Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2017 i The English Home

We English are rather a peculiar breed when it comes to never wanting to admit we might need help. Maybe it is our ‘make-do-and-mend’ cultural inheritance? Or perhaps that stereotypical stiff upper lip? I refer to that English reserve about seeking out and paying for professional expertise to get a job done well. Whilst many of our American cousins have interior designers, architects and garden designers on speed-dial, and defer to such specialists just as one might to a dentist, solicitor or hairdresser, many Brits are only just recognising the wisdom of commissioning talent to achieve that dream outcome – and enjoying a collaborative creative relationship along the way. Using a designer doesn’t mean you have poor taste or weak creative vision. It is a simple fact that a designer…

For a sophisticated take on coastal style, forsake jaunty nauticalia for elegantly subdued hues, shapely wicker, coral motifs and luxurious materials such as silver, sustainably-sourced shell or mother of pearl. Deep indigo looks timelessly crisp, but layering schemes in a palette of knocked-back sea greens, linen, faded denim and twine avoids a too obvious interpretation of this enduringly popular decorative theme.…

“Hence, in a season of calm weather, Though inland far we be, Our souls have sight of that immortal sea.”Intimations of Immortality , William Wordsworth (1770–1850) Embrace a relaxed approach to decorating by imbuing a laid-back holiday feel with a soft palette of gentle blue-grey tones, tactile natural textures and the lightness of touch which comes from simple pared-back styling. Encapsulating this breezy mood offers a chance of escapism that can be enjoyed year round, creating a feeling of being far from the madding crowd whenever one returns home. Of course, the summer season affords an opportunity to spread this mood outdoors, too, and to throw the windows open to let the reviving fresh air flow throughout a home.…

FABRIC & WALLPAPER de Le Cuona obviously – but on a serious note, I love Fortuny classic handmade fabric designs and Elitis wallcoverings. COLOURS My new favourite colour is saffron, as seen in the Kasbah linen in our new Refined Rogue collection. In terms of a scheme, I love mud colours and chocolate with ivories and whites – and perhaps a splash of soft rose. BESPOKE SPECIALIST Specialist painting company BumbleDee, in Windsor, creates beautiful textures on walls using wax and chalk paint. SHOPS The Galleria Rossana Orlandi in Milan showcases amazing pieces and now also has an online store. Willer, founded by Rebecca Willer, sells beautifully crafted furniture, textiles, tableware and lighting. LOCATIONS Nature. The South African bush. I also love the London city skyline, New York’s Grand Central…

Enjoying insights of craftsmanship at Howe London as well as learning about the importance and provenance of wood selection from furniture maker Roy – who has been creating pieces for the brand from his Dorset workshop for 30 years. Discussing the importance of championing British Wool with The Good Shepherd, textile designer Emily Watts whose collection is stocked at The New Craftsmen. Our sheep farmers need support if we are to make the most of this incredible, indigenous, sustainable material AND help preserve our bucolic country landscapes. Visiting award-winnning hotel, The Painswick, in Gloucestershire to enjoy good food and a sneak-peek inside one or two of the cosseting bedroom suites.…

It is easy to underestimate the subliminal soothing power of natural materials in the home. But compare the crackling static of a polyester quilt with a temptingly touchable silk eiderdown and the benefit is quickly apparent. Tactile stone, natural wood, silk, linen, wool, quartz and agate, even fabrics made from sustainable bamboo – all are desirably sensuous interior additions to the well-considered home.…

Lucy Worsley is a historian, author, curator and television presenter. She read Ancient and Modern History at New College, Oxford and worked for English Heritage before becoming chief curator of Historic Royal Palaces, which include Kensington Palace, the Tower of London and Hampton Court Palace, where she has an office. She also presents history programmes for the BBC and has written several books, including If Walls Could Talk: An Intimate History of the Home, Courtiers: the Secret History of the Georgian Court and Cavalier: The Story of a 17th century Playboy, and her latest, Jane Austen at Home. She lives in south London with her architect husband, Mark Hines. Where do you live and why? We live in Southwark in south London. It’s midway between the places I need to…

Whilst ‘come rain or shine’ may be shorthand for the British summer, the nation’s spirits do certainly lift as soon as temperatures rise and we can anticipate three or four months when the garden can become another room, albeit outdoors. Garden furniture is built to cope with our changeable climate and this requirement is even more applicable to the fabrics that soften its hard edges. Textiles designed for use outdoors are necessarily a different breed from the ones used to furnish the interior, although the gap in designs and tactile qualities is increasingly narrowing. One of the essential attributes of textiles that spend much of their life outside is resistance to fading, closely followed by water repellence. Fabrics for outdoor furnishings are never completely waterproof – liquid may ball up…

ADAM ARCHITECTURE With offices in Winchester and London, this practice, run by six highly respected directors, is a go-to studio for both traditional yet progressive architecture. Restoration, refurbishment and building of classical and classically-inspired homes is a particular specialism. Tel 020 7841 0140 adamarchitecture.com ALL DESIGN This interdisciplinary practice, set up by Stirling prize-winner Will Alsop, is best known for bold shapes and innovative solutions. Tel 020 7095 0500 all-worldwide.com ANDREW JONES ASSOCIATES A wide-ranging portfolio which includes London restaurants and high-end residential refurbishment projects as well as barn conversions and extensions, Jones’ collaborative approach has won him praise from celebrity clients including Kelly Hoppen and Paddy McNally. Tel 020 8643 0601 andrewjonesassociates.com ANDY MARTIN ARCHITECTURE Award-winning full-service architectural and design practice known for…

When it comes to planning the perfect interior, designers often use a layered effect for lighting, creating a practical backdrop that can be added to with ambient and feature illumination to bring the room to life. The same can also be said of seating within the kitchen. A formal dining table and chairs often takes centre stage in the layout, yet by bringing in additional seating areas – in the form of benches, banquettes or bar stools – a more flexible scheme is created to suit the needs of all the family. With careful consideration, it may also be possible to incorporate something uniquely personal, such as a discreet home office, padded window seats, a comfortable sofa, or integrated seating with peg rails and coat hooks. MOVEABLE FEASTS Everyday mealtimes…

LONDON & SOUTH EAST ACRES WILD Ian Smith and Debbie Roberts design gardens to ‘integrate a house into its garden, and the garden into its surroundings’ from their Sussex-based practice, with a notable contemporary country design aesthetic. Tel 01403 891084 acreswild.co.uk ANDREW DUFF With a career spanning 20 years, Duff has been John Brookes’ associate designer, is managing director of the Inchbald School of Design and lectures on garden design at an international level. Tel 020 8972 1020 andrewduffgardendesign.com ANDY STURGEON Modern elegance and dynamic garden designs ‘fusing traditional materials and contemporary styling’ from this internationally respected designer, television presenter and regular at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Tel 01273 672575 andysturgeon.com ANNE-MARIE POWELL From a studio in the South Downs on the West…

1 PETS PYJAMAS TRAVEL Specialising in long and short breaks for pet owners, where pets are welcomed rather than simply tolerated, Pets Pyjamas has hundreds of dog-friendly places to stay in Britain and France, from luxurious spa hotels to idyllic shepherd’s huts, and everything in between. With last-minute breaks, a free pet-travel concierge service, emergency veterinary service on hand and dog-training weekends, there really is something here to suit every breed and budget. petspyjamas.com 2 CLASSIC COTTAGES Classic Cottages 5 has more than 470 comfortable, welcoming, dog-friendly cottages in some of the prettiest parts of the country. There is also a special section devoted to ‘glamping with dogs’ – camping in luxury and in the wild. The website has a filter to specify an enclosed garden for dogs who might…

Allwood Tel 01404 850977 allwoodtimber.co.uk Bathstore bathstore.com Blenheim House National Garden Scheme Tel 01983 614675 ngs.org.uk Burlington Bathrooms Tel 01322 473222 burlingtonbathrooms.com Carl Thomas Photography carlthomasphotography.co.uk Carlos Garcia Interiors Tel 07967 659 115 carlosgarciainteriors.com Criterion Auctioneers Tel 020 7359 5707 criterionauctioneers.com Daniel Crane paintings Tel 01507 343277 danielcrane.co.uk The Decorative Antiques Fair Tel 020 7616 9327 decorativefair.com Dual Designs Kitchens Tel 01932 976652 dualdesigns.co.uk Edward Bulmer Natural Paint Tel 01544 388535 edwardbulmerpaint.co.uk Elstead Lighting Tel 01420 82377 elsteadlighting.com Gilly Henson interior design Tel 01522 536840 gillyhensondesign.co.uk Guy Goodfellow Collection Tel 01491 599168 guygoodfellowcollection.com Heathfield house Tel 01425 880009 heathfieldhousenewforest.co.uk John Boyd Textiles Tel 01963 350451 johnboydtextiles.co.uk Keim Mineral Paints Tel 01952 231250 keimpaints.co.uk Margo Selby Tel 01227 282758 margoselby.com Mutts and Hounds Tel 01249 782281 muttsandhounds.co.uk Newark Antiques iacf.co.uk Original…

NIKI BROWES is a writer and editor with a specialism in booking and interviewing celebrities. During the course of her career she has worked on magazines such as GQ, Red, Marie Claire and InStyle. She is also a contributing editor for Harrods magazine. Over the past seven years she has contributed to our My English Home feature series, interviewing a diverse range of talent including Helen McCrory, Simon Callow, India Hicks, Zoe Wanamaker, Anna Chancellor, Bruce Oldfield and Sir Terence Conran. This month she reveals her interview with historian and author Lucy Worsley (see page 70). Niki lives in a converted stable in Nottingham with her husband Nick and son Burt, whilst she also has a stepson Sebastian. She very much agrees with everyone she interviews who tells her that…

PURSUITS A toast to the coast Standing on the coast and breathing in sea air has the power to untie knotted shoulders and spark happy memories of childhood summers. Sea air is charged with negative ions which help us absorb oxygen, boosting well-being and promoting deep sleep, whilst the sound of crashing waves lulls a frazzled brain into deep relaxation. Head to the coast to recharge those batteries: beach-combing is a lovely way to gather mementos from a day at the seaside – Barricane Beach in Devon boasts exotic shells and cowries swept in by the Gulf Stream from the Caribbean, whilst fossils may be discovered along Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. Rockpooling can be a fascinating way to while away an afternoon; choose rockpools closest to the shoreline, wet your hands,…

Soft blue-grey teamed with blush or copper pink creates a perfect harmony of warm and cool tones, like blossom against a stormy sky. Both are elegantly pretty shades and match each other in depth of colour to create a peaceful, if unexpected, union. The distressed finish on the armoire, the aged floor and the beaten copper bath add rustic notes to offset the gracefulness of the paint colour scheme. Walls painted in Grey Stone and Light Peachblossom, £42 for 2.5 litres, Absolute Matt emulsion, Little Greene…

Now, as a reader of The English Home, you can benefit from special rates on home and contents cover placed through leading insurance advisers Smith Greenfield. This carefully researched insurance opportunity has been specially created for high net worth individuals and is available to homeowners whose properties are valued at over £250,000 or whose home contents is worth more than £75,000. It comes with many benefits that standard high-street policies do not offer, and readers of The English Home will receive preferential rates and access to products only available through expert independent advisers. Equally importantly, claims will be settled promptly and without fuss. Special benefits can include: • Warranty-free policies – your property is still covered even if you fail to set your alarm • The cost of alternative accommodation…

The kitchen is the room into which many homeowners plunge their most significant expenditure. So when deciding upon its look and layout, it is vital to feel confident that the investment will stand the test of time with a scheme that is not only practical but aesthetically exactly what you hoped to achieve. Kitchen style does, of course, continually evolve. But, as ever at The English Home, we have focussed on designs that feel current yet will endure, and over the coming pages we reveal the most important kitchen design directions that balance these seemingly contradictory demands. From pleasingly rustic elegance to calm sophistication and the allure of a more informal aesthetic achieved using distressed finishes and vintage details, we hope we have provided food for thought. WALL ART…

Arguably the queen of flowers, and an essential constituent of an English garden, the rose comes in three main types: species roses, old garden roses and modern roses. Within these groups, there are varieties with differing aesthetic benefits. Rambling roses, for example, are easily trained to add a blowsy romance around doorways or to ramble over arches. Old garden roses, known for their strong fragrance, are wonderful for bringing sensuality to borders, especially at dusk. And hybrid tea roses are perfect for cutting for floral arrangements, often offering straighter stems.…