Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2021 i Homes & Gardens

EXHIBITION TO SEE The New Craftsmen recently invited its makers (including ceramicist and illustrator Laura Carlin, shown) to Holkham Hall in north Norfolk. Renowned for its wealth of interior decoration, Holkham formed the ideal backdrop for the artists’ residencies. Exploring art, furniture and lighting, each of the makers produced work inspired by the experience. A Portrait of a Place will be on display throughout LDF21 at The New Craftsmen showroom in Mayfair, London. DEBUT FOR DESIGN DISTRICT LDF welcomes a new design district for 2021 and NW10 is the hip new postcode. In recent years, Park Royal has become a hub of creativity, perhaps as a result of the acres of repurposed warehouses. Throughout LDF you can discover craft, jewellery, art, fashion and film. Check out Bill Amberg Studio who…

ALSISAR HAVELI HOTEL, JAIPUR, INDIA A beautiful hotel with lots of intricate detail in the architecture and painting. ST IVES TO ZENNOR, CORNWALL My favourite walk – and if you can make it, carry on walking to Gurnard’s Head pub. It’s the prettiest yellow painted pub in the middle of nowhere. JEKKA’S HERB FARM, BRISTOL You can explore the gardens filled with exotic herbs or book yourself onto one of the cooking classes. TILLINGHAM, RYE You’ll feel like you are in the middle of France when you enjoy a wine tasting and stay in their very stylish rooms.…

GO-TO COLOUR It changes depending on the space but right now I’m into a mushroom, very pale taupe called Annapolis Grey by Benjamin Moore. BIGGEST INDULGENCE The artwork, in particular the David Wojnarowicz piece downstairs by the fireplace. GREATEST SUCCESS The fact that we did the project quickly. We knew what we wanted and it all came together rather seamlessly. SMALL CHANGE, BIG IMPACT Adding the artwork and books. LAST MUSEUM YOU VISITED The Alice Neel show at the Met. I loved it. Ryan and David have a beautiful piece that’s on loan for the exhibition. WHERE DO YOU FIND INSPIRATION Nature, Provincetown and the team of carpenters, woodworkers and upholsters I work with. I’m so inspired by what they can do with a simple drawing. WORDS TO LIVE BY…

WORKING WITH ART STARTING with an artwork is almost like cheating a little bit because it provides you with an instant focus point and gives you an immediate palette. ■ A large painting can anchor the colour palette for much of a room. The wall shades should reference the painting without mimicking it. A common misconception is the need to match the colours exactly to a work of art in order to work with it. Instead, be inspired by the painting. ■ I love starting a scheme with an artwork but, conversely, some of my favourite rooms didn’t have an artwork to start with. Doing it this way round can produce such creative interiors because you’re forced to think outside the box. ■ I would never advise acquiring art to…

DRAW ON PERSONALITY Just because it’s a workspace, don’t take a utilitarian approach to the design, recommends interior decorator and fabric designer Flora Soames. ‘Given that we’re all spending more time in our home office, it needs to be comfortable and visually pleasing – you don’t have to make a choice between practical and aesthetic.’ Consider the character of the person who will be using the space, and the job that they do, when deciding on a scheme – then build the room from there. ‘A clean white space will never work for me; I need to be surrounded by lots of things to think creatively.’ LAYER UP WITH MATERIALS A home office must be designed as a space to induce thought. Rather than opting for a blank canvas on…

When Maya Adcock walked into her Grade ll-listed west London home 32 years ago, it had sitting tenants, dry rot and a leaking gutter. ‘But it had sunshine streaming through the fabulous French windows in the sitting room that overlooked the garden square below and that made us fall in love,’ she says. She and husband Andrew were admittedly young and naive, envisaging simply a future family home, not seeing any pitfalls. ‘There were many and it was a total gut job, but the house evolved into a joyful home where our three children grew up,’ says Maya. ‘And it was only five years ago that we felt the need for a refresh.’ Their children had left home, but all live nearby and have eight children between them. Maya, who…

What inspired you to become a garden designer? When I was growing up we lived in the grounds of a boarding school; there was acres of space to run around in. My mum gave me a small section of garden all of my own when I was eight – and I’ve loved gardening ever since. I did a degree in medicine then worked as a doctor, but I always wanted to do something more creative, so I decided to change careers and studied garden design. Then I moved to Brighton and set up my company, Sussex Garden School. How did your signature style evolve? Actually, I pride myself on not having a signature style. Instead I design gardens that clients would create themselves. I inject their personality into my schemes, taking…

EASY to grow and low maintenance, grasses can be used to divide up your space and add drama – and extend the garden season right through winter. Airy grasses are available in a range of eye-catching colours, from rich gold and luminous silver to inky black and lush green. As well as colour they add height, texture and shape – the trick is to plant one type of grass in a big loose block to maximise the impact. The rippling grass becomes the star of the show rather than merely the supporting act. They thrive year-round but grasses take centre stage now in a blaze of foliage, plumed flowers and interesting seed heads that glow in the autumn light. INTRODUCE MOVEMENT AND TEXTURE Using ornamental grasses brings a whole new…

1 GLAZED TILE SPLASHBACKS A tiled splashback is nothing new, but there will be a shift away from matt finishes and towards gloss. A glazed tile is not just easy to clean – it will also reflect the light around the room, with effective results regardless of the colour. Interior designer Natalia Miyar had these richly hued green tiles handmade in Florence. ‘Paired with the rustic wood and marble work surface, they create a really beautiful contrast with the earthy colours, as well as adding different layers of texture to the space,’ she explains. You don’t need to use a saturated shade to enjoy the full impact. For a more muted look, choose glazed white tiles, which will certainly make the most of the natural light. Zelliges will also remain…

1 HEIGHT MATTERS ‘There are many bespoke solutions to storage in the kitchen,’ says Jane Stewart, design director at Mowlem & Co London. ‘One way is to maximise full ceiling heights with a traditional sliding ladder.’ To break up a large wall of storage, use a mix of closed and open solutions. ‘Less frequently used items can be placed on open shelving to be visually enjoyed, while delicate glassware or “special occasion” table linens are best kept in closed cupboards,’ adds Jane. Mowlem & Co kitchens start from approximately £30,000. 2 CHEF’S KITCHEN It can be a fine balance keeping cooking utensils close to hand without your kitchen looking too busy. One option is to adopt a professional approach – in this Smallbone kitchen, hanging storage has been installed above…

MAHARASHTRIAN BATATACHI BHAAJI (SPICY STIR-FRIED GARLIC POTATOES) SERVES 4 700g floury potatoes, such as Rooster, boiled and cooled 8 garlic cloves 1 tsp cumin seeds 10-12 curry leaves 3 green bird’s-eye chillies 3 tbsp vegetable oil Pinch of asafoetida 1 tsp ground turmeric 1 tsp sugar Salt, to taste Juice of ½ lemon Chopped coriander, to garnish ■ Peel the boiled potatoes and roughly crush them. Set aside. ■ Put the garlic, cumin seeds, curry leaves and green chillies in a pestle and mortar and pound the mix to a coarse paste – the rougher the better! Set aside. ■ Heat the oil in a heavy-based, non-stick saucepan or kadhai, over a medium heat. Add the garlic and spice paste along with the asafoetida and fry for a few seconds,…

FLATTERING LIGHT With a Matt Black finish and frosted glass globe, these Astro Sagara wall lights, £98.76 each, C.P. Hart, make a chic addition to any bathroom. Fixed on both sides of a mirror, they will cast an even illumination across your face for applying make-up or shaving, making them a practical feature, too. BOLD AS BRASSWARE A jewellery-like ring distinguishes the handles of the Anello tap collection, available in more than a dozen finishes, from Italian designer brand Gessi. Basin mixer, from £643; wall-mounted basin mixer, £1,195, both in Brushed Copper, C.P. Hart. HERO COLLECTION Inspired by the sculptural silhouette of a tulip in bloom, the White Tulip collection for Duravit is the latest creation of one of the world’s most famous designers, Philippe Starck. This complete bathroom range…

THE TREND EXPLAINED Curved shapes can transform a bathroom, adding softness to a space notorious for its hard surfaces. Too many strict lines and sharp angles are not conducive to relaxing, nor are they likely to be as easy to live with as contours that can improve the room’s sense of flow. Reminiscent of organic forms – a smooth pebble, the bloom of a flower or a full moon – the latest fittings are designed to bring a sense of nature into the bathroom. For maximum impact, the best way to introduce rounded shapes is to use them for the two key focal points – the basin vanity area and the bath. If that’s not an option, then curved accessories, from wall lights to mirrors, can soften the scheme. Think…

AS architects, we are passionate about the power of good design on wellbeing. We focus on seven design pillars that are essential considerations for a healthy building, and they apply to bathroom design, too. We all need exposure to natural light – it helps us to focus, improves our sleep patterns and can affect our mood. We think first about how to make the most of the available light, perhaps by positioning a bath under the window, so you can also enjoy the view and feel connected to nature. If your bathroom doesn’t have windows, can you ‘steal’ some light from another room, maybe via high-level windows or the roof? Mirrors and reflective surfaces can be used to bounce light around the room, while light falling onto timber, such as…

1 As part of the renovation of a listed Tudor manor house in Norfolk, Danielle Marsh and Emily Holder of Wells and Maguire converted a gloomy guest room into a spacious en suite for the main bedroom. ‘We knocked through the wall, added glazed doors, and restored the original floorboards and painted them white,’ says Danielle. ‘Instantly the space felt lighter and brighter.’ 2 Asked to create a tranquil retreat for the owners, who have five children, Danielle and Emily specified a luxurious bath, set in the middle of the room as the focal point. ‘It is also centred on the window to give the best view of the trees.’ An adjacent small table provides a handy surface for bath oils. 3 Pretty, pink herringbone wall tiles zone the basin…

EASY ADDITION Designed with comfort in mind, the Shape chair from Bontempi Casa would make both an elegant addition to a dining room or a smart choice for an office. It is available in varying shades of buttery leather hide and comes with or without armrests. Shape chair, £440, Bontempi Casa. COLOUR CLASS Lick has joined forces with the team at Livingetc to create the Palette 01: Neo Deco pastels paint collection. With seven playful shades to choose from, this range is the perfect blend of both brands’ love of being creative with colour. The hues have been designed to work harmoniously together, yet pack just as much punch on their own. We predict Purple 03, with its rich burgundy tones, will be a must-have for the season. Lick x…

Our relationship with fire, spanning a couple of million years, feels today like it might be on the rocks. There is a sense emerging that stoves or open fires are unhealthy, for both our bodies and our environment. Like so many subjects today, views are becoming polarised. A post last winter on Monty Don’s Instagram feed, expressing his satisfaction at his full log stack, had some commenters shouting that he shouldn’t be romanticising a toxic pollutant, and others, myself included, sharing the glow of warmth of the prospect in the image. My childhood home had its inglenook fire lit about 50 weeks a year and my job was to keep the log bin full, barrowing in loads of ash and birch, hauled up from the woods on winter weekends with…

‘Plume by Atelier Ellis is incredibly comfortable on kitchen cabinets: it’s not too blue for food and it really likes being near a garden. When I made the colour, I wanted it to be almost magical. It contains no black, but instead uses oxides and umber to make a colour that I think will bring a lot of people joy.’ CASSANDRA ELLIS, founder, Atelier Ellis ‘I’ve worked with Farrow & Ball to create a new eponymous colour, which is a blue-grey-green hue that works really well on its own as a standalone colour for a whole room, or as an accent to highlight a special piece of furniture, favourite artwork or a room’s statement architectural detailing such as architraves, doors or windows.’ CLARA EWART, head of design, Kitesgrove ‘Darker tones…

SHARPS With an extensive range of innovative storage solutions, this company uses a front frame system to maximise every millimetre of space, sharps.co.uk RETROUVIUS Established in 1993, this salvage site is ideal for anyone looking for a distinctive piece of storage, from museum cabinets to shelving units, retrouvius.com NEVILLE JOHNSON This company has three decades of experience in creating innovative fitted furniture to offer bespoke solutions to suit your space, nevillejohnson.co.uk ARTICHOKE Designer of bespoke interior architecture, this Somerset-based firm has a reputation for making exquisitely detailed joinery, artichoke-ltd.com…

“FROM KIDS’ PARTIES ON THE LAWN TO LARGE SIT-DOWN DINNERS IN THE DINING ROOM FOR 20, THIS HOUSE IS WELL SUITED TO ENTERTAINING” A long-term view was what Anna and James Gribble had in mind when they bought their Edwardian home in a quiet suburb of Melbourne. While the house didn’t fit their exact requirements, the neighbourhood and large size of the garden were too tempting to resist. ‘When we bought the house we wanted a home that would see our children, Harvey, now eight, and Nora, now six, through their teenage years to the end of their schooling,’ says Anna who, along with husband James, is an investor. Central to the couple’s ambitions were not only a reconfigured layout but also a more thoughtfully curated solution to displaying their…

MOST SUCCESSFUL PART OF THE PROJECT Opening up the dining room and kitchen into one space with French doors into the garden. BIGGEST INDULGENCE The rug from Robert Stephenson in the sitting room, which ties in with the vintage leather chairs and all the artwork. SMALL CHANGE, BIG IMPACT Having our collection of art professionally hung changed the feel of the house without buying a single new piece. SECRET ADDRESS Myriad Antiques in Clarendon Cross, London – a shop full of surprises and good taste. MUSEUM TO VISIT The Courtauld Gallery – a must for anyone interested in impressionist and post-impressionist paintings. DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE IN THREE WORDS Eclectic, bold, smart.…

Friends of Juliette and Tom Sherwood who are invited round for lunch in the garden should not have trouble finding them. A stone’s throw from Borough Market in southeast London, the Georgian former brewery director’s home is on a corner, with an old ad exhorting ‘Take Courage’ painted on the end wall of the five-storey house – as if a giant arrow from more bibulous times is saying Here We Are. Yet for all its proud declaration, Take Courage House has a secret, hinted at by a Virginia creeper that clambers over the high brick walls running around the site. Behind the walls lies one of the largest private gardens in the area, measuring about 120sq m. ‘When you walk through the gate, it always makes you stop and go…

WAYS TO INTRODUCE VERTICAL STRUCTURE Beth’s preference in her planting for creating a rich tapestry-like effect that varied over the seasons was achieved by planting vertically as well as horizontally, so that as one group of plants died back, the first leaves of a new group were pushing through. An important element of this is to encourage a fluid intermingling of plants. In autumn and winter Calamagrostis x acutiflora ‘Karl Foerster’ makes an outstanding vertical, its bleached columns standing firm without support or damage. It partners well with the distinctive seed heads of Phlomis russeliana, providing structure until cut down early in spring. AIM FOR YEAR-ROUND INTEREST Ornamental grasses add movement and late-season interest. Tall Stipa pseudoichu is best planted rising out of a void so its silvery arching plumes…

ISLAND LIFE As central pieces, islands are prime targets for a colour shift. ‘A popular route is to pick an uplifting shade for the island and set it against cooler, neutral tones on the cabinetry,’ says George Miller of Neptune. A dark backdrop will add extra definition and a different worktop will also help it stand proud, as shown in this Suffolk kitchen in Ink with Charlecote island in Olive, from £8,000, Neptune. 1. COLOUR WASH Carrying a strong cabinet colour onto the walls boosts the sense of space and can give a classic design a modern edge. Kitchen in Middle Buff by Little Greene, from £25,000, Kitchen & Beyond. 2. COOL CONTRAST In a large kitchen with a high ceiling, pitching pale cabinets against a dark foil creates a…

LOCATED in the heart of Copenhagen and the former Danish Post and Telegraph head office, the grand hotel looks across to the Tivoli Gardens and is seconds from buzzy cocktail bars. Much of the hotel’s design was created by London-based Goddard Littlefair and Universal Design Studio, working together to craft interiors that match the grandeur of the building’s facade. The 381 rooms are inspired by grand Copenhagen residences, featuring high ceilings, restored original windows, herringbone floors, gold accents and a muted colour palette. As well as a spa, sauna and fitness centre, a 25-metre pool crowns the hotel, heated using excess heat from the building’s cooling system. Elsewhere, the hotel offers approachable, conscious luxury through a commitment to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and meaningful experiences that connect guests to…

FIND a picture-perfect house on the market and the chances are that it might come with a listing. This means it’s a building that has been judged to be important in terms of architectural or historic interest. Buying such a home brings with it the responsibility of owning a piece of history – it’s a reality for nearly half a million UK homeowners. ‘Just be aware that whatever the grade, the whole building is listed inside and out,’ advises surveyor Tom Scott of property consultants Woodforde Scott. IS IT WORTH BUYING A LISTED HOME? As a result of limitations on alterations, listed homes will never compare to new builds when it comes to preventing heat loss. However, steps can be taken to lessen the impact, including installing ground source heat…

THE TREND EXPLAINED Thanks to the desire to create a sanctuary at home, the bathroom has become a retreat, a private oasis to help restore mental and physical wellbeing. With this comes a move away from clinical style. Wood is now the material of choice for its natural beauty and warmth; it conjures the quiet luxury of a spa. There are many ways to introduce timber to your scheme, from a simple small stool to a timber-fronted vanity. Wooden baths are reminiscent of Japanese soaking tubs, while the warm, dry air of a naturally scented wood sauna offers the ultimate indulgence. BC Designs Crea bath, £2,940, C.P. Hart EXPERT DESIGN ADVICE Yousef Mansuri, director of design, C.P. Hart Cladding walls in wooden batons brings the spa-like beauty of timber to…

THE TREND EXPLAINED The move towards showers that offer a personalised experience provides an even greater opportunity to develop your bathroom as a sensual retreat. As manufacturers have invested in shower technology, they are giving us more potential to enjoy the benefits of hydrotherapy at home. You could choose a sports-style directional shower head designed to deliver an invigorating experience and help relieve muscle pain, or a plate-style head with water that falls like soft rain to drench the skin and relax the mind. Waterfall and laminar (hose) streams, strong massage jets and splash-free ultra-fine sprays can all be used to enhance your enjoyment of water. An increasing number of shower heads offer more than one type of spray, so that you can switch between options according to the way…

ONE of the things we realised during lockdown was the importance of having space and time to relax, especially as working from home can make it seem impossible to escape from the screen. More than ever, the bathroom has become the place of calm, somewhere to retreat to in the evening, run a bath, enjoy a glass of wine and unwind. If you have a large bathroom, then a steam shower, a sauna or even a massage table can be included to create a home spa. But in smaller rooms, the most important wellness feature is a supremely comfortable bath. For every project, I try to insist that clients sit in their chosen bath before purchasing, because everybody has different requirements, though I do find the good old-fashioned cast-iron baths…

1 Asked to create a luxurious en suite for the main bedroom of an early Victorian house, C.P. Hart designer Stefania Marino was inspired by her clients’ choice of tile. ‘They brought me an image of an eye-catching black and white hexagonal design. It sparked the idea for a bold monochrome scheme, which would also make the most of the original black cast-iron fireplace,’ she recalls of the project in south London. 2 With a bath in the centre of the space, no shower, and a vanity unit and WC tucked into one corner, Stefania was asked to rethink the layout to include a shower in the room. Moving the entrance door allowed her to position a large 1,500x900mm enclosure in its place, with a Crittall-style matt black frame chosen…

Tell us about yourself I’m Sophie Rowell of Côte de Folk Interior Design Consultancy in Folkestone, Kent. After being in the fashion industry for 24 years, as an art director and stylist, I created Côte de Folk in 2016, first as a pop-up homeware shop, then a permanent store, evolving into an interiors consultancy. Describe your Instagram account. It displays not only my own work but ideas and interiors that inspire me. It echoes the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, finding beauty in imperfection, which sits alongside my knowledge of the importance of an organised, clutter-free home. What is your account’s USP? I use Instagram Stories as a platform to show a more behind-the-scenes approach instead of the finished article. I also do tours where I walk through and talk about…

What’s your background? I studied fashion at Leeds University and then mixed media textiles at the Royal College of Art. I joined Dyson as a CMF (Colour, Material and Fabric) designer and worked closely with James Dyson and his team on the look and feel of a new car. When he decided not to take the electric car project forward I decided it would be the perfect time to leave and start my own business. I started working on Duo-Hue by Amelia Ayerst in January 2020 just before the first lockdown and finally launched the website in February this year. Can you tell us more about the technique you use? Duo-Hue is a unique digital embroidery stitch that integrates craft and technology. I always wanted to take the craft of…

‘MAKE sure the item you are buying is big enough for the space. People are often afraid of going bigger but a fixture with some scale is better than one that is too small, within reason. Be mindful of the space between the top of the light and the ceiling – nothing looks worse than a large fixture hanging off the ceiling with no space around it. Be careful of the height of the bottom of the fixture.’ EMMA FINCH, director at Hector Finch ‘CONSIDERthe dimensions of the room are you placing your light fitting in, in order to ensure the size of the light suits the volume of your space. If it has vast high ceilings, then a small pendant will feel lost. However, if you have low ceilings…

INTELLIGENT DECORATING We all well know the transformative power of colour and pattern, and wallpaper is sure to maintain the softness of a space. In a smaller room, a clever solution can be a combination of wallpaper and panelling; this is visually interesting and also ensures the room is not overpowered by a loud print. If your desk sits in the corner of a larger space, then paper can be used to define the work area. In terms of colour, choose calming hues to ground the scheme and encourage thoughtfulness. Blues bordering on grey are successful: colour theories suggest these tones increase the ability to focus. Dark green (such as Studio Green by Farrow & Ball, used here) is another contender, as it’s meant to boost creativity. HIDE AWAY Rooms…

THE staircase that we installed in our house in France, to reach the new rooms we had created upstairs, meant that the wall had to be replastered, obliterating my original design. This led me to look at the wall in a fresh way. I felt it needed a calm and quiet design that would work harmoniously with the staircase and the rest of the old stencilling in the room. I have long been a fan of 18th-century Swedish interiors, where painted lines – just one or two of various thicknesses, often in blues, greys, or the traditional earthy Swedish pink – were used on walls to indicate panels. The room originally had a dado rail which no longer exists, however, you can create the sense of a dado, using paint…

“WE LOVE THE TENSION YOU GET BY MIXING OLD AND CONTEMPORARY ARTWORKS AND WE HAVE DONE THE SAME WITH THE DECORATIVE CHOICES” With its graceful Georgian proportions and mellow Cotswold stone facade, it is hard to believe that this Gloucestershire house was built just 20 years ago. ‘A lot of attention had been put into getting every feature of the house right and this really sold it to our clients,’ recounts Taline Findlater of Olivine Design, who together with her co-founder Victoria Gray was enlisted to bring that same level of detail to the interiors. ‘We like to create layered spaces that combine colour, pattern and texture, and these rooms, which were previously all white, seemed to be crying out for this approach,’ she observes. Plans for the schemes commenced…

You don’t need lots of flowers to make a statement arrangement, especially in autumn. Wind-fallen branches will last for a week or two in a large urn filled with water. The warm colours of majestic autumnal foliage turning deep vermilion, rich saffron and ochre are a florist’s dream. In this arrangement, award-winning landscape designer and floral artist Lucy Hunter uses Virginia creeper. ‘I spotted some cascading from the trees in all its autumn glory. Inspired, I visited a friend who I know has the creeper growing wildly in her garden and snipped a few long strands. I placed the stems in water tubes and attached them to a hook in the ceiling of my studio. Never has wallpaper looked so good!’ For more inspiration, Lucy’s new book The Flower Hunter…

■ By introducing a row of umbrella-pruned white mulberries to the side of the garden, Tony Woods raises the eye to a strong vertical element that does not seem bulky and oppressive. ■ A narrow path running the length of the garden between the mulberries and the wide border beneath the wall brings the focus to the planting therein and creates a journey through the space. ■ The mulberries leaves cast a dappled shade over the paving during the day and, at night, their bare stems and frames are lit from below with a warm glow. Solar-powered uplighters can take the place of an integrated system and lanterns hanging from the branches create a welcoming festive air.…

KNOLL GARDENS Specialises in naturalistic gardening, with a huge range of graceful grasses and striking perennials for colour and interest throughout the seasons.knollgardens.co.uk MEADOWGATE NURSERY Award-winning nursery in West Sussex that stocks a diverse and unusual collection of ornamental grasses. meadowgate nursery.co.uk ASHWOOD NURSERIES Wide range of grasses including some more unusual ones. It also runs open days where you can find out more.ashwoodnurseries.com BETH CHATTO’S PLANTS & GARDENS Based in Colchester, there are 7.5 acres of gardens here, featuring ecological planting, plus an excellent nursery.bethchatto.co.uk…

CONQUER THE DARKNESS ‘Taking the plunge with dark colours needn’t plunge the whole kitchen into darkness. The cabinetry is rarely anywhere near the largest surface area. You’ll see far more floor, ceiling, wall and worktop, and keeping those areas light will provide contrast and a brightening effect. Reflective surfaces, such as metallics and mirrors, bounce more light into the kitchen. Mostly you need a little courage. If you love dark colours, and follow these steps, the results will be fabulous.’ Mioko Fujisaki, director, Kitchen Bee Design Shaker-style kitchen in Farrow & Ball’s Black Blue, from around £35,000, Kitchen Bee Design CHASE THE LIGHT ‘The impact of sunlight levels on paint colours is well documented and I’m often asked which shades work best in north-facing kitchens with colder light levels. One…

AFTER studying at Central Saint Martins and working at Temperley, Ella Ringner founded YOLKE, a luxurious sleepwear company, in 2013. The brand, which celebrates joyous, bright prints, has gone on to add a sustainable and delightful ready-to-wear collection and a children’s arm, LiTTLE YOLKE. During lockdown, Ella moved from London with her husband and two young children to Oxfordshire, inspiring a homeware collection featuring tulips, wildflowers and hedgerows. It includes napkins, tablecloths and silk and cotton cushions woven in the nearby Cotswolds. The latest collection, The Love Collection, launches this month. ■ We relocated to this area completely by accident. We were in Wales for a weekend in March 2020 when my sister-in-law decided to move from her cottage in Oxfordshire down to Cornwall. Lockdown was about to happen, and…

MY first memory of home is conjured up by different scents; the linseed oil that my artist father used to clean his brushes and the smell of skin creams that my mother used to develop from the kitchen table. I’ve never been able to recreate the rich aroma of the peachy pink roses that grew in our back garden. We lived in a council house in Bexleyheath but the back garden always looked like the Queen’s at Buckingham Palace. WE moved into our current home, a two-bedroom Victorian flat in Chelsea, over 20 years ago. Everywhere is white – the wooden floors, the walls, the cushions; it’s like a beach house in London. We have a terrace and I sit and have a coffee in the morning sunshine and smell…

THE TREND EXPLAINED For many years, bathrooms have been all about ultra-practical smooth surfaces in ceramics, brassware and tiles. But increasingly the design has focused less on pure functionality and more on functionality mixed with comfort and style – and the tactile quality of bathroom fittings has moved to the fore. The beauty of a textured finish is not just aesthetic, but also sensual: how does a tap or vanity feel to touch? In many ways, the bathroom is where we are at our most vulnerable, so surfaces that feel pleasing can enhance the cocooning effect. Introducing a textured finish is one way to add a quiet sense of individuality and offers scope for creativity: you might opt for a brushed or matt finish for the brassware contrasted with a…

M A N Y of us want a bathroom to be a sanctuary and, ideally, one that is individual to us. Creating a space that is personal is where luxury begins: it is the chance to have a shower fixed at the perfect height for you, to have the elegant bath of your dreams and every detail as you want it. How joyful is it to have a make-up drawer, sectioned into compartments so that you can store your favourite cosmetics beautifully? When everything has its place, we feel calmer, while considered details will help make the room feel special and unique. Functionality is critical to the success of the room and underpins its luxuriousness. Without the practical skeleton in place – from plumbing to heating to ventilation – the…

W H E N I was growing up in the 1970s, bathrooms were filled with colour and pattern, before times moved on in favour of plain white sanctuaries. But I want us to look at colour and pattern again. They are essential ingredients in bathroom design: they can lift our mood and enhance the experience of downtime. This is something I believe strongly; I have a Nigerian heritage and colourful expression is part of Yoruba culture. I grew up in Germany, then moved to London, where I studied fashion before setting up my company specialising in African-inspired textiles and wallpaper. We can all benefit from colour, not just for aesthetic reasons, but also for emotional ones: soft blues can make us feel calmer, greens can be fresh and restorative, and pinks…

1 Having sold her restaurant and cookery school businesses, moved house and set up a new home fragrance brand, all in a matter of weeks, Angela Herbert was keen to create a relaxing retreat in her new home in East Sussex. ‘I’ve always wanted a really special, feminine bathroom, so the moment I picked up the keys from the estate agent in Tunbridge Wells, I went across the road to the C.P. Hart showroom and had a chat,’ she says. 2 The director of design, Yousef Mansuri, took up the challenge of creating the new room. ‘The existing small en suite occupied one corner of a big bedroom, with an empty space in the centre,’ he says. ‘It made better sense to replace it with a new en suite created…

1 For some time, Nick Rylance and Fermín García-Roméu had been mulling over how to extend into the loft of their three-bedroom house, built in 1925 in north London, before coming to a decision. ‘We realised we really didn’t need more rooms, but what we did want was a better bathroom with a walk-in shower,’ recalls Nick. ‘We had a small bathroom with a shower above the bath and a WC, and another loo in a small room on the other side of the wall.’ On a visit to C.P. Hart’s showroom, they met director of design Yousef Mansuri, who drew up plans for one large bathroom created by demolishing the dividing wall. 2 ‘We love the original art deco features of the house and were keen to echo the…