Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2019 i The English Home

Enjoying the very different characters of each season is something I relish. I think we are particularly lucky in England to witness such clear markers from season to season, not only in the views through our windows, but in the changes in temperature, flowers, foliage and garden produce. As we bid goodbye to summer and feel the gentle shift into autumn, isn’t it lovely to embrace the transition with subtle changes within our homes, too? I find myself adding extra layers to the beds, extra cushions to the sofas, swapping reed diffusers for scented candles, stocking up on bath oils and being drawn back to my Aga for baking; nothing grand you understand, but apple cake is a favourite at this time of year and a good way to use…

Thought of as a quintessentially English cotton textile, usually floral, the first chintzes were in fact brought to our shores from India in the seventeenth century and have enjoyed popularity in our homes ever since. Today, chintz-inspired designs bring a gently uplifting mood to interiors. When favourite blooms disappear from the garden, bring floral motifs indoors with pieces that mix designs in a variety of scales and soft tones from upholstery to accessories.…

PURSUITS Happy Apple Day Held annually on 21 October, Apple Day was founded in 1990 by Dorset-based charity Common Ground to celebrate autumn and emphasise environmental awareness, the importance of orchards, food traceability and healthy eating. It aims to encourage us to engage with our local environment, and promotes the idea of ‘local distinctiveness’. Almost three decades after the first Apple Day, this year will see events staged across England by markets, local authorities, Women’s Institute groups, at National Trust properties, wildlife trusts, museums and galleries, horticultural societies, shops and restaurants, schools and colleges. Part of the rose family, apples originated in the mountains of Kazakhstan. The earliest written mention of apples in England came from King Alfred the Great in the year 885. The majority of apple varieties are…

London-born actress Kate Phillips came to prominence playing Jane Seymour in the BBC adaptation of Hilary Mantel’s novel Wolf Hall. She has since appeared in the 2016 adaptation of War & Peace on BBC One and Netflix’s The Crown, is in the BBC television series Peaky Blinders and portrays Mary, Princess Royal in the film version of Downton Abbey. She lives with her boyfriend and their cat in North London. Where do you live and why? For the last 10 years I’ve lived in more or less the same area in London – Barbican, Aldgate East, Hoxton and now Highbury & Islington. It’s one of my favourite pockets of London because you’re in the city within moments, but you have the quiet buzz of Angel [in Islington] and Dalston on…

Warming spices Encompassing rich, burnt oranges, cosseting browns and deep yellows, spice colours can be used much like their culinary counterparts – either allowing a single hue (or spice) to take centre stage, or blended together for an indulgent, warming and delicious scheme. Many fabric collections take inspiration from spices when naming their colourways, and indeed the qualities of the spices’ flavours seem to resonate with the impact they have in the interior. Brighter, fiery notes of chilli and paprika have strong red and orange tones and can be used for a fresher or more dramatic look, adding piquancy when used as a daring accent. More burnished brown-orange tones, such as cinnamon, offer a more subtle effect whilst retaining a note of brightness and impact. Warming nutmeg browns bring a…

Walls are the main focus of any scheme, and floors’ decorative potential has come to the fore in recent years. However, all too often, the ceiling is an afterthought. Of course, the reflex choice of smooth plaster, painted with matt white paint has value: it reflects light into the room, works with most colour palettes and is usually the least expensive treatment, but it is also the least imaginative. Unobscured by furniture, the ceiling is a blank canvas inviting creative consideration and it may well be the jigsaw piece that completes the interior design puzzle. PERIOD DETAILS Architects of the past saw the ceiling as an ideal showcase for the plasterer’s art and their work began to appear in houses from the mid-sixteenth century. Over the generations, designs kept pace…

Upholstery is the backbone of a home. Often, an upholstered piece is the largest and most visible in a room, providing a keynote of colour, pattern and texture around which everything else is arranged. And, as interior designer Helena Lowry, director of Taylor Howes, points out: “Upholstery fulfils so much in a space. Whether it is a table, chair or a bench, a big sofa or a headboard, upholstery is about a combination of both comfort and function, but can also be like a piece of art. There are so many possible options.” MATERIAL CONSIDERATIONS When choosing a new upholstered piece, Lowry advises starting by considering how it will be used: perhaps purely for relaxation, or as something more formal and upright. This will begin to influence shape, style and…

Shift in direction The charms of the changing seasons are many and varied. Outside, autumnal leaves crunch underfoot as foggy mists rise through shafts of golden sunlight whilst a pleasing chill in the air starts the days off on a fresh note. Preparing the home for the transition in seasons and creating a cosy retreat is as much a part of the process as the shift in the weather, whether it is in a single room of the home or more. “Starting in early autumn will give you the best possible chance,” says Verity Mann, head of testing at the Good Housekeeping Institute. “A good time is once you notice the weather starting to change and you need to keep the windows shut and put the heating on.” Coinciding with…

Anton & K Tel 07875 911776 antonandk.co.uk Black Dog Antiques Tel 01986 948546 blackdogantiqueshop.com Burford Garden Centre Tel 01993 823117 burford.co.uk Calmels Design Tel 020 7622 6181 calmelsdesign.com Dominic Ash Tel 01285 343032 dominicash.co.uk Green Door Antiques Tel 07860 769565 greendoorantiques.co.uk Hallett Independent Fine Art & Heritage Insurance Tel 07921 822239 hallettindependent.com Henry Gordon Jones Tel 01728 452612 hgjdesign.co.uk Indigenous Tel 01993 824200 indigenous.co.uk Kate & Tom’s Tel 0333 272 3039 kateandtoms.com Marlesford Mill Tel 01728 748076 marlesfordmill.co.uk Moss & Stone Floral Design Tel 07818 042998 mossandstone.co.uk Pip Morris Interiors Tel 01453 836817 pipmorrisinteriors.co.uk Raven Stoves Tel 01359 250100 ravenstoves.co.uk Richard Bramble Tel 01935 812212 richardbramble.com Rooms With A View Tel 01379 640220 roomswithaview.co.uk Samarkand Design Tel 07973 922943 samarkanddesign.com Station Mill Antiques Tel 01608 644563 stationmill.com Strummer Pink Tel…

Autumn is a particularly exciting and hectic period in the interiors industry calender. The London Design Festival (14–22 September) sees an explosion of product launches, events and workshops, including Focus at the Design Centre Chelsea Harbour and special events at London design districts such as Pimlico Road. This is followed by international design showcase Decorex International (6–9 October) at Olympia, London, where The English Home has its own stand, and where I will also be hosting a panel of designers and makers for a seminar on sustainability in interior design. I am also looking forward to selecting a recipient to whom I can present an award for Best in British Craftsmanship at the event once more. It is a hugely busy but inspirational and fulfilling time of year.…

Woven furniture and accessories have an evident sense of craftsmanship and add a homespun yet elegant natural character to the home. Whether rattan – traditionally made from naturally renewable palm – or wicker – which refers to the technique of weaving materials such as seagrass, straw, bamboo or rattan – these homewares work well for both a classic or contemporary scheme in town and country, and look particularly fine when paired with colourful botanical prints.…

PARKER KNOLL Celebrating 150 years at the forefront of design, this has been a year to remember for British sofa and chair brand Parker Knoll. The company was launched from a simple workshop in London and today boasts a 3,000-square-foot showroom housing its many collections in Long Eaton, Derbyshire, which are available to visit by appointment. Founded by Frederick Parker, the son of a Shoreditch-born cabinetmaker, in 1869, the company became Parker Knoll after Willi Knoll joined it in 1931. With furniture design in his blood, Parker took enormous pride in designing and developing fine furniture, using the best available British craftsmanship and manufacturing techniques. He soon garnered a strong reputation in the industry, making furniture for Victorian gentry and London’s leading retailers alike. The Parker brand expanded when three…

TAKE CENTRE STAGE Look to effective updates to create an inviting space in which to cook and gather family and friends this autumn. The finishing touch here is undoubtedly the brass pendant light above the work table. Launched by Pooky at interior design showcase Decorex International this October, it is purposely designed to hang above long tables and kitchen islands, adding focused task lighting and a sophisticated note, especially when paired with drawer pulls in a matching finish. Quintet Pendant, £289, Pooky…

”I love the richness and warmth of shades of spice colours. One of our biggest selling fabrics is the Fez Weave in Cognac (swatch, top right), which could equally have been called something spicy like cinnamon, too. It is a colour that didn’t seem to feature much in decorating, so I added it to my fabrics as I like to use these deep reds, oranges and browns in some of my schemes. A CASE IN POINT This library/sitting room (above right) is in a huge house on Dartmoor and it very much needed to feel warm and cosseting. Hence the use of rich colours that work well in firelight and candlelight. It is a room that feels warm through very cold winters. The starting point for the scheme in this…

Whilst flooring may be functional in essence, it need not nor should be dull. Pattern, form, colour and texture can all be used to draw the eye to look down and create underfoot decor as worthy of attention as any other element of a scheme. “There are many different possibilities,” says interior designer Alidad. “Hard flooring can be the focus of attention with clever use of detailing – in past projects we have used faux painted inlay to do this, for example. As an alternative, you could use a rug on a hard floor to create a visual focus for the room.” Intricate flooring can enhance a space and make it more harmonious, with individual detail created through facets such as inset borders or inlaid detailing elements within carpet, rugs,…

Fire regulations regarding domestic upholstered furniture are strict; new pieces must have a permanent fire safety label affixed to them, to demonstrate compliance. Fire resistance regulations also apply when reupholstering or re-covering any item of upholstered furniture that was made after 1 January 1950 (with certain caveats). Pieces made earlier than this are exempt from the legislation. More information is available on the website of the Furniture Industry Research Association (FIRA) and, when it comes to reupholstering any new or antique piece, the best course of action is to seek advice from a trained, accredited and experienced upholsterer, who will have detailed knowledge of the requirements.…

“I commissioned artist Nicolette Vine – a long-standing family friend who has a beautiful pre-Raphaelite style – to paint a portrait of our children, Javi and Lila, who were aged seven and four at the time, as a surprise present for my husband Javvy’s 40th birthday. I trusted Nicolette, who knows the children, to draw out their little spirits and I think she captured them in their true essence. It is a snapshot of a moment in their childhood and is quite other worldly; it’s old fashioned, but you can see the juxtaposition of the past with the modern (with little Javi wearing his Barcelona football shirt), which is something we like as designers in our aesthetic too. Javvy loved it so much he cried when we gave it to…

KIT KEMP Interior designer and co-founder, with her husband Tim, of Firmdale Hotels. See one of her many inspiring designs on page 95 and our cover. What do you love most about your job? I love working with art and craft, and most of all textiles. We get so excited to see all the latest designs and working out how to use them in our hotels. What has been the highlight of your career so far? Building a hotel from scratch. From a simple drawing on the back of a notebook to, several years later, finally walking through the doors of a hotel that we have designed and built ourselves. Of course, we don’t stop there, because we manage and run all the hotels, too. What is your favourite seasonal…

Vibrant pieces in all colours of the rainbow are offering eye-catching possibilities for interiors. Choosing two colours from opposite sides of the colour wheel (as in the room above) can create a pleasing palette with which to build a dynamic scheme. Alternatively, a single statement piece in a stand-out hue will add impact to a neutral interior, whilst an accessory that is a kaleidoscope of colour will work with almost any decor.…

Colour and intricate print reign supreme in the new fabric and wallpaper collections, capturing a continued move to embrace ever bolder and braver interiors. Almost every fabric house is offering a treasure trove of rich colours or gloriously bold floral prints, as well as reinterpretations of archival designs. Dahlias, currently so popular for gardens and floral display, make a strong appearance in designs from Flora Soames, Sarah Vanrenen and Fanny Shorter, to name just a few. Indian and Middle Eastern designs are also prevalent, including the Palampore collection from Schumacher and delicate new prints from Namay Samay at Tissus d’Hélène and from Langton Textiles and Botanica Trading, both available at The Fabric Collective. The English Home team is also enjoying the rise of niche collections. There were too many to…

LIGHTEN UP • If you have other rooms that are lighter, brighter and perfect for sunny daytimes, it enables a room like this to be rather dark. If it were your only sitting room, you may want to go a bit lighter. Paler, ivory walls would be similarly fabulous. I might also be tempted to take another colour from the carpet – such as the pale blue – for the walls. It would look amazing with all the rich red-based colours. • These spice-toned colours tend to work best in an old house where it is lovely to go darker, richer and more faded, but for something more contemporary I think mixing in blue-and-white fabrics works well. A blue-and-white stripe, for example, would really brighten the scene for a more…

TIME FOR TEA Elevate the enjoyment of home-baked delights by presenting them on beautiful plates together with a freshly made pot of tea. Afternoon Tea Week this month (see page 130) provides the perfect opportunity to indulge in some new china. We like Burleigh’s collaboration with Soho Home, notably in this elegant green-and-white botanical design. Green Hibiscus china, from £12, Burleigh x Soho Home…

NOVEMBER EDITION Embracing autumn’s riches PLUS... • Four inviting homes filled with inspiring ideas • Townhouse elegance & chic neutral schemes • Focal-point fires and surrounds • Our selection of specialist resources ON SALE 2 OCTOBER theenglishhome.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @englishhometeam Pinterest at pinterest.com/theenglishhome Facebook at facebook.com@theenglishhome Instagram at instagram.com@englishhomemag…