Innholdsfortegnelse for May 2022 i The English Home

Just as our homes have taken on a new significance over the last few years, so too have our gardens. With more of us making the most of our outdoor space for summer living, we consulted leading garden designers for this Gardens Special issue to find out where best to invest and where we can make clever savings when considering garden updates, from adding a new patio to planting (p114). We are also hugely inspired by the beautiful garden Sophie Conran has created at her Wiltshire home (p90), and plan to seek further inspiration now that historic and notable gardens are open to visitors again, including the selection of examples we map out and explore on p122. Blurring the boundaries between the glorious outdoors and our interiors feels right for…

CORNISH CONNECTION The Cornubia collection, named after the Latin for Cornwall is the second collaboration between Ben Pentreath and Morris & Co. Bringing a delicate awakening of a budding Cornish landscape while paying homage to the Arts and Crafts movement, the revived iconic patterns in bright hues, contrasted here (right) in three textures, add a wonderful originality to a room scheme. Woodland Weeds wallpaper, £119 a roll, Cornubia collection, Ben Pentreath x Morris & Co TRUE TO TRADITION Drawn from a traditional English design, the hand-formed bulbous glass held within a brass frame (above), finished in Antique Verdigris patina, is a staple of Jamb’s new collection. Other pieces include elegant chairs and tables perfect for instilling a classic and refined look, all taken from original designs and sensitively reproduced. Berrington…

COLE & SON With block-print designs, screen prints, original drawings and wallpapers representing styles from the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries, it comes as no surprise that fabric and wallpaper brand Cole & Son has one of the most important historic archives in the industry. Founded in 1875 by John Perry, the brand’s designs have adorned the walls of many historic houses, including Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament, as well as its collaboration with Historic Royal Palaces, so it is no surprise their new collection has taken on a regal flavour. The Great Masters collection, inspired by the magnificent architecture, interiors, collections and gardens, pays homage to the master artisans, craftsmen and celebrated monarchs who shaped the six iconic residences cared for by Historic Royal Palaces. From Hampton…

As the weather brightens and warms up, the boundaries between indoor and outdoor life blur. Embrace this way of living with interiors that echo the garden and beyond to create interiors that are soothing and uplifting.. Green hues are an obvious place to start, creating a connection with the world outside. Adding patterns in botanical designs – gentle trailing leaves, bursts of floral colour and climbing foliage will further enhance the relationship between the two spaces. Use the palette from the garden for inspiration, bringing in pale pinks or yellows, crisp whites and bolder cornflower or sky blues for cohesion. Consider natural textures for flooring, with stone or wood in spaces that directly connect to the outside, adding warmth and comfort underfoot with rush or coir rugs or carpets in…

I was looking out of the kitchen window at my vegetable patch the other day and thinking what a marvel it was. The sun was bright. The air was warm. There was blossom on my greengage trees. Every prospect delighted. Best of all, I noticed the vegetable beds are coming to life. Just a few weeks ago they were filled with what appeared to be dark chocolate. Now they were marked by wavy lines of brilliant, feathery green where the seeds I sowed so assiduously have sprouted. I love seeds. Have you ever taken a close look at them? Such tiny, unremarkable things, a bit dull on the outsde, and yet within their insignificant forms is everything that is needed to turn them into an edible marvel with time, warmth…

Bring the glorious beauty of an English country garden into the home with joyous floral motifs depicting native favourites from wildflowers to the classic tea rose. The taste for English botanicals is evident in many new pieces for spring, with painterly techniques capturing the ethereal beauty of blossoming petals or graphical designs modernising trailing foliage for a crisp look. Of course, blowsy chintzes epitomise the classic English country garden look in full bloom with peonies and roses bursting across fabrics in cheerful, gay abandon. (See p72 for more inspiration on bringing the outdoors in.)…

From stuccoed townhouses to flat-fronted former workers’ cottages, Victorian terraces are among the most ubiquitous of British housing stock. Nearly a quarter of today’s population live in mid-to-late 19th-century homes, many of which were built during the boom of the Industrial Revolution across the country. These terraces vary in size, scope and detailing from town to town and even street to street – a reflection of the speed at which they were constructed during a fast-changing economic landscape. As a rule of thumb, early examples tend to feature plainer, Georgian-inspired facades, with later builds becoming increasingly ornate. Prized for their decorative features, including sash windows, slate roofs, ornate mouldings, encaustic flooring and tiled fireplaces, Victorian terraces are also configured in a way that can be challenging to modern living, which…

For centuries, properties – from country estates to cottages – have featured hard flooring. Today, classic stone, tactile timber, handcrafted tiles, reclaimed surfaces, and even manmade alternatives, can benefit the traditional home, bringing both comfort and warmth to bedrooms or living areas and low-maintenance resilience to kitchens and hallways. Expert guidance and a careful appraisal of size, style and function to guarantee suitability for specific spaces should help ensure all the right elements are considered when tailoring choices to individual rooms. After all, a well-fitted hard floor will typically last a lifetime, so it is important to get it right both in terms of style and practicality, as well as ensuring a sympathetic fit to surroundings. Sitting room floor Busy reception rooms require a fine balance of durability versus comfort,…

To create an outside space that will thrive and continue to do so over time, garden designers and consultants use their in-depth knowledge to advise clients where to invest to get the best quality and where to make smart budget decisions. Whether looking to create a new landscaped area in a large garden or simply improve a small patio courtyard, expert guidance on key areas to invest and save can help unlock a garden’s maximum potential, whatever the style of garden and size of budget. PATIOS & TERRACES A patio or terrace is a place everyone congregates, and it is worth investing in groundworks. Isabelle Palmer, renowned city garden designer and founder of The Balcony Gardener, advises starting with hard-wearing materials: “Millboard [wood composite] decking is excellent and comes with…

London Craft Week, 9–15 May, will see over 300 events staged across the capital, showcasing work by more than 400 makers from 25 countries. londoncraftweek.com Visitors to The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair in West Sussex, 13–15 May, will have free access to the 17th-century National Trust house, too. petworthparkfair.com Treasures from across Europe are on show at The British Museum for The World Of Stonehenge, a landmark exhibition on the site’s history and mystery. Until 17 July. britishmuseum.org…

Planting and landscaping create the framework, backdrop and ambience of a garden, but just like a room indoors, a few well-chosen decorative accessories can make all the difference and bring it to life. Consider it much like a room and include a clock, a statement seat, soft furnishings and heat and light sources for the evening. Whether adding comfort with rugs and cushions, a spot more colour with pretty tiles, or even a soothing water feature, these details will elevate an outdoor space into a welcoming place to spend a lazy afternoon.…

DAY DREAMING Our Gardens Special edition offers plenty of inspiration for making a beautiful outdoor ‘room’ in which to enjoy the beauty of nature. Make it all the more comfortable with an indulgent day bed to sink into and listen to the chirruping of birds and buzzing of bees in a dreamy langour. This stylish canopied offering will keep things cool on blissfully sunny days and look equally chic in an urban courtyard garden, by a glamorous poolside, or set in a secluded part of a rambling country garden. Dress with boldly patterned cushions for added character. Karama Daybed, £1,695, plus cushions from a selection, all Oka…

NATURAL NARRATIVE Decoupage is an artful-yet-simple technique to enrich furnishings and treasured objects with decorative paper embellishments that are lacquered to create a beautiful finish. Thought to originate from Eastern culture and introduced to Britain via Europe around the 18th century, decoupage is synonymous with classic motifs. Annie Sloan’s new decoupage collection, the result of a collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), showcases illustrations of flora and fauna inspired by 18th- and 19th-century publications in the RHS Lindley Library’s world-famous collections. RHS Decoupage Paper Songbirds, £11.95 for a pack of two decoupage papers (700mm x 480mm), Annie Sloan…

1 HIDCOTE, Hidcote Bartrim, nr Chipping Campden GL55 6LR Where many of us might fall for a plant and then try to find a home for it, Major Lawrence Johnston (1871–1958) built whole gardens to accommodate his ever-expanding collections. The result is the archetypal Arts and Crafts garden with its famous tapestry hedges of hornbeam, beech and yew dividing the different ‘rooms’, from the Long Walk to the Red Borders and the Pillar Garden, where peonies dance among the topiary. 2 SNOWSHILL MANOR, Broadway WR12 7JU Few gardens convey such a strong feeling for their creators as Snowshill. It was the work of inveterate collector Charles Wade (1883–1956), and clues to his delight in an object with a story are everywhere: in the armillary sphere, the water spouts, the doorknobs,…

How did you find your home? Mrs Frost found the house online when we were on holiday in Morocco. She fell in love with it and thought it would be a good idea. When we came back and viewed it, we knew it was the right place for us. Which came first for you, the house or the garden? That’s a close call as the house was great. It’s eighteenth century, and built from local Lincolnshire limestone and has a real sense of place to it, with a Collyweston stone slate roof and lovely chimneys. But the garden was great too and clearly needed bringing back to life, which I have really enjoyed doing. It is still a work in progress with lots of hard landscaping and projects to get…