Innholdsfortegnelse for April 2018 i The English Home

When it comes to decorating or redecorating a home, going shopping for new fabrics, wallpapers and paint colours can be hugely enjoyable and yet also daunting in equal measure. The incredible range of designs, hues, prints and textures can set the mind racing with visions of new room schemes, but committing to a final decision from so much choice can also be a little overwhelming. Even those who have made a decision can suddenly find themselves swayed by the arrival of fresh temptations with the launch of new collections. Or is that just me? We find, in The English Home office, that natural instinct rather than overanalysis is by far the best route to whittling down the options – although the wise decorator will always collect fabric and wallpaper swatches…

Never has there been a more pertinent time to think about sustainable and ethical shopping practices, be it supporting social enterprises and careful craftsmen, or buying ‘green’. With myriad new eco-friendly and ethically-minded ventures offering a wealth of products to consider, The English Home team has gathered together stylish buys with an eye to renewable, recycled, craftsman-made and all-natural materials.…

Choosing paints from the myriad options available can seem an almost impossible task and it can be difficult to understand what makes one paint different from another. Ultimately paint choices are often dictated by colour preference, but there are a whole host of elements that impact upon how this colour is achieved and how it will look once applied to walls. It can be tricky to understand why ‘designer’ or trade paints differ to ‘own brand’ tins on the shelf in DIY stores. Unlike fabrics, where the quality can immediately be felt, paint tends to look pretty much the same from tin to tin, so understanding the ingredients and processes is important in order to understand how and why luxury paints achieve a better finish. Paint has three essential components:…

MARINA DEMARCHUK, SENIOR INTERIOR ARCHITECT, ALEXANDER JAMES INTERIOR DESIGN “ Positioning of bathroom fittings is key to a spa-like interior – placing the bath next to a window to allow a relaxing outlook when bathing makes for the ultimate spa bathroom. When designing your bathroom layout, it is important to clearly define the bathing area from the lavatory area, making the former a luxurious focal point of the bathroom. The selection of bath will always be important as a bathtub is the heart of a bathroom and therefore needs to be a statement feature. A bath should be chosen on the basis of the size and shape of the room – in this project the L-shaped bathroom made this bath the perfect choice in terms of shape and size. As…

Sezincote, Gloucestershire Whilst the Cotswolds may conjure up images of England’s finest traditional architecture, the outline of Sezincote’s verdigris onion dome flies in the face of convention. This 200-year-old estate is something of an anomaly amidst its chocolate box cottage neighbours, as those who wend their way up the sweeping driveway will attest. At its far reaches sits a building that resembles something approaching an Indian palace, with an impressive orangery boasting beautiful peacock-tail windows, all set in the rolling hills of Gloucestershire. The Neo-Mughal style of the Cotswold limestone exterior, credited as providing inspiration for Brighton’s Royal Pavilion, belies the English interior redecorated by John Fowler of Colefax and Fowler in the 1960s. The drawing room’s magnificent swathes of golden curtain fabric are offset by plush sofas and chairs…

ANNA TOBIN “I’ve been writing for the national and international press since my student days, with my first article published in The Times when I was 18. I write a mix of lifestyle articles and travel around the country styling homes. I love getting a glimpse into other people’s lives and picking up interiors ideas that I can apply to my own home. I once did a shoot where there was a vase sitting on the top of the fridge. I asked the homeowner if she wouldn’t mind moving it, only to find it contained the owner’s grandfather’s ashes. No one wanted to move him, so he stayed in the shoot. When I’m not working, I enjoy spending time at my cottage on the outskirts of London with my partner,…

Inspired by ‘flapper’ fashion and art deco glamour, fringing is making a comeback in interiors, bringing with it a sense of opulence and movement. The use of fringed cushions or lampshades adds a touch of playful decadence, whilst opting for a luxurious fringed velvet sofa, armchair or ottoman makes a stronger statement. Surprisingly versatile, fringing works well in relaxed bohemian settings and more refined, ornate schemes.…

‘It was a real test of my vision to make this property fulfil its true potential, but I now love my back-to-front home’ Whilst it had never been part of Claire Barham’s plan to take on a large five-bedroom property with an extensive garden, when the location agency she had engaged suggested she should view it, it was love at first sight. “The building had such beautiful light and character, but it did take me a number of visits to convince myself I was doing the right thing,” she explains. “Certainly the village location and having my family nearby sealed the deal.” Built in 1870 for a local businessman and factory owner, the house had since been through various ownerships and guises – including being part of the Barnardo’s property…

PANEL PERFECT The three Trees of Eden designs can be used either as a panel (as above) or as a wallpaper with the co-ordinating Eden Stripe. Trees of Eden, £175 a 4m roll, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Cole & Son EXOTIC ABUNDANCE A reinterpretation of a twentieth-century illustration, this trailing floral design runs across three panels to resemble a hand-painted mural. Asterid, Lantern, £178 a roll, Archive Trails II, Little Greene ANIMAL INSTINCT The Zapara collection features eclectic tropical designs. This soft contemporary toile with elephants on a metallic ground caught our eye. Kinabalu, £58 a roll , Zapara collection , Harlequin TEXTURAL ALLURE Thibaut’s Surface range features textural designs, from wood effect to chic tweed. This large motif is imposing on a sample but joyous on wall. Aster, £186 a…

‘Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty’ John Ruskin (1819–1900), art critic, watercolourist, socialist thinker and philanthropist Throughout the centuries, across the continents and in innumerable disciplines – from science to art to philospophy – the natural world has proven to be a boundless source of inspiration and education for those who pause to contemplate its riches. Some seek to capture these in prose, poem, painting or indeed any form of design, whilst others aim to analyse and decipher their multiple physical forms and their natural evolution. Little wonder, then, that botanical motifs remain an eternally enticing adornment for our homes.…

PREFERRED PAINT I still use old-fashioned standard oil gloss to paint both furniture and architectural woodwork, even walls sometimes – I love a deep glossed wall in the right context. Traditional gloss is becoming increasingly difficult to buy and the quality is dropping. The snazzy boutique paint companies don’t sell it anymore but Papers and Paints does and so does Edward Bulmer, who is almost an alchemist. The expression “like watching paint dry” is taken to an extreme without the modern additives which speed up the process but reduce the quality. FAVOURED FABRICS Primarily, I try to use antique textiles combined with those we weave and print ourselves using old mills in Britain, and sell in our sister shop Howe at 36 Bourne Street. Other requirements, I fill with fabric…

KELMSCOTT MANOR, OXFORDSHIRE As the country home of William Morris and his family, this property features examples of Arts and Crafts interiors and is open to the public on Wednesdays and Saturdays from 4 April to 31 October. sal.org.uk/kelmscott-manor DAVID PARR HOUSE, CAMBRIDGESHIRE Currently undergoing renovation and due to reopen in early 2019, 186 Gwydir Street – an ordinary terraced house in Cambridge and the home of decorative artist David Parr for just over 40 years – hides a remarkable plethora of late-nineteenth-century hand-painted interiors created by the man himself. davidparrhouse.org CHARLESTON, EAST SUSSEX Long associated with the Bloomsbury Group, Charleston was formerly the home of artists Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant, and is open to visitors wishing to take in its painted murals and key pieces from the period.…

The delights of the natural world provide a boundless source of ideas for artists and designers. From detailed observations of floral forms through to leaf shapes captured in screen print on modern textiles, botanical images are amongst the most pleasing motifs to use in both classical and contemporary interiors. Be inspired with our selection of beautiful buys for the home.…

PURSUITS Everything stops for tea The origin of tea as liquid refreshment is believed to stretch back to the 28th century BC when, legend has it, an emperor in China was sitting under a tree as his servant boiled drinking water, and leaves from a Camellia sinensis tree blew into the water. In England, it was the Portuguese wife of King Charles II, Catherine of Braganza, who is credited for establishing tea as a fashionable beverage at court in the seventeenth century. Today Britons are estimated to drink 165 million cups a day – compared to 70 million cups of coffee – and this national proclivity is marked with National Tea Day on 21 April. The custom of taking afternoon tea, popularised in the 1840s by Duchess Anna Maria, wife…

Five years ago, Joy and Sean Flanagan and their young daughter set out from their London house in search of their forever home. “We had this dream of an idyllic, English-country-cottage life and wanted a closer connection to the countryside,” Joy explains. “We also felt that we needed to spend more time together as a family, and that life in the country would enable this.” The couple had always been fond of Wiltshire, so they knew instantly that this would be the right place to search. As initially they had not had much luck finding somewhere suitable, when Sean found a horseshoe on a country walk they took it as a good omen. Shortly afterwards, the Flanagans came across a quaint cottage, situated on a steep bank. “From the advert…

Inject interest in the form of flooring in a neutral scheme with a carpet echoing the beauty of a mosaic floor but with the benefit of softness and warmth underfoot. It adds a sophisticated layer of pattern to the pared-back elegance of this sitting room. We love the glamorous fringed sofa shown here, too – see page 24 for more fringed beauties. Columbus Cream Mosaic Patterned carpet, £29.99 a square metre, Carpetright…

SCALE & DRAMA This Botanica collection features several large-scale contemporary botanical designs in bold colourways. Sapajou works well on curtains. Sapajou £128 a metre; other fabrics from £110 a metre, Nobilis SHEER BEAUTY In its first range of voiles, Scion has translated designs from its Nuevo range. Haiku, with its cloud-like pattern, is particularly alluring. Prices unconfirmed at time of print, Scion JOYFUL COLOUR The Aplazzo collection has Venetian flair – we have already included the cut-velvet Velatura ( p85 ) but this motif is so joyful we had to share it too. Torcello, £135 a metre, Osborne & Little FRENCH ECHOES Manuel Canovas’ 2018 collection is rich in botanical designs, alongside ikats, stripes and geometrics in luscious textures and sheers. Screen, Proust, £105 a metre; chairs, Rivoli, £75 a…

There is nothing quite like spending time at a spa to rejuvenate the mind, body and soul. Whether it is an awayday with friends or a weekend retreat for some much-needed relaxation, spas offer many benefits, which is why recreating a spa-like setting in a home bathroom is so appealing. The space does not necessarily have to be large either, as there are many different types of fixtures and fittings available to provide a slice of spa style in the home; to create a calming retreat to be enjoyed on a daily basis. “Having a spa bathroom affords your own personal oasis away from chaotic working life,” says Ripples designer Annabel Williams. “The limits of where to start and end can begin with having something as simple as a freestanding…

Soft petals unfurling under the gentle warmth of the new season’s sun can only mean one thing: spring is here. Whilst fresh vibrant greens and newly uncovered whites sit beside demure flushes of pink, the sweetly perfumed fragrance of young blooms carries with it the burgeoning promise of hopeful times ahead. Whether apple, cherry or magnolia, new blossoms – both in the home and beyond – offer poignant reminders of the seasons’ shifting sands.…

Beautiful homes that sit effortlessly within their surroundings lie at the heart of most people’s aspirations. It is easy to assume that this is simply part of an individual property’s charm, but with careful planning and an eye for detail it is something every homeowner can achieve for almost any property. Visually echoing stylistic elements of the interior helps house and garden flow together, softening any boundaries and creating a sense of unity to enhance the home’s sense of belonging within its location. Performed sensitively, this can also highlight unique features and local materials. Linking inside and out can also promote an overall feeling of space. By making the most of a view and employing the same soft, natural colours both for planting and decor, or repeating key materials and…

Augustus Brandt Antiques Tel 01798 651 002 augustusbrandt.co.uk Bear René Tel 01344 628 486 bearrene.com Birstall Garden Centre Tel 0116 267 7091 birstall.co.uk Drew Pritchard Tel 01492 580 890 drewpritchard.co.uk Falcon Pools Tel 01932 353 040 falconpools.co.uk Green Apron Cookery School Tel 01206 890 387 thegreenapron.co.uk Hungerford Arcade Antiques Tel 01488 683 701 hungerfordarcade.com Joy Flanagan Design Tel 07961 587 331 joyflanagandesign.co.uk Long Melford Antiques Centre Tel 01787 379 287 longmelfordantiquescentre.com Nicholas Hely Hutchinson nicholashelyhutchinson.com REfound Objects Tel 01434 634 567 re-foundobjects.com Sarah Hardaker Tel 07975 982 885 sarahhardaker.co.uk Shadrack & Wallace Tel 01277 658 841 shadrack-wallace.co.uk Smiths of Newent Tel 01531 821 776 smithsnewentauctions.co.uk The Emporium Tel 01488 686 959 emporium-hungerford.co.uk The Swedish Room Tel 07789 505 340 theswedishroom.co.uk Voyage Decoration Tel 0141 641 1700 voyagedecoration.com…

Good lighting is often one of the afterthoughts when considering the layout and design of a room, however, as designers and experienced decorators know, it is integral to the success or failure of an interior scheme. David ‘Fritz’ Fryer understood this when he founded the company in 1982 with his partner, Joan Graham, using his nickname as the brand name. They swiftly gained a reputation for specialising in painstaking restoration of antique and period lighting. When the couple decided to retire in 2004, they sold the business on to Karen and Simon Wallis-Smith. Now occupying a former brewery in Ross-on-Wye, the business has expanded somewhat since the early days and today comprises four services: antique lighting restoration, domestic lighting design, commercial lighting design and a retail element with a more…