Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2024 i Homes & Antiques

Welcome to the July issue of H&A. Summer is finally here, so it's time to pack a picnic and take to the great outdoors! Turn to page 27 for Selina Lake's guide to al fresco dining, which includes a couple of delicious recipes that will certainly take a summer tea party to the next level. In the same feature, Jenny Oldaker has selected the best baskets, tableware and throws to ensure that even if you head no further than the end of the garden, you'll be picnicking in comfort as well as style. If, like me, you've neglected your garden over the cold, wet spring, you'll find there's some catching up to do. A trip to the local nursery is one obvious solution, but you might also consider paying a…

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Sell Now Blue John decorative objects Alison Snowdon, Fellows Blue John, also referred to as Derbyshire Spar, is a form of fluorite renowned for its distinctive hues of purple-blue or yellow. Found only within the confines of the Blue John Cavern and Treak Cliff Cavern at Castleton in Derbyshire, this mineral has captivated collectors for centuries. Looking back to the 1760s, Matthew Boulton and his workshop in Birmingham manufactured the earliest Blue John decorative pieces. Today, items from Boulton's workshop made in the 18th century fetch substantial sums, often reaching tens of thousands of pounds at auction. The allure of Blue John extends beyond its aesthetic appeal; its rarity and limited availability make it a desirable collector's item. Throughout history, the mine has had a limited output, regulated by leases…

Styling tip Complete your table with blousy floral arrangements using a heavy ceramic jug for the main bouquet and smaller glass vases for shorter stems. Place settings can be given a personal touch by embellishing plain linen with a ric-rac trim around the edge as a border. Simply sew it on for instant effect, and colours can be tailored to match your summer table theme – we love the combination of plaster pink linen with raspberry red trim. Country HOUSE CHIC Bring a dash of interior style outdoors to create a garden table that blends classic gingham patterns and soft pastel hues with traditional country house aesthetics. Mix up vintage wooden chairs (Bronze Red eggshell paint by Little Greene will give old spindle chairs a new look for summer) and…

‘I love mixing things up, creating contrast. I find it pleasing if something is a little too big or a little too small, has a wild colour or quirky patterns’ Nestled on a quiet side street in Copenhagen's fashionable Vesterbro district, sits the old workshop in which Pernille Holm, stylist and boutique owner, now lives with her husband, Leif Thingtved. Not only is it an unexpected oasis of calm in the heart of the lively hustle and bustle of the city, but it is also the building where the couple first met, 32 years ago. Back then, Leif used the space to work on his old English motorcycles, and on her visits Pernille says she would dream about decorating the place if she lived there, never really imagining that it…

Priest's House The most quintessential of English country gardens, the Grade I-listed grounds at Sissinghurst Castle, in Kent, were created by writer Vita Sackville-West and her diplomat husband, Harold Nicolson, in the mid-20th century. Now sought out by tourists for its soft blooms and romantic structure, Sissinghurst must-sees include Dan Pearson's recent reimagining of the Mediterranean-inspired Delos area. It's rare to have the gardens to yourself, but there is a way of guaranteeing it: book a stay in the site's three-bedroom Priest's House and you can explore the gardens in peace when the crowds have gone home. Sleeps six, from £1,218 for three nights. nationaltrust.org.uk/holidays Tolstoy Cottage A true English cottage garden, with views over hollyhocks and roses to fields beyond, this Cotswolds patch may not be the largest plot…

Having experienced various jobs throughout her life, it was while working as a vintage and antique dealer that Tess started on a path to becoming the artist she is today. Now devoted to sourcing antique entomology collections of butterflies, moths, and beetles, she restores her finds to create unique artworks, marrying delicate insects with antique objects and textiles. What sparked your interest in antiques? I remember my dad bringing back a framed piece with old butterflies from one of his many travels overseas. I am convinced this was the flame that ignited what is now my passion and work. However, it wasn't until I was in my thirties that I really grew to love antique and vintage objects. The discovery of a box of Edwardian-era moths at the Giant Shepton…

THE ANTIQUES THAT SHAPED ME What first sparked your interest in antiques? I was lucky enough to have been brought up in beautiful interiors filled with antiques: my childhood in Ireland was spent surrounded by the colour and style of Irish Georgian country houses. My mother, an erstwhile art dealer, has a fantastic eye and has always created homes layered with beautiful antiques, artwork and African textiles. Tell us about the first antique you bought. It was a mid-century chest of drawers, originally from Heal's. I bought it for my first flat in London, post university. I've still got it and it brings me great joy. Can you share any mistakes you've made when buying antiques? Around five years ago I bought a set of five Raak pendant lights from…

THE ANTIQUE Silver boxes As the season for summer weddings and significant birthday parties gets into full swing, the subject of what present to give becomes more pressing. Small antiques make thoughtful, one-off gifts; none more so than durable silver boxes, whose designs can be stunningly simple or highly ornate, with lots in between. In their 19th-century heyday, silver boxes were produced in huge quantities in the silver manufacturing centres of London and Birmingham. They had many purposes, from keeping jewellery to storing snuff, tobacco, toothpicks, matches, cigarettes and spices. Ladies’ antique toilette sets comprised an array of boxes for holding the powders, pills and unguents that accompanied silver-backed brushes and handheld mirrors to be used at the dressing table. Silver boxes have always been popular gifts, and you'll come…

I've been dealing with rare maps and atlases since I was 16 years old when I replied to an advert at a Job Centre and – with breaks for university – have never really had a ‘real’ job. I love the stories that antique maps tell, whether as historical records, political statements, propaganda, or glimpses into people's lives. I love that they are works of art and scientific instruments at one and the same time. Most of all, I love that they are accessible and universal: expressions of something intrinsically ‘human’ – every culture has developed a form of cartography. We've been fortunate to have handled some astonishing items, including the sale of the most expensive map ever sold on the open market – the 1531 Maggiolo Planisphere (now in…

My mum and dad were good at making sure we went to galleries and museums in the holidays – it's cheap entertainment, as so many of them are free. We used to go to the V&A a fair bit, and The Usher Gallery in Lincoln. I studied Art History at A level and went on to do it at university, so afterwards I was keen to work in the art world. I had done some work experience at Batemans auction house in Stamford and what really appealed to me was the variety of stuff you come across, and slowly gaining the tools to unlock the stories these objects had to tell. After university I got a job at Cheffins and spent a year and a half there before joining Mallams…

Marco Arosio is a collector and connoisseur, who has dedicated his life to the search for antiques that will make one's heart skip a beat. And Villa Singer, his home in Gorla, Milan, is filled with evidence of his years in the business. Built in the early 1900s by an Austrian nobleman, after whom the villa is named, the property was used as both a residence and a laboratory for creating perfumes. Overlooking the banks of the Martesana Canal, there are locals who still remember the barges that docked to unload crates of dried roots, ready to be processed for the production of fragrances. In the early 1900s, the area was a charming village-like suburb full of Liberty-style buildings such as Villa Singer, with lots of greenery and lovely views,…

Kente stripweaving is a centuries-old tradition practised by the Asante and Ewe (Ev-ay) people of West Africa. The word comes from kenten, meaning basket –possibly recalling a time of weaving with plant fibre. Stripweaves are hand-woven on a narrow loom in lengths of 60 metres or more, but each strip is only 10cm wide. The strips are cut to required lengths and hand-sewn together, selvedge to selvedge, into traditional garments for men and women. Historically, these were garments worn by royalty and others of high social status on royal and sacred occasions in the Asante tradition, and less formally by the Ewe. For men, the one-piece garment is draped over the shoulder in a style reminiscent of a toga; for women, two or three pieces are wrapped tightly around the…

Forty winks Look closely at this striped bedlinen and you can see the patterned dobby weave that looks almost hand-drawn – a twist on a classic print. Somerley Stripe linen bedding is pictured here in Warm Clay. From £55 for a pillowcase pair. pigletinbed.com Time for tea Cambridge-based print designer Rory Hutton specialises in scarves and shawls that feature motifs from history. His latest designs depict 18th-century teapots, creamware and Staffordshire ware found at the Fitzwilliam Museum, on a tablecloth, a tea towel and a set of napkins. The collection is a collaboration with lifestyle brand Nara Cambridge, with prices starting from £12. nara-cambridge.com Whimsy & Wonder Ele Grafton works on commission to create beautiful 3D models of homes, using vintage books, fabrics, and paper, adding details in watercolour pencil.…

What better way to celebrate a 90th anniversary than with flowers? And that's exactly what renowned British decorating brand Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler has done. This year marks the company's 90th year and, to honour the occasion, it has launched a limitededition of John Fowler's original two-tier flower holder — a pleasing semi-circular stand featuring test tubes that can be filled with blooms. The original holder came about thanks to John's interest in the design potential of old test tubes and their holders, combined with his lifelong love of flowers. The innovative vase was bequeathed to the V&A in 1978, but iterations of his original test tube-style design have been a key part of the brand's collection for many years. ‘It would have amused John to have elevated a…

PROSPECT COTTAGE: DEREK JARMAN'S HOUSE Gilbert McCarragher The Dungeness house that Derek Jarman owned for the last eight years of his life became a beloved retreat for the artist, and today Prospect Cottage remains intertwined with his legacy. In this book, author and photographer Gilbert McCarragher describes the place as Jarman's ‘final and most complete work of art’, an observation that serves as a starting point for his exploration of the house and Jarman's relationship with it. Composed of 160 photos and accompanying essays, this book provides a vivid insight into Prospect Cottage and the life of its fascinating owner. McCarragher's images have a compelling intimacy to them, capturing the essence of the cottage, from its windswept coastal setting to its eclectically curated interior, filled with personal collections and curiosities…

Marilu's husband, Gesines, had been aware of their future home long before they bought it, having once lived on the same street. ‘He always thought it was a lovely house, with its stained-glass windows,’ she explains. ‘So some years later, he approached the old woman who lived here, and asked her to let him know if she ever wanted to sell, and that's how it came to be ours.’ Although picturesque on the outside, the interior was another story. ‘There was one main room and a bedroom, as well as a kitchen that was falling apart, and wind blew through the entire house.’ Added to which, there was asbestos and the woodwork was rotting. ‘It was in a terrible state,’ Marilu recalls, and yet she was totally won over by…

Wander the streets of Narberth on a Saturday morning and you'll no doubt come across local residents out and about, greeting their friends and neighbours, such is the community spirit of this pretty hillside town in Pembrokeshire. Everyone knows everyone, it seems, which might explain why small businesses thrive here – and why, as a result, townsfolk and visitors are treated to an enviable collection of independent shops, mainly focused on food (there's a food festival every September), but also antiques and interiors. Narberth's essence is captured in the colourful Edwardian and Georgian buildings that line its centre. The town's old bank buildings, too, are a testament to this vibrant community – when the banks closed down, as they've done in market towns up and down the UK, the cavernous…

The beautiful Georgian Grade I-listed Grantham House is the setting for this summer brocante, as dealers gather to sell antique and vintage pieces on the property's lawns and within its walled garden on 13th July. The event is run by dealers Ruth Domanski and Shauna Donaldson, who held their first brocante at this magical Lincolnshire location last September. Expect a few dozen stallholders selling decorative antiques, textiles, kitchenalia, and gardenalia. Grantham House, 45 Castlegate, Grantham, Lincolnshire, NG31 6SS. ruth_shauna@theartisanbrocante.co.uk; @the_artisan_brocante…

Decorative Garden Antiques Tina Bird sells beautiful old benches, planters, jardinieres, urns and statues from her base near Canterbury. Among her stock she also has 19th-century Spanish pots, French olive jars, and glazed vases, all of which are perfect for bunches of flowers from a cutting garden. decorativegardenantiques.co.uk; @decorativegardenantiques DJ Green Antiques The collection of beautifully curated decorative French, English and Swedish antiques from this dealer based on London's Lillie Road has a delightful smattering of garden pieces. The stylish website features a garden section, blooming with painted steel French tables, unusual planters, and stunning troughs and baths. Our favourite, though – the c1900 croquet scoring post. djgreenantiques.co.uk; @d.j.greenantiques Lichen Garden Antiques Lichen is based in Oxfordshire and specialises in garden antiques and decorative garden ornaments, including urns and planters,…