Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2020 i The English Home

How has 2020 started for you? I do hope just as you wish. The start of any new year, but especially a new decade, offers so much promise and opportunity. By the time we reach March, those dreams of transformative home projects are usually coming into sharp focus as firm resolutions are made and serious plans begin. With this in mind, this issue is devoted to implementing significant, life-enhancing home updates to help galvanise action. If you are seeking to upgrade your kitchen, we hope the five beautiful case studies (page 103) will inspire you to be brave and bold with colour, characterful fittings and even kitchen location. Those seeking to achieve more light and space with a conservatory or garden room will find decorative guidance (page 115) on ways…

As we head towards spring, it is timely to refresh interiors by taking inspiration from nature’s uplifting palette. Look to natural oak dressers with dainty floral china displayed on the shelves or update kitchen walls with charmingly rustic tiles in soft green hues. With thoughts turning to the garden, a pair of smart gardening gloves and wellies adorned with a sweet motif will add to the pleasure of spending time outdoors.…

Setting a budget for a house or room redesign and keeping to it is an essential element of every interior designer’s expertise. Their clues to budget control are invaluable in explaining how and why to be decisive in making choices. “Every project involves making economies and the point is always about quality, whatever an item has cost,” says Nicky Mudie, director at Violet & George Interior Design. FLOORS Most interior designers opt for wood or stone when considering flooring for ground-floor rooms. Guy Goodfellow, director at Guy Goodfellow Interiors and Architectural Design, says these are worth the spend as they are both hard-wearing and long-lasting. He looks to stone from Landford Stone for his projects. Emma Deterding, founder of Kelling Designs, agrees, but also suggests Mandarin Stone for its great…

Marrying form and function is the key to success in any hallway, and creating a stylish, usable space is all about addressing those practicalities – from staircases to lighting – required by this hard-working area of the home. So, for a hallway that works on every level, look to plan the space with an eye to the practical, aesthetic and architectural. STYLISH STAIRCASES More often than not, the staircase is a key feature of any hall and whilst most tend to simply update what is already in situ, others may wish (or need) to opt for a complete replacement. ‘Off-the-shelf’ options are readily available, but a bespoke design will ensure a look that is in proportion and aesthetically sympathetic to the home. Whilst there are designs catering to both simple…

Biophilia – the life-affirming effect of being close to nature that energises and engenders positivity – is fast entering the vocabulary of interior designers to bring characteristics of the natural world into the home. By definition conservatories, orangeries and garden rooms are ideally suited to this harmonious style of living. Here, we look at structural considerations w– such as ventilation, lighting and flooring – and decorative elements from wallpaper and paint to furniture and accessories. IN HARMONY WITH NATURE Rooms designed to biophilic principles are light and airy, decorated in colours and patterns seen in nature, maximise natural materials and textures in their furnishings and, crucially, are places where plants flourish. Whilst these principles can be introduced to any room in the house, conservatories, orangeries and garden rooms are a…

“Nancy was my great-aunt, so I knew her all my life. My sister and I would stay at her beautiful house, Haseley Court, in the holidays. It was extremely comfortable and wonderfully pretty. The guest room, where I stayed, had a single white four-poster bed with walls in a tobacco-colour Dufour & Cie painted wallpaper. It was bliss. My first job was as an assistant at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler in the 1960s. Soon after, I started a gift shop called Treasure Island, which then morphed into my interior design business. Starting out, I didn’t consciously emulate Nancy’s style, but she had obviously inspired me, so I wasn’t daunted. She saw and liked some of the rooms I created; she wasn’t the sort to make one feel nervous. I…

Visiting Bowood House and Gardens I recently had the pleasure and privilege of interviewing the Marchioness of Lansdowne for My English Home (page 74). It was a delight to sit in her glorious sitting room, taking tea by the fire and then enjoy a tour of the private apartments. I’ve known and loved the gardens and woodlands since childhood but had always yearned to see the interiors, especially the use of Bowood Chintz. I hope I have been able to impart a sense of Bowood House’s delights. Introducing a new series Today’s interiors, architecture and green spaces owe an enormous debt to historic names who safeguarded critical heritage and set a course for future design. In a new series – Shaping Britain – Features Editor Eve Middleton looks first at…

The Marchioness of Lansdowne resides at Bowood House in Wiltshire with her husband Charlie, the 9th Marquis. The beautiful Georgian house is set in 2,000 acres of Lancelot ‘Capability’ Brown parkland and Bowood has been home to the Lansdowne family since 1754. In 1955, the former ‘Big House’ gave way to the ‘Little House’ for the Bowood House of today to emerge. Lady Lansdowne is a professional interior designer and set up her studio, Fiona Shelburne, over 32 years ago. Inchbald-trained, she worked first for Charles Hammond, then for Imogen Taylor at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler. Who do you share your home with? My husband and three dogs: two working cockers and one labrador – Tinker, Tulip and Maud. We have 10 grandchildren living within a mile of us,…

Details make or break an interior and art is perhaps the most important detail of all. Interior designer Victoria Wormsley of French-Brooks interiors is passionate about incorporating just the right pieces to add character and express the homeowner’s interests and personality. Here, she reveals what to choose, how and where to place it and other important factors for making artwork sit to best effect in well-considered interiors. Why is art so important in an interior? “Art adds soul to a room – even the most stunning interior can give an impression of emptiness without it. It is innately subjective and brings a sense of personality, it enlivens a space. For example, the gallery wall of framed Matisse prints transformed this sitting room (left), adding a sense of playfulness to quite…

Whilst a kitchen plays an important utilitarian role in any home, not all homeowners want it to look overtly practical. Indeed, many prefer the functionality of the space to be underplayed in terms of the design aesthetic, seeking instead to create a space that is inviting and characterful. This allows it to serve as a welcoming backdrop for entertaining or daily dining as well as for having areas for preparing meals and the inevitable clearing up. Our kitchen special showcases truly beautiful and carefully considered schemes from interior and kitchen designers who generously share some of their design insights and processes. Professional designers know how to incorporate unexpected colour and pattern into a scheme, how to maximise the impact of architectural features or reinstate period charm, look at fresh ways…

When furniture designer Patrick Gunning decided to turn his hand to creating handmade, bespoke kitchens in 1980, he was unwavering in his vision for the business. He had two priorities: to use traditional joinery techniques and make the highest-quality cabinetry – both of which remain at the heart of his company, Barnes of Ashburton, 40 years on. Gunning is still involved in the business, but 10 years ago he decided to step back and focus on his passion for music. He knew, however, that he would be leaving the day-to-day running of the company in safe hands – the team now in charge have all worked there for many years and the brand’s ethos is as strong as ever. Kim Whinnett, director, says, “At Barnes of Ashburton it has always…

March affords the perfect excuse to refresh the bedroom with the advent of National Bed Month. Indulge in new furniture with elegant carved-wood details and co-ordinate with soft furnishings and accessories in pale hues to create a comforting, inviting scheme. Keep surfaces tidy to promote the sense of entering a relaxing space, with smaller items hidden away yet easily accessible.…

POWER OF PATTERN Confidence in using a large-scale, boldly coloured pattern does not necessarily mean using it all over walls. Judicious use can allow pattern to create a transformative impact upon a room. This smart, colourful room, with a considered mix of patterns on the sofa, is further enlivened with the striking embroidery on the Roman blind. A relatively small, but perfectly placed use of vibrant pattern. Blind, Daula, £79 a metre, and all other fabrics, from the new Caspian collection, Sanderson…

• GODSON & COLES for modern British art. London SW7 godsonandcoles.co.uk • DUNCAN R MILLER FINE ARTS for The Scottish Colourists and others. London SW1 duncanmiller.com • THOMPSON’S GALLERIES for modern & contemporary British art. London W1 & Suffolk thompsonsgallery.co.uk • JOSIE EASTWOOD FINE ART for contemporary figurative British art. Hampshire josieeastwood.com • RAMSAY PRINTS for framed antique prints. London SW1 ramsayonline.com • HARRY MOORE-GWYN FINE ART for late-Victorian to mid-twentieth-century British art. London & Oxfordshire mooregwynfineart.co.uk • ETALAGE for affordable, framed antique and vintage prints & artwork. Gloucestershire etalage.co.uk…

RHUBARB HARVEST The arrival of the rhubarb season this month provides the perfect opportunity to indulge in a freshly baked golden crumble, spooned into dishes and enjoyed alongside the sharp chill of ice cream. Though the main ingredient is delicious in its own right, for a characterful twist on this most classic of recipes pair it with orange zest or crystallised ginger. To try a rhubarb, almond and ginger crumble recipe, visit deliaonline.com…

APRIL EDITION Fabrics & wallpapers special • Our favourites from the new spring collections • Bedroom style inspiration & design advice • How to add character with decorative antiques • Four beautiful English homes ON SALE 4 MARCH theenglishhome.co.uk Follow us on Twitter @englishhometeam Pinterest at pinterest.com/theenglishhomeFacebook at facebook.com@theenglishhome Instagram at instagram.com@englishhomemag…