The English Home March 2024 - Sample Issue

The

ENGLISH HOME

MAXIMISE LIGHT & SPACE

Celebrating the essence of English style March 2024 | Issue 229 | £7.99 | UK Edition

SPRING REFRESH Must-have buys, updates & improvements

Celebrate Easter

BIGGER & BRIGHTER

TABLESCAPES, RECIPES AND AFTERNOON TEA

Smart ways to add more space & light

EXPERT GUIDES

• Decorate in sunshine shades • Ultimate bedroom designs • Commission a garden room

RESTORING BEAUTY

Homes revived, from an Italianate villa to a Georgian townhouse

ART

History

A trio of collections, grown over the years, combined with a desire to reinstate the original Georgian character of this five-storey London townhouse have guided the redecoration FEATURE CHARLOTTE DUNFORD PHOTOGRAPHY JAMES MCDONALD

Farrow & Ball’s Calke Green covers the walls of the first floor sitting room. “I always think paintings work much better on a darker background,” Frank says. “They lose part of their luminosity when they are hung against a very light or white wall.”

The large floral painting on the far wall by Jan Brueghel the Younger was Frank’s first artwork.

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Back to the FUTURE

The painstaking restoration of this Italianate villa has resulted in a home that exudes warmth and character – and is ready for the next hundred years FEATURE RACHEL LEEDHAM PHOTOGRAPHY RACHAEL SMITH

ABOVE The property was built in 1842, with the red brick part of the building dating to the 16th century.

RIGHT Specialist plasterer G Cook & Sons was commissioned to add detailing to the ceiling rose to make it suit the grandeur of the room. The Georgian-style footstool, covered in Brocatello in Grey by Zoffany, is by David Seyfried; the antique rug was sourced from The Rug & Carpet Studio.

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‘We started off believing we would approach the house with a light touch, but the project ended up being extensive, to put it mildly’ “We live here with our 17-year-old daughter, as well as our two dogs and two cats, but my three older daughters and their families are regular visitors, so the house had to be able to expand from three to 12 at the drop of a hat.”

Thanks to the experienced and skilled local craftsmen that were engaged to update it, every piece of the building’s history has been painstakingly restored or reinstated, from fireplaces to architraves to plaster ceiling roses.

To minimise the draughts, the windows have all been carefully repaired and refitted, and underfloor heating has been laid throughout the ground level as well as in the principal en-suite bathroom on the floor above. “The idea was to future-proof the house, and make sure it is ready for the next 100 years,” explains Alison.

Lindsey and Alison were mindful to repurpose as much of the family’s existing furniture and art as possible, reupholstering pieces when necessary in order for them to fit into the new schemes.

“Alison had purchased a pair of gold sofas for the previous home but they look as if they were made for the formal drawing room here,” points out Lindsey, who suggested powder blue walls as a sophisticated foil to the gold upholstery.

Many more pieces were sourced specifically for the house, including arresting chandeliers that were carefully chosen to suit the scale of the spaces, as well  as antiques that befit the grandeur of the rooms.

RIGHT Designed by Rendall & Wright, and made by Cubitt Theobald Cabinetry, the kitchen is painted in Farrow & Ball’s striking Stiffkey Blue and Paint & Paper Library’s Stone II. The Montferrat Leaf chandelier

by Vaughan Designs adds a sculptural element. Visit rendallandwright.com to see more of Rendall & Wright’s interior design work.

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Leanne searched high and low for a vintage shop counter she could transform into a kitchen island, before designing this one, painted in Dulux Black (00E53) in Diamond Eggshell. She now creates bespoke cabinetry for Bird & Bone. The Heritage Black Ash counter stools are by Ercol.

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Creative JOURNEY Leanne Kilroy and Eric Fulwiler knew that they had unearthed a gem when they came across this former lodging house – despite the extensive work needed to give it new life FEATURE EMMA J PAGE PHOTOGRAPHY RACHAEL SMITH

ABOVE Leanne sits on a vintage Danish bench in the hallway, where walls in a gentle pink, Faded Blossom by Atelier Ellis, and restored woodwork create a clean, contemporary feel.

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LIFESTYLE

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