Innholdsfortegnelse for July 2019 i The English Home

Summer. Just the very word conjures up a multitude of memories and images in my mind’s eye: picnics in woodland glades, open-air theatre, the bubbling laughter of children playing in paddling pools, the aroma from food cooking over an open flame, gliding past wildflower-covered riverbanks in a rowing boat, and even floating over beautiful houses with swimming pools in a hot-air balloon. I am sure I am not alone in romanticising the season and embracing its short-lived virtues with determined relish. Author Henry James, of course, felt that the words ‘summer afternoon’ were amongst the most beautiful in the English language; they are undoubtedly amongst the most evocative. In this, our summer edition, we hope you will enjoy the fact that we have taken the opportunity to celebrate seasonal pursuits,…

Be it by the sea, a park or in the garden, worshipping the sun is made all the more enjoyable with accessories that make whiling away the hours beneath the rays a comfort and a joy. Seek out designs in a limited colour palette for effortless co-ordination. Indulge in outdoor fabrics and rugs that offer softness and practicality as well as Turkish towels that are light. A drinking glass and a sturdy basket are both essential.…

PURSUITS Painting Furniture There is something creatively and inherently fulfilling about refreshing a piece of furniture with a lick of paint. Whether using a stencil to create a striking statement piece, such as this table top ( above ), or simply choosing a single block colour to use in a newly decorated room, painting furniture past its prime – bought or inherited – can give it a new lease of life. However, do ensure nothing valuable is painted. The queen of painted furniture is Annie Sloan, who developed her Chalk Paint for furniture in 1990. “There’s no need for tiresome priming and sanding – you can get straight to the fun bit,” Sloan says, adding that a coat of wax will seal the paint. Use a good-quality brush to avoid…

Jodie Kidd was aged just 15 when she was ‘spotted’ on a beach in Barbados by fashion photographer Terry O’Neill. She swiftly became a top international model, opening catwalk shows for Givenchy, Moschino and Alexander McQueen, amongst others, and was the face of many fashion campaigns. She has also enjoyed a successful career as a Maserati racing driver. Now, despite her love of travel and adventure, Jodie has put down roots. Following in her mother’s footsteps, she has created a vegetable garden at home, as well as at her latest venture – The Half Moon, a gastropub in Kirdford, West Sussex, not far from where she grew up with her brother Jack and sister Jemma, Countess of Mornington. Jodie is a keen cook – she was a finalist in BBC’s…

For a softer approach to red hues, orange-based or brownish-reds have an alluring earthy quality. Mellow, but still rich and bold, brick, terracotta and rusty reds create impact, yet feel easy to live with and work particularly well with palettes of natural tones. Other colours could be brought in, such as darker, dirty tones of olive green or mustard yellow. Navy blue or charcoal along with white in clean, graphic or geometric designs provide a crisper contrast for a modern aesthetic. However, the look can also have a traditional appeal – think of antique rugs which often combine deep tones of blue, orange and red. Whilst brick red might prove a trickier choice for a bedroom as it lacks the prettiness of other reds, it is a lovely option for…

THE RIGHT TONE • Choosing the right red is crucial. I think you need a deep, dark red. Not a pillar-box red. Don’t think that by choosing something bright you will make the room lighter – it will be more scary and bitter. So be brave and find a red with a lot of blue or brown in it to give depth. It should be a bit like dried blood, which doesn’t sound very lovely, but it has the right depth and character. • Edward Bulmer’s Sang de Boeuf and Red Ochre are good examples, and Farrow & Ball’s Reading Room Red VERSATILE COMPANION • It’s not for nothing that antique rugs are generally red based; it’s a colour that seems to go with everything. You could start with a…

WATER’S EDGE Gazing out across the limpid depths of a body of water is a calming experience that lends itself to quiet contemplation. Enjoy time spent by the side of a lake, pond or river from the relaxing confines of a classic canvas deckchair. Opting for a rocking model to further induce a sense of reverie is heightened only by having a hat, book and a refreshing drink to hand, providing every reason to while away the hours under the warmth of the summer sun. Rocking Deck Chair, £85; Rocking Deck Chair Sling, £20, both Garden Trading…

Picture stepping out of the house on a summer’s morning, flower basket and florist’s scissors in hand, to be greeted with a garden full of dew-laden, graceful and nodding blooms. The simple satisfaction and pride of selecting flowers to cut oneself and display indoors or proudly present to a loved one is much to be desired. Creating a cut-flower patch or cutting garden offers the chance to grow exactly the types and colours of blooms preferred for interior arrangements or to indulge a passion for specific flowers. For instance, dahlias, sweet peas, delphiniums and peonies come in myriad varieties, most of which are not available commercially or through florists, so growing them is usually the best way to appreciate them at first hand. PLANNING A PATCH A cut-flower garden should…

• Georgie Newbery of Common Farm Flowers, Somerset “Always plunge cut stems into tepid rather than cold water. Cold water has a higher oxygen content and tiny bubbles can form inside the stems, blocking the flow of water to the bloom. Create a natural looking arrangement by using a grid of woven twigs or chicken wire in the neck of a vase, rather than unenvironmentally friendly florist foam. This way the blooms can drink more readily and last longer.” • Jodie Bowman of Walled Garden Weddings at the Walled Garden at Mells, Somerset “To help flowers displayed in a vase or jar last longer, place them somewhere out of direct sunlight, stripping the stems of any foliage that will go under the water line and change the water every day.”…

Andrew Martin Tel 020 7225 5100 andrewmartin.co.uk Anthony Short Antiques Tel 07595 603348 anthonyshort.co.uk Bombay Sprout Tel 07980 655570 bombaysprout.com Charlotte Gaisford charlottegaisford.co.uk Cotswold Stone & Wood Tiles Tel 01608 690090 cotswoldstiles.co.uk Douglas Watson Tel 01491 629960 douglaswatsonstudio.uk Dunning & Everard Tel 01722 710608 dunningandeverard.com Griggs & Mackay Tel 0118 946 1440 griggsandmackay.com Inky Velvet Tel 01722 711401 inkyvelvet.co.uk Josie Eastwood Fine Art Tel 01264 810817 josieeastwood.com KD Loves Tel 01328 830449 kdloves.com Kelling Designs Tel 020 3866 4430 kellingdesigns.com Life At Nettlebed Tel 01491 642062 lifeatnettlebed.co.uk Lynda Myles-Till Interiors Tel 07803 741194 Mark Alexander Tel 01623 750005 markalexander.com Neptune Cheltenham Tel 01242 330420 neptune.com Porta Romana Tel 020 7352 0440 portaromana.com Robinson-Gay Tel 01830 540387 robinsongaycabinetmakers.co.uk Spratley & Partners Tel 01491 411277 spratley-partners.uk The Blue Door Tel 020 7221…

* Seeking garden inspiration from striking show gardens at RHS flower shows and beautiful privately owned gardens such as Abbey House Gardens in Malmesbury and Batsford Arboretum. * Enjoying village scarecrow trails and fetes raising money for good causes and dressing up for a summer ball. * Sewing extra-long lengths of bunting. I love to hang these in the trees and deck tables with candles to set a pretty scene for parties in my garden. * Packing a hamper and seeking out lesser-known spots for picnics, as well as introducing my daughter to the flavour of dandelion and burdock (Fentimans is rather good). My parents introduced me to this unusual taste from their childhoods and just a few sips always make me feel nostalgic.…

Take the coastal look a little deeper by seeking inspiration from underwater habitats. The shapely forms of marine life, from friendly turtles and elegant rays to sinuous jellyfish and curved scallops, offer a more unusual take on acquatic style. A rich colour palette of ocean blues and luscious corals offset by glimmers of gold sets a grown-up tone, yet there is still a playfulness in finding quirky accesories with a nod to life beneath the waves.…

NATURE SQUARED Award-winning furniture and homeware designer Bethan Gray has teamed up with Nature Squared – a brand which transforms nature’s bounty into luxury surfaces – to create a furniture collection based on sustainable style and practices. The Exploring Eden collection comprises a shelving unit, armchairs, side tables, stools and a desk, each piece crafted by artisans using leftover natural materials. For instance, the scallop shells used for the desk in the collection (not shown) are bought from fishermen in the Philippines (who Nature Squared works with on conservation projects), giving the fishermen a second revenue source from what would otherwise be a waste product. The goose feathers on the side table (above) are a by-product of the food and farming industries. Each feather is hand-tinted and matched for size…

Consumed by a passion for furniture, Lynda Myles-Till MBE found it necessary to buy bigger and bigger houses to accommodate her ever-increasing collection. “I moved five times in eight years, lastly converting a 26-bedroom former nursing home in a Victorian property back into a single dwelling over two years,” she says. “So it was quite a challenge downsizing after my divorce in 2017.” Lynda had always loved this small village near Henley-on-Thames. “I used to drive through it when I took the children to school, so when I saw the ‘For Sale’ sign I was intrigued to take a look,” she says. “I had been searching for a property with a lot of open space and which wasn’t overlooked. This one ticked both those boxes, but it was an incredibly…

BLOOMS OF BLUE Setting a summery, coastal display in an entrance hall is easy with hues of blue and some fun, nautical touches. What really completes this vignette, though, are the joyful blue hydrangeas.Co-ordinating in-season flowers with a colour scheme can elevate a simple display and make a room feel complete. Equally, a selection of different blue tones (see Little Greene’s collection of blue paints for inspiration) contrasted with some crisp white blooms is classic, simple but deeply impactful.…

Expressive red Red is a colour full of vitality, energy and warmth. It draws the eye and creates impact whether used as a dominant colour or a small accent. Many designers believe in adding something red to a scheme to complete it – much in the same way that a small flash of red in an old master enhances the composition. Look to the work of Charlotte Crosland and Carlos Sanchez Garcia, for example, for beautifully bold examples of accenting with red. Though red can come in many guises, from perky poppy to orangey brick and from juicy berry to sumptuous burgundy, it is a colour that can be deepened but not lightened, because unlike other colours which simply become a lighter version of themselves, the addition of white makes…

The well-planned and thoughtfully crafted kitchen is an investment for the future and, if planned with care and built to last, it will give years of good service. However, as time passes, even the best-loved kitchen can lose its lustre, whether through becoming worn through everyday use or due to lifestyles and tastes changing. Whilst it may be tempting to start from scratch and install a new kitchen, it can be possible to refresh an existing one with a fraction of the effort of a total refit. Over the following pages we offer innovative updates and ideas from bespoke kitchens with style elements to inspire. Finding the right tradesmen to revive a kitchen is key to the process, and a good first step is to contact the company that installed…

CROCOSMIA These flowers produce clumps of erect sword-shaped leaves and brilliant fiery scarlet, red, orange and yellow tubular flowers. DAHLIA Decorative dahlias are a must for devotees of vibrant colours. Explore the collection at Peter Nyssen for endless combinations. GLADIOLIS GALAXIAN Trumpet-shaped white flowers splashed with vivid pink and ruby red. Look best when planted in groups. ORNITHOGALUM SAUNDERSIAE Attractive clusters of white star-shaped flowers with a pronounced greenish-black centre. PAEONIA LACTIFLORA ‘ALERTIE’ Beautiful peonies with soft pink double petals and a dark centre on shorter stemmed, mid-green foliage. PAEONIA LACTIFLORA ‘SARAH BERNHARDT’ Fragrant rose-pink peonies with double flowers and ruffled inner petals.…

The Country Edition The ultimate in country inspiration – from classic to contemporary – for homes in all locations PLUS... • Design essentials to live life beautifully • City dwellers embrace a country lifestyle • The secrets of our finest English gardens • Dreamy escapes for country weekends ON SALE 3 JULY theenglishhome.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @englishhometeam Pinterest at pinterest.com/theenglishhomeFacebook at facebook.com@theenglishhome Instagram at instagram.com@englishhomemag…

“I’ve always been interested in vintage and my first piece of gardenalia was a galvanised bath tub I bought about 12 years ago when we didn’t even have a garden. I planted it with herbs and put it outside the front door of our flat. Then, when my husband and I bought our house in Surrey five years ago, we inherited a garden that had been badly neglected, so we got into gardening and brought it back to life and suddenly I had a place to put all the things I’d been collecting over the years. When we got married eight years ago, we had our reception in a village hall and I styled everything using props I’d collected. I used an old upturned wooden crate to put our wedding…

KATE FREUD Editor-at-Large, The English Home magazine What is your favourite seasonal pleasure or pursuit in July? I love watching the polo at Cowdray Park in West Sussex. I never really have a clue what’s going on, but I love the fanfare of it all, drinking Pimm’s in the sunshine and everyone stomping divots together. What makes your English home special to you? We refurbished our London home from scratch so it’s the first home we really made our own. It’s also the place we brought our three children home to from hospital, so we will always look on this house fondly. Though I do wonder if now my heart truly yearns for the country. What did you enjoy most about compiling The London Edit (see page 34)? I have…

Designs that reference nostalgia for circus shows from a bygone era add an unexpected note to interiors. Animal acts, strong men and trapeze artists as well as the bold stripes and colours of the big-top provide inspiration for everything from toast racks to wallpaper. For a grown-up yet still playful scheme add a splash of gold for elegant effect.…

There are few things more uplifting than a room flooded with natural light – any such space will always seem spacious and welcoming. Getting the balance of light right is the pathway to achieving successful room schemes and there are endless ways to do this, with many clever ideas devised by designers and manufacturers. Most will of course look to artificial light sources to improve a room’s ambience, however, it is also worth considering translucent window dressings to allow natural light to flow into a room and adding further space- and light-enhancing tricks, for instance using mirrored, translucent and glossy, lacquered surfaces. LET THE LIGHT IN Whilst it might be necessary to protect our privacy at times, allowing the stimulus of sunlight into the home is of huge benefit to…

1 Add impact in a white or pastel kitchen with colour applied with a light touch. Bazaar Batiste tiles, £166.40 a square metre, Mandarin Stone 2 Designs with an aged finish create a vintage feel. Fez Star glazed tile in Oxide, 45cm x 45cm, £5.27 each, Best Tile 3 These Mexican-style tiles give a burst of brilliant colour. Acapulco Mendoza hand-painted tiles, £375.06 a square metre, Fired Earth 4 Traditional designs in faded colours combine to give an antique effect. Old Mirtos tiles, £70.80 a square metre, Lapicida 5 Create diamond, diagonal and chevron patterns. Majolica Piazza tiles in Blue Sea, from £16.80 each (15cm x 15cm), Artisans of Devizes 6 Hand-painted tiles inspired by historic designs. Delft Flowers DEL31-02 tiles, from £27.60 each (5” square), Douglas Watson Studio 7…