Innholdsfortegnelse for February 2022 i The English Home

Do you sometimes feel a little bereft when you’ve taken down the Christmas decorations and packed them away for another year? For me, it’s the starkness that comes with dismantling that extra layer of decoration at a time when we most crave home comforts and visual interest. This issue is therefore dedicated to providing inspiring ways to hone your home for midwinter. Our feature on cosy decorating is a masterclass in layering warm textures and cocooning colours to create interiors you’ll want to hunker down in (p72). Not least if taken alongside the advice in Set the Scene for Winter Suppers, which shows how to create a relaxed mood for enjoying winter entertaining (p108). With the decorations down, this is also the perfect time to reassess how to display the…

MARK ALEXANDER When it comes to natural textiles, Mark Alexander’s fabrics and wallcoverings celebrate all the understated beauty and sophistication of the yarns used. The brand has gone from strength to strength since it was launched over 10 years ago under design director Mark Butcher. Linen, the key component of Mark Alexander’s aesthetic, takes on a distinctive appearance depending on the weights, forms and weaves used, from luxurious deep pile velvet through to more rustic textured designs and small prints. It is also particularly environmentally friendly. As one of the lowest water and energy fibres, linen primarily relies on rainwater to grow, needing fewer fertilisers and pesticides than most other natural yarns. So, whether the preference is for the understated luxury of a linen weave, the simplicity of linen plains…

After the Christmas decorations come down, interiors can suddenly look sparse, without the merriment from twinkling lights and baubles. The depth of winter is when the home needs to be at its most welcoming, most luxurious and most inviting, so replace festive adornments with touches that will enrich, tempt and soothe to create a cocooning retreat in which to escape the cold. COMFORTING TEXTURES Winter decorating updates should focus on adding warmth and comfort. Luxurious fabrics such as velvets and suedes will feel indulgent as well as inviting. Mohair or angora wool throws are also an opulent choice. For a more rustic approach, a 100 per cent wool – ideally from British flocks and weavers – will be eminently suitable for upholstering an armchair to curl up in by the…

BRAMBLE & MOSS Florist The full history of this ornate Victorian shopfront is, tantalisingly, just out of reach. Its mosaic doorstep is inscribed with ‘Blanchford’, and a recent restoration of its fascia led to the discovery of original, carved, once-gilded lettering revealing it to have been a chemist – but that is as much as can be gleaned of the building’s early life. The facade, with its elegantly curved windows, was likely added to the existing building around 1850; the same time the mysterious Blanchford is thought to have set up shop. By the time florists Ella Sarafian and Jo Antrobus moved in from the tiny store next door, a multitude of businesses had occupied the premises – from a wine shop to a picture framer’s and fabric specialist’s. Ella…

Bring vibrancy and positivity to interiors in the darkest months of the year. Just as green shoots, cheerful violet and yellow crocuses raise a smile as winter ends, adding some colourful accessories from across the spectrum will enliven interiors. Use simple but effective block colour for a sofa to revitalise a sitting room, or embrace colour and pattern in a daring print for a statement chair. Ombré, rainbow stripe and multi-tonal accessories also add fun whether on lacquer mirror frames, jolly cushions or a beautiful glass pendant light.…

SHARE THE LOVE Valentine’s Day in the middle of February creates a heart-warming moment in the depths of winter. Though traditionally offering an opportunity for secret admirers to declare their love, it has become a date of celebration for established couples. Whilst love is in the air, it seems right to share affections with friends we cherish and family we treasure. Show them how much they are loved with a thoughtful homemade offering. Chocolate truffles are deceptively simple to make but make an impressive gift and can be personalised with a favourite flavouring, whether fruity or nutty, or something stronger. Present in a pretty box or tin, sealed with a kiss. For a simple receipe that can be tweaked as desired, try bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ easy-chocolate-truffles…

RUSTIC CHARM Farmhouse-style kitchens are the perfect environments for casual intimate suppers on the chilliest of evenings where the rich woody tones and natural colours bring much-needed visual warmth. With this in mind, inject some old-fashioned charm with an assortment of vintage dining chairs around a rustic wooden table close to the stove. Suspend bunches of aromatic bay, rosemary and thyme from a traditional pot hanger made from forged iron and allow the heat from the stove to release their natural fragrance and fill the room with an earthy, herby scent. The Pot Hanger, £1,050, deVOL CLEAR TO SEE Embrace the best of nature’s seasonal flowers to add style to the dining table with early spring bulbs planted in kitchen bowls and ceramic tureens. Alternatively, for a relaxed, botanical feel,…

Beatrix Potter: Drawn To Nature at the V&A with the National Trust tells her life story with two of the world’s largest Beatrix Potter collections. From 12 February. vam.ac.uk Escape the dreary weather and step inside a glasshouse filled with vibrant horticultural displays at Kew Gardens’ annual orchid festival. From 5 February to 6 March. kew.org Learn a new skill at Clayhill Arts in Somerset. Creative retreats, courses and masterclasses being held from 14 February include printing, weaving, ceramics and illustration. clayhillarts.co.uk…

For many, doing a small thing each day towards protecting the environment, such as choosing more sustainable and ethical products, helps in the wider picture of change. There are many offerings with credentials to aid in such endeavours – from the way they are made and materials used, to whether they are made locally, use sustainable packaging or are crafted to last, so not feeding a throwaway society. Reclaimed, vintage and antique pieces also have their place in this, as do pieces that can be reused time and time again. Even the smallest detail can make a big difference.…

NATURE TRAIL Seeking inspiration from natural colours and motifs is the perfect way to create a home office that offers a calming yet productive work environment. The Sylvan collection from Richard Smith’s Madeaux fabric house offers a tempting selection of new designs, many inspired by the view of the landscape towards the East Sussex coast from his studio. This striped design features a trailing vine, created originally from a traditional wooden block print, with the authentic print marks captured on the cloth. Curtains, La Vigne 02 Green, £136 a metre, Madeaux…

As is often the case in the world of art, any shift in style towards a new movement is derided at the time but celebrated later, and never more so than with the Impressionists. Today the Impressionist movement is feted as one of the most influential and important in art history, but initially it was reviled by critics and the public alike, with the artists shunned for moving away from traditional styles and subject matter towards a more modern way of painting. When the movement began during the 1860s, it consisted of 30 young French artists who were making a stand against the old-school, traditional methods of painting, but many more artists went on to work in the Impressionist style. The initial group included many of the great painters we…

There is a fire in the grate, a pleasant fug in the sitting room, and I’m dozing on the sofa. A teapot, milk jug and teacup sit on the table just beside me. A plate with little puddles of melted butter and the odd blob of homemade preserve rests on my knee. Until a minute or two ago, several buttered crumpets had rested on said plate, but I have demolished them – butter, bramble jelly and all. Well I’ve earned them. I’ve been toiling all afternoon with unusual vigour in the garden, tidying up here and there; clipping shrubs that need to be clipped; digging out compost from the compost heap and then digging it into my veg beds; and dreaming of the bounty that will begin to peep through…

Whilst we may no longer be in the golden era of shopping, the pandemic has perhaps highlighted the resourcefulness of shopkeepers who have traded in exceptional circumstances, set up eye-catching ‘pop up’ stores in unusual settings or who have preserved the legacy of generations of family businesses and fine purveyors. Though many retailers have had to retreat online, there are still so many innovative as well as gloriously unexpected historic and contemporary shops that line our streets. “Shops offer a window into the interior life of the city, reflecting our own passions back to us,” says author of London Shop Fronts, Emma J Page. “Shops remain the lifeblood of our city,” she continues, “squeezed by the virtual world, yes, and sometimes at the mercy of an area’s changing fortunes, but…

If our feature on creating a home to hibernate in (p72) has inspired some winter decorating, ensure furry friends are included when making deeply inviting, comfortable corners. This smart idea creates the perfect nook for a stylish dog bed beneath a piece of freestanding furniture in a hallway. Four-legged friends will feel snug and secure, whilst the console provides storage and a display surface, too. Though a dog this appealing might well end up nestled on a lap in the sitting room. Luxury rattan dog bed, from £95 (small); Chantilly Dusky Black console desk, £315, both The Cotswold Company…