Innholdsfortegnelse for January 2024 i Country Homes & Interiors

THE TURN OF THE YEAR IS ALWAYS A CHANCE FOR REFLECTION. In my January letter last year, I wrote about finding ways to entertain that feel comfortable and fun, rather than too much pressure. We’re planning to host drinks for friends this year (with Indian party food, page 118), but I’m also anticipating having time to look back over the past 12 months and plan for the year ahead. I hope our feature on journalling (page 110), Monty Don’s tips on designing an outdoor space that’s just right for you (page 144), plus our year-long gardening guide (page 136) will help you as you contemplate your dreams and goals for 2024. If you’re considering decoration and renovation projects this year, then we’ve plenty to inspire you. From sociable kitchen layouts…

It may only have been founded in 1996, but Neptune has become known for its timeless aesthetic and enduring quality. Having joined the brand as CEO in 2020, Aalish is on a mission to create the ‘antiques of the future’, bringing with her a wealth of experience gained across 20 years in the luxury retail industry. What is it about the Neptune brand that sets it apart? Aside from its in-house manufacturing, fastidious engineering, breadth of range and incredible customer service, for me, Neptune’s 100-year vision is very special and unique. From day one, we have set out to design and make products that not only look beautiful and add value to our customers’ lives, but to use the best materials and timeless craftsmanship, ensuring that they will last for…

This may be their fifth project but renovation was not something Amanda and Niall really set out to do. ‘It was the only way we could afford to buy and a couple of times we’ve taken the children and moved back in with my parents, working on a house at weekends and in evenings,’ Amanda explains. Their previous home was an adored bungalow that had been updated in New Hampshire style but they found themselves with itchy feet. ‘We were both in our early forties and thinking “we could do one more” when this place popped up in a village we already loved.’ The area had always been beyond the couple’s reach financially and this 15th-century Grade II listed cottage was no exception, but when it was finally reduced after…

Having spent her teenage years in a beautiful but very quiet Suffolk village, the last thing Julie Thompson wanted for her own children was for them to feel cut off from their school friends and reliant on their parents to ferry them around. So when she and her husband David were expecting the first of their three children, they left London to raise their family not in their dream home of a country cottage, but in a contemporary house in bustling Ipswich. ‘We have such precious memories of that time, so many happy Christmases were spent there,’ says Julie, ‘but David and I both knew that as soon as our sons grew up and were ready to move out, we’d be free to follow our hearts and head to the…

Q What are the different fuel types available? A The fuel that fires your stove is the first decision you’ll need to make when choosing a stove. ‘Wood burning stoves are designed specifically for burning wood logs and are widely considered an environmentally friendly choice due to their carbon-neutral properties. On the other hand, multi-fuel stoves offer the flexibility of burning a range of materials, including turf briquettes, anthracite, smokeless fuels and coal. The ecological impact of multi-fuel stoves, however, is heavily influenced by the type of fuel used, with smokeless fuels being a better option for the environment compared to coal,’ says Joanna Humphreys, fire and stove specialist at Direct Stoves. Electric is perfect for a quick and easy solution that provides heat and light without the need for…

ALLIUM BAUBLE 1 Take a dried allium stem and cut off the head, leaving a 12cm stalk. Either leave it natural or spray with metallic paint for added sparkle. 2 Tie some hessian string in a secure loop at the base of the stem to hang the bauble with. Add a velvet bow for an elegant finish. GREENERY GARLAND 1 Cut a length of hessian rope to the length required to dress your mantelpiece or staircase, then tie a loop at each end. Attach a roll of florist’s wire to one of the loops; do not cut the wire off until the garland is complete. 2 Take a selection of foliage and lay it onto the rope, then secure it in place by wrapping the wire around the foliage and…

Khanda palak bhajia MAKES 6 These crisp and tasty spinach fritters are made with spinach leaves, chickpea flour, onion and spices. Make sure you cut the onions in the correct direction and cook the fritters gently or they will be crispy on the outside yet uncooked inside. 2 white onions, peeled¾tsp salt2tsp red chilli powder¼tsp ground turmeric1tsp garam masala1tsp carom seeds100g chickpea flourLarge handful of fresh spinach, chopped2 handfuls of chopped fresh corianderSunflower oil, for deep-fryingLili chutney (see recipe p124), to serve 1 Cut the tops and bottoms from the onions and then slice each in half. Place each onion half flat side down, so the root and top are facing horizontally. Finely slice the onion vertically into thin half moons. Repeat until all the onions are sliced. Separate each…

Agarden is no more random than a meal. When you select food from a menu or a shop you are editing based upon inclination, experience and circumstance. Making a garden uses exactly the same processes. So the most important question to ask yourself before you start any kind of garden project is what do you want from it? Challenge some of the preconceptions of a ‘good garden’. Do you really want a lawn? You do not have to have flowers. I have seen stunning gardens that are entirely green all year round. A garden is whatever you want it to be. EMBRACE A GARDEN’S EVOLUTION The more specific you are about what you want from a garden, the more likely you are to create a space that works well for…

CELESTE ROSE HYLAND crafted the gorgeous festive foliage ideas on page 104. ‘For me, there’s nothing more mindful and satisfying than taking a basket of garden cuttings and, using only minimal ingredients, creating something seasonal, sustainable and beautiful for the home,’ she says. GRAHAM RICE writes about ‘fantastic, indestructible’ berberis plants on page 147. ‘This New Year, I’ll take a stroll through the Isabella Plantation in Richmond Park; it’s long been a family tradition.’ PHIL BARKER is one of our incredible photographers. For this issue, he went on location to shoot Celeste’s Simply Evergreen creations (far left), picking up ideas for his own festive decorations.…

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I believe personal storytelling is at the heart of any home, and that a home should be a long and rambling poem of your life. When we are welcomed into anyone’s personal space, we hope to understand their likes, dislikes, views and approach to life. And we hope that it chimes with the person themselves. Once we’ve clocked the cooker, the lights and the art, our primary reaction will be to how it feels – and how we feel inside it. Equally, when you welcome people into your own home, you are showing them a manifestation of who you are – whether you are tidy, foodie, arty or none of the above. It can be scary, but it shouldn’t be. Your home should be a storyteller of your life. To…

There’s a tradition of journalling in country life. Maybe it’s the slower pace of rural days or the steady turn of the seasons, but the hours seem to stretch to allow pockets of time to write and reflect. The hurts and stresses of life can infiltrate the most beautiful setting or cosiest cottage. But keeping a diary can help us make sense of the world around us, and the interior landscape of our hearts and minds. Journalling, like meditation, allows you to tap into that deep part of your psyche that may be drowned out by the noisier distractions in your head. The act of writing and analysing uses both hemispheres of the brain at one time; the right side to feel creatively and the left side to work rationally.…

Toast to the host VODKA & CRANBERRY SPRITZER SERVES 4 1 In a jug, mix 75ml vodka from the freezer, juice from a quarter of a lemon and 150ml chilled cranberry juice. 2 Divide between four champagne glasses, top up with prosecco and add some cranberries and a twist of orange to serve. Toast the New Year with a fruity cocktail. Festive flavours don’t come much cooler than this cranberry and orange combo – stock up on garnishes and mixers, such as fruits, herbs and tonics, to create a mocktail version with equal flourish. Marne cocktail glasses, £48 for four; Romney champagne coupe, £40 for two; Oxford swirl tumbler, £58 for four, all The White Company…

Online store Print~Sisters offers a curated collection of artwork inspired by an extensive archive of textile designs (some dating back to the 1800s) built up over the years by founders – and real-life sisters – Alexia and Claudia. ‘We lovingly restore, rework and revive archive works, producing prints in a way which is kind to the planet, using 100 per cent recycled and sustainable papers,’ they explain. We love Tree of Life, shown here. Prices start at £40 for an A4 print, with wallpapers, cushions and blankets also available; printsistersarchive.com ONE FOR THE DIARY… 9 JANUARY Be inspired by Catherine Ducker’s ‘Good Intention’ exhibition – her floral artwork is on display at the Victoria Art Gallery in Bath until 14 April, catherineducker.com 13 JANUARY Create tasty ferments to store in…

Lois Cox loves the run-up to the Christmas and New Year festivities, dressing up the pretty Sussex cottage she shares with husband Robert and daughters Dulcie, Coco and Beau with a cornucopia of treasured objects, both old and new. ‘Our Christmas decorations have been collected over the years, but I love the new glass baubles I’ve bought for the tree which came from Susie Watson Designs.’ The trees (‘I like to have a couple,’ she says) look super-stylish in vintage wooden champagne crates that were picked up from an antiques market. Lois is a familiar face at nearby Ardingly Antiques Fair and vintage shops all over Sussex, where she hunts out items, from china serving tureens to pretty lanterns, to display around the house. One might say that it is…

Keep Christmas stockings hanging and fill them with party gifts for guests to take home with them once the midnight hour has chimed Spray fern leaves with gold paint and attach them to embroidery hoops hung on velvet ribbons for an alternative wreath idea An airy asparagus fern ring suspended above the table keeps your eyeline clear for meaningful conversation over your party spread…

BRING IN A BAR Ideally positioned away from the main cooking zone, a kitchen bar allows friends to congregate and drinks to be poured without getting in the way of the chef. ‘Every bar needs to include worktop space to mix drinks, as well as storage for spirits, wine and beer,’ explains Julia Dale, senior designer, The Main Company. ‘Opting for open shelves to display bottles makes an eye-catching addition to any kitchen.’ Interesting details will help to separate visually the zone from the other areas of the kitchen, while subtle lighting can add glamour in the evening. ‘Luxurious hardware, floating glass shelves and a metal splashback will highlight the area beautifully,’ notes Julia. MAKE ROOM FOR A DINING TABLE A table, however small, makes a natural gathering point. ‘Even…

Cast in bronze or moulded in gleaming, malleable brass, Jess Wheeler’s metalwork designs render delicate, ephemeral nature in solid and lasting three-dimensional form – cabbages and oak leaves, mushrooms and tulips. Her artistic career began on the page (she studied for a degree in Art Illustration from the University of Edinburgh’s College of Art) but her creations always had a way of taking shape. She first began designing sets for London fashion shows and shoots. ‘I was creating natural, living sets, using flowers, grasses and plants as the unifying element of my work,’ she says. With lockdown, Jess returned home to North Wales, to a small stone farmhouse beyond a tiny village, tucked between ‘English foothills to the south and Welsh Berwyn Mountains to the north’. With time on her…

There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing. A pretty to-the-point phrase, but one I find particularly impactful when I consider how I feel about January. These days, I like it, simple as that. A month that used to drag on endlessly in my old routine now feels like a gift. January has become a time to take stock in every area of my life. I can look inward for a beat or three and reflect on what’s working and what isn’t. And while I do that quietly over the course of the month, I tend to do quite a lot of this… EAT WELL The Celebrations are finished (and by finished, I mean only the Mars Bars remain) and hearty one-course dinners are welcomed back on to…

The road to Boys Hall isn’t an auspicious one. After driving through the Kentish countryside, the route took us through a slew of roundabouts and car dealerships that had us consulting a map to check we hadn’t lost our way. Then we turned a corner and, oh my… There were trees, lawns and a rose garden, and in the centre of it all, a Grade II Jacobean manor house draped in wisteria, its ancient oak door opened wide and beckoning us inside. The boutique hotel near Ashford has been restored by Bradley and Kristie Lomas, who left London and careers in the hospitality industry to raise their family in the countryside and follow their dream of opening their own restaurant and rooms. They came across Boys Hall, on the edge…

Gardening is, of course, a therapeutic activity for body and soul, which greatly rewards the effort you put into your plot. Anticipating and preparing for the year ahead is all part of the process, enabling you not just to get the best results from your planting, but also providing a sense of purpose and rhythm to the days and months stretching ahead. Start the new gardening year prepared. Ensure you have everything clean and ready – sharpen your tools, service the lawnmower, repair fences, tidy the greenhouse, and check your compost bin is healthy and working well. Then it’s time to seek inspiration. Leaf through catalogues, magazines and books to compile a list of plants and ideas you’d like to incorporate into your garden in the coming year. Look carefully…

There’s no getting away from it, berberis are thorny – but this, it turns out, can be a good thing. For although you need a stout pair of gloves when pruning, prickles have advantages. First, thorns ensure that a berberis is a safe place for birds to nest as predators cannot penetrate to reach them. And if you want to deter people from detouring through your garden, then a berberis hedge will do it. Just be careful if children play in your garden as they could get scratched. Fortunately, there’s much more to berberis than thorns. In spring, there are beautiful flowers – little double bells of yellow, gold or orange. Most deciduous berberis are varieties of Berberis thunbergii. These are one of the most adaptable and cold-hardy of all…

We always spend Christmas and New Year in Venice. I live between there and London with my husband, Anthony, and two sons, Aeneas, 11, and Achille, four. Venice is where I grew up so it feels most like home. My perfect New Year’s Day definitely involves a long, leisurely walk around Venice. Fingers crossed for some crisp winter sunshine! The city is so beautiful on a bright winter’s day, the light reflecting in the water. I like to celebrate with an indulgently rich meal at home, the table all dressed up and prosecco aplenty flowing. Then I’d spend the first day of the year being cosy with family, including my mother, who also lives in Venice. The best start to the day is when my husband brings me hot ginger tea…