate-box exterior, Coombe Cottage is an appealing thatched house built in the fourteenth century in the Devon village of Frogmore in the South West. Inside the Grade II listed residence, original pine doors in the entrance hall open onto the well-proportioned reception rooms. The sitting room features a woodburning stove as well as timber ceiling beams that continue to the dining room.

A galleried landing upstairs leads to three double bedrooms, which offer lovely views of the garden and nearby Frogmore Creek.

To enjoy this enviable setting further, venture outside into the landscape grounds, and follow the spring-led brook down to the summer house and deck to while away a warm afternoon on a sunlounger.

Coombe Cottage, Devon, £650,000, Marchand Petit

6

GARDEN VIEWS Rapps Cottage is an attractive thatched property situated near the Somerset town of Ilminster in the South West. Grade II listed, the residence benefits from an original flagstone hall, leaded windows, beamed ceilings and well-preserved inglenook fireplaces. One of these fireplaces is in the sitting room, which is the perfect setting for curling up with a book, and which leads onto a convenient study. The later addition of a garden room serves as another area of the house for repose, offering a tranquil outlook of the landscaped grounds. Additional garden views can also be appreciated from the four upstairs bedrooms. Further accommodation is provided by the detached barn, which has been converted into an annexe.

Rapps Cottage, Somerset, £795,000, Jackson-Stops n

FEATURE JANINE JORGENSEN PHOTOGRAPH P92 © JAMES OLIVER

4

Mrs Minerva Writes...

The art of

SPRING CLEANING Passionate about quintessential English customs, our incognito columnist reminds us to do the best things in life in the most elegant fashion, always with a twinkle in her eye

BELOW A challenger of freshly mopped floors and professionally cleaned carpets.

W

hilst not the most glamorous of pastimes, cleaning really does feel rather good for one’s soul. Mr M agrees; he’s never happier than when de-sooting the spark plugs on Daisy, his ancient Land Rover, or polishing the one golfing trophy that has pride of place above the fire. He is enormously proud of the golden plastic figure in plus fours atop a black plinth that bears the inscription ‘1st place, seniors’ singles, 2012’. He pipped Bunny Denton to the top spot in a field of five only because Bunny was forced to retire on the 17th hole with a bad case of angina. Sadly, when it comes to cleaning pretty much anything else, he finds it hard to raise any kind of interest.

I firmly believe in using the right tools for the job, however, Mr M is more likely to improvise. I have three different kinds of dog shampoo and some soothing drops to calm skittish spaniels whilst also making them smell like a five-star spa. He, on the other hand, believes the only thing that will remove eau de Vulpes vulpes is a good hose down in the garden.

When it comes to spring cleaning the house, he very much leaves it to me. He protests that this is a purely altruistic sacrifice on his part because I get ‘great joy from the process’, but I am inclined to think it has more to do with the fact he would rather be sitting in the Fox & Hounds complaining about the new 20mph speed limit through the village. This is where he will be found whenever the carpets need to be cleaned, chimneys swept or the gutters cleared of leaves.

He is right that I enjoy bringing order into the world, and a spring clean brings with it a feeling of freshness, rather like the new exercise books one had at school: the pristine cover and the crisp, lined pages encouraged a determination to study hard and do well.

A proper spring clean does require commitment and

often more than a little help. There are companies that specialise in this kind of service and it can pay hugely to call in some professional assistance, particularly for the heavy jobs or those that require a long ladder. I used to allow Mr M to take down the chandeliers, but never again after the incident with the mouse.

It is at this time of year that I also get carpets and rugs professionally cleaned. It is rather alarming to see quite how dirty they get. When I dabbled briefly with the art of feng shui, I used to insist on wallets and purses being kept in a bowl in the ‘money corner’ and everyone removing their shoes at the door.

Predictably, Mr M childishly rebelled and trailed muddy gumboot prints throughout the bedroom, so I relented and now permit clean footwear downstairs.

I learned in my mindfulness class that one must possess the serenity to accept the things one cannot change, the courage to change the things one can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

The tradition of the spring clean came from a time when homes were heated with log fires and lit with candles. After two seasons of this, rooms would become coated in grime and, as soon as the days became lighter and sunshine streamed in, it would look, I imagine, dreadful. These reasons have now gone, but the tradition lives on and the feeling of renewal that comes with it makes all the work worthwhile.

The deep clean here involves taking all duvets for a professional wash, having blankets dry cleaned, turning and vacuuming mattresses, washing and airing pillows, cleaning lampshades, emptying all cupboards and drawers and relining them with paper, dusting books, dry cleaning or washing all curtains and blinds, donating unwanted clothes to charity, clearing out old paperwork and ensuring there is no unnecessary clutter.  THE ENGLISH HOME 95

Mrs Minerva Writes...

I dislike untidy spaces and having jobs hanging

96 THE ENGLISH HOME

ABOVE Look to good old-fashioned, natural recipes instead of chemicalbased products for an environmentally friendly approach to cleaning.

HOME HELP From a cleaning bible to the smallest of spritzes to banish odours, here are products that are worthy of note FRAGRANT HOUNDS

ILLUSTRATION P95 (PAW PRINTS) © CNUISIN/SHUTTERSTOCK PHOTOGRAPH P96 (CLEANING UTENSILS) © SENTELIA/SHUTTERSTOCK

over one’s head. Mr M is more a ‘shove it in a drawer’ kind of tidier and I often worry that he will meet his end when he opens a cupboard and gets crushed by a decade’s worth of depleted batteries, redundant spectacles and frayed dog leads.

One of the greatest lessons one can learn about marriage is when to turn a blind eye and when to give a hard stare. After many years of bickering over Mr M’s refusal to ever throw anything away, I have decided the former is the only way forward. It would also, I feel, breach some kind of health and safety rule to ask anyone to try to bring order to that level of chaos.

My spring clean always begins upstairs, that way one isn’t traipsing through areas already cleaned. I begin with rooms furthest from the stairs and work my way in. I do hallways last.

In the kitchen I begin with tidying and getting rid of any clutter, before moving on to cleaning out the refrigerator and cleaning the cooker. Then I empty out and clean one cupboard at a time.

We are all much more concerned about how we treat the environment and even Mr M worries about bleach being poured down sinks and in loos. The good news is we can look to the past for inspiration when it comes to keeping our homes sparkling. Glass can be cleaned with lemon juice mixed with water and even witch hazel. You can swap newspapers waiting for recycling for paper towels when it comes to window cleaning. Two parts olive oil with one part lemon can be a good wood polish. An all-round natural cleaning spray can be made up of one part white vinegar, one part water, a squeeze of lemon and a sprig of rosemary or lavender.

Rather like the arguments over whether one should put milk first in tea or in what order the jam and cream should go on a scone, people do like to battle over whether vacuuming should be done first or last. Before vacuum cleaners, one did need to do the floors first because sweeping and beating rugs would raise a lot of dust. Nowadays, of course, this is not an issue and it makes sense to do them last as when one dusts shelves it will invariably make its way downwards to the floor.

I like to begin with chores that include waiting periods, so I will sort all the washing and pop a load of laundry on before I start on the dressing room. That way, clothes can move seamlessly through the laundry cycle whilst I get on with other things.

Mr M, too, makes the most of these waiting periods.

When the red circle drawn around a date on the calendar warns of the annual spring clean, he will suddenly remember an urgent meeting of the neighbourhood watch and take himself off to the Fox & Hounds until he considers it safe to return. n

Dogs are adorable – truly our best friends – but it is rather annoying to have an immaculate, fragrant house, postspring-clean, only for it to be marred by the smell of spaniel.

The marvellous people at ila have a solution in their Shampoo & Paw Wash (£19.95) and Doggy Mist (£19.99).

The shampoo contains quillaja, an ancient natural cleanser also known as the soapbark tree; rose geranium, which the company says is a tick- and inset-repellent with anti-bacterial and anti-fungal qualities; and lavender, which has natural soothing and calming proprieties. Your dog will not only smell heavenly, but will be super relaxed too. ila-spa.com

CLASSIC WISDOM, UPDATED

When it comes to keeping one’s house in order there are a number of great books to help. Hinch Yourself Happy by the indomitable Mrs Hinch (Michael Joseph, £12.99), is one such tome. Packed full of all the best cleaning tips and peppered with life wisdom from the Instagram sensation, it really will bring joy into your life. Green Housekeeping by Christina Strutt (CICO Books, £14.99) is marvellous, and contains old-fashioned methods complemented by newer ideas and innovations, and applies not only to cleaning but also to caring for clothes, furniture, and even silver and glassware.

A SHINING EXAMPLE

Cleaning a 400-year-old house is no easy task, even for a National Trust conservation team. This year the team at East Riddlesden Hall in West Yorkshire will be offering a behind-the-scenes look at the lengths they go to to keep the dust at bay. You will be able to meet the house team, see conservation work in action, learn about some of the specialised tools used and there will be a different cleaning demonstration each week. The events take place on 6, 20 and 27 April and 4, 11 and 18 May from 11am–12:30pm. nationaltrust.org.uk

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Aga Tel 0115 946 6138 agaliving.com Alexander James Interiors Tel 0118 932 0828 aji.co.uk Andrew Crace Tel 01279 842685 andrewcrace.com Andrew Martin Tel 020 3887 6113 andrewmartin.co.uk Annie Sloan Tel 01865 770061 anniesloan.com Anthropologie Tel 00800 0026 8476 anthropologie.com/en-gb Ardingly Antiques & Interiors Tel 01444 892270 Beaumont & Fletcher Tel 020 7352 5594 beaumontandfletcher.com Besselink & Jones Tel 020 7584 0343 besselink.com Black Forge Art Tel 01797 270073 blackforgeart.co.uk Brights of Nettlebed Tel 01491 641115 brightsofnettlebed.co.uk Brookmans by Smallbone Tel 020 3960 8760 brookmans.co.uk Chesneys Tel 020 7627 1410 chesneys.co.uk Christopher Moore Tel 020 7349 7028 thetoileman.com Claudia de Yong Garden Design Tel 07881 622825 claudiadeyongdesigns.com Cloth & Clover Tel 020 7013 0847 clothandclover.com Cotswood Fine Furniture Tel 01386 700110 cotswood.com Darlings of Chelsea Tel 01252 372949 darlingsofchelsea.co.uk Davey Lighting Tel 020 7351 2130 originalbtc.com Designers Guild Tel 020 7351 5775 designersguild.com deVOL Tel 01509 261000 devolkitchens.co.uk Devon&Devon Tel 020 7221 5137 devon-devon.com Edward Bulmer Natural Paint Tel 01544 388535 edwardbulmerpaint.co.uk Emma Bridgewater Tel 01782 210565 emmabridgewater.co.uk

English Georgian Tel 020 7351 4433 englishgeorgian.com Farrow & Ball Tel 01202 876141 farrow-ball.com Foras Tel 01366 381069 foras.co.uk George Smith Tel 020 7384 1004 georgesmith.com Gisela Graham Tel 020 7708 6396 giselagraham.co.uk Graham and Green Tel 01225 418200 grahamandgreen.co.uk Guy Goodfellow Tel 020 7352 9002 guygoodfellow.com Hector Finch Tel 020 7731 8886 hectorfinch.com Helen Green Design Tel 020 7352 3344 helengreendesign.com Heal’s Tel 0333 212 1915 heals.com Inchyra Tel 01738 860066 inchyrahome.co.uk India Jane Tel 020 8799 7166 indiajane.co.uk James Hare Tel 0113 243 1204 james-hare.com Jeremy Hastings Tel 07770 885130 jhastings.co.uk Joanna Wood Tel 020 7730 0693 joannawood.com Jonathan Adler Tel 020 7589 9563 jonathanadler.com Kate Forman Tel 01962 732244 kateforman.co.uk Katharine Pooley Tel 020 7584 3223 katharinepooley.com Lewis & Wood Tel 01453 878517 lewisandwood.co.uk Little Greene Tel 0161 230 0880 littlegreene.com Lombok Tel 020 7736 5171 lombok.co.uk Louise Bradley Tel 020 7589 1442 louisebradley.co.uk Mandarin Stone Tel 01600 715444 mandarinstone.com Max Rollitt Tel 01962 791124 maxrollitt.com Meg Morton Tel 01258 473207 megmorton.co.uk

Miele Tel 0330 160 6630 miele.co.uk Mindthegap mindtheg.com Molly Mahon Tel 01342 825700 mollymahon.com Morris & Co Tel 020 3457 5862 stylelibrary.com/morris&co Natalia Miyar Tel 020 8629 5510 nataliamiyar.com Neptune Tel 01793 427450 neptune.com Ochre Tel 020 7096 7372 ochre.net Oka Tel 01235 433930 oka.com Oliver Bonas Tel 020 8974 0110 oliverbonas.com Orchid Furniture Tel 01264 811111 orchidfurniture.co.uk Original BTC Tel 020 7351 2130 originalbtc.com Out There Interiors Tel 020 8099 7443 Pavilion Interiors Tel 01344 875168 pavilioninteriors.com Penny Morrison Tel 020 7384 2975 pennymorrison.com Pentreath & Hall Tel 020 7430 2526 pentreath-hall.com Peony & Sage Tel 01289 388650 peonyandsage.com Pierre Frey Tel 020 7376 5599 pierrefrey.com Pippa Blacker Tel 07790 813191 pippablackerinteriors.co.uk Ralph Lauren Tel 020 3450 7750 ralphlauren.co.uk Robert Stephenson Tel 020 7225 2343 robertstephenson.co.uk Ruby Watts Lighting Tel 01273 567080 rubywatts.co.uk Salvesen Graham Tel 020 7967 7777 salvesengraham.com Sarah Hardaker Tel 07975 982885 sarahhardaker.co.uk Sarah Vanrenen Tel 020 7371 8465 vanrenengwdesigns.com Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler Tel 020 7493 2231 sibylcolefax.com

Sitting Spiritually Tel 01297 443084 sittingspiritually.co.uk Soane Britain Tel 020 7730 6400 soane.co.uk Soho Home Tel 020 3819 8199 sohohome.com Sophie Conran Tel 0333 240 1228 sophieconran.com Sophie Paterson Tel 01372 462529 sophiepatersoninteriors.com Spode Tel 01782 743427 spode.co.uk St Jude’s Tel 01603 662951 stjudesfabrics.co.uk Sunbury Antiques Market Tel 01932 230946 sunburyantiques.com Surface View Tel 0118 922 1327 surfaceview.co.uk Susan Deliss Tel 07768 805850 susandeliss.com Susie Watson Tel 01672 520604 susiewatsondesigns.co.uk The Chelsea Antiques Fair Tel 01825 744074 penman-fairs.co.uk The Gifted Few Tel 01858 410643 thegiftedfew.com The Interior Spy Tel 07931 383481 theinteriorspy.com The Rug Company Tel 020 3369 3912 therugcompany.com The Shop Floor Project Tel 01229 584537 theshopfloorproject.com The Wooden Garden Obelisk Company Tel 01728 684433 woodengardenobelisk.co.uk The York Handmade Brick Co Tel 01347 838881 yorkhandmade.co.uk Timorous Beasties Tel 020 7833 9867 timorousbeasties.com Titchmarsh & Goodwin Tel 01473 252158 titchmarsh-goodwin.co.uk TROVE by Studio Duggan Tel 020 3778 0919 thetrove.co.uk Vanessa Arbuthnott Tel 01285 831437 vanessaarbuthnott.co.uk Walter Keeler Tel 01273 323 726 miararts.com/artists/ walter-keeler West One Bathrooms Tel 0333 011 3333 westonebathrooms.com

THE ENGLISH HOME 97

design MY

HERO

Interior designer Nina Campbell on interiors master John Fowler

98 THE ENGLISH HOME

ABOVE John Fowler, already a successful designer, was invited

by Sibyl Colefax to join forces in 1938.

RIGHT Having bought an eighteenthcentury Hunting Lodge in Hampshire in 1947, John Fowler decorated it in his inimitable relaxed, practical style.

BELOW A New York penthouse study designed by Nina Campbell. Note the throw, which makes the room appear less ‘done’.

ABOVE Elegant details abound in this soft blue and zesty green New York penthouse bedroom designed by Nina Campbell.

Note the side table on which to set a drink and the thoughtfully placed reading light.

FEATURE JUDITH WILSON PHOTOGRAPHS JOHN FOWLER PORTRAIT AND WATERCOLOUR, BOTH COURTESY OF COLEFAX AND FOWLER – WATERCOLOUR BY SEREBRIAKOFF OF THE SITTING ROOM IN JOHN FOWLER’S HUNTING LODGE ©STANLEY FALCONER/COLEFAX AND FOWLER; NINA CAMPBELL PORTRAIT AND ROOM SHOTS, ALL FROM NINA CAMPBELL INTERIOR DESIGN: ELEGANCE & EASE, PUBLISHED BY RIZZOLI

“I

met John Fowler when I was 19, after I joined Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler in the 1960s. He was Head Decorator: I’d take notes and act as his bag carrier. During those formative three years, I accompanied him to grand locations, including the Italian Embassy, Grosvenor Square. He always insisted a room should speak to you rather than look too ‘done’. He taught me to leave space for later decorative elements – for example, a cushion in a wonderful colour, to give the sense a room had evolved. He was very generous with his knowledge.

He’d lived through the Second World War and he taught me not to waste fabric.

Recently, I redesigned a house in the USA: instead of throwing out the client’s old Fortuny silk curtains, we turned them back-to-front and added a simple pelmet so they look brand new.

Everyone held John in great respect, but he was also charismatic and fun. After I requested a day off to attend a 21st birthday ball at Chatsworth House, he enquired what I’d be wearing whilst simultaneously insisting I admire the historic furniture in between dances – it was good advice!

I left to set up my own business with his blessing, and I’ve stayed true to his guiding principle: a room must be practical.

This means a table for a drink or book next to an armchair and bedside tables the correct height. A room should also be supremely comfortable.

Most importantly, John taught me to ‘absorb’ an interior before designing it. On a new project, I tap into my sensory reactions so that my primary focus is on the ethos in a room, not just visual impact. He was an excellent teacher. Even today, I’ll catch myself thinking – would he be proud of me?” n

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