Innholdsfortegnelse for March 2024 i The English Home

Welcome to our early spring edition of The English Home, which has us looking forward to the lighter, brighter days ahead. Increasing space – or a sense of it – and maximising light are effective ways to enhance that feeling of spring’s arrival at home, and in our feature outlining five key ways to achieve this (page 111) you’ll find inspiring examples and expert advice. I’ve also noticed a rising trend for building a fully functioning, standalone room in the garden. It’s become a way of adding valuable, desirable space without moving or extending, and for some, has psychological benefits for hybrid working, indulging in a hobby or simply enjoying the garden in all weathers. To find out more, see our guide on how to commission a garden room on…

DECORATING The bedroom is the most personal room of the house. It is private and a place for comfort and so should be decorated as such. It can be more expressive of personal tastes – it is a great room to use a favourite colour that will generate happiness upon waking up. Indulgent textures are also key for creating a luxurious room in which to rest and drift to sleep. The bed itself is the focal point of the room, deserving of special attention to make it as inviting and comfortable as possible. Here we explore stylish ideas for creating a room with impact, as well as setting the scene for a perfect night’s sleep and ensuring a calming, cheerful sanctuary to retreat to. ‘A bedroom should be a haven…

GARDEN DESIGN Adding a room in the garden has, in recent years, become hugely popular – suppliers report increased demand for garden structures of all kinds, particularly with the growth in hybrid and home working since the pandemic. It is an ideal solution for creating extra space without going to the trouble and cost of moving, and is less expensive, less disruptive and faster to achieve than building an extension. “We have seen a massive increase in demand from people looking for an insulated garden room that they can use as an addition to their main living space without moving to a bigger house, especially post-Covid with more people working at home,” says Luke Dejahang, CEO of Crown Pavilions. “Another thing that many customers say is that they want that…

SPOTLIGHT ON… Blended To Perfection One of Britain’s most important ceramics collections inspired chic new table linens by artist Rory Hutton and homeware brand Nara Cambridge. Tablecloths, napkins and tea towels are adorned with 18th-century teapots from The Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge. Rory is known for his intricate linocuts and block-printed designs which grace silk scarves and other fine items for elite brands. Nara Cambridge founder Alexandra Bishop translated his signature style for this covetable new collection. She says: “Hand-block printing is a very physical process which gives unpredictable results, but the imperfections add a painterly quality and are what makes this collection so charming.” roryhutton.co.uk; nara-cambridge.com Abundant Harvest New wallpapers from Fiona Howard She designed Sanderson’s iconic Dandelion Clocks pattern – now Fiona Howard’s latest launch, The Orchard wallpaper…

It takes a certain amount of grit and determination to live on site during a major renovation – and that is not even taking into account holding down high-pressure careers and expecting a baby. But that is exactly what Polly Richard, 36, and her husband David, 38, did after buying their detached Victorian property in Surrey. The couple bought the four-bedroom property, which was built in 1884, in 2016. They had been living half a mile away and had often walked down the street looking at the houses on their way to and from the train station during their commute to work. “We had always admired the houses but assumed they would be out of our budget,” says Polly. ‘I buy pieces really slowly over time, when they catch my…

DESIGN INSIGHT Natural light is a beautiful and important resource in any home, and how it is used can have a transformative impact on the interiors. Not only do rooms with good light and ventilation help to boost the mood of those within but natural light can also give the feeling of more space. When setting out to do a major piece of renovation, creating extra space and additional sources of light are often the twin ambitions. While it is possible to play tricks with the eye and time-honoured approaches include hanging more mirrors throughout the house, using gloss over matt paint to scatter the light more freely and painting the ceiling a few shades lighter, in reality the interventions will need to be more architectural. At the heart of…

A NEW LEAF This bold, intricate design combines several factors yet feels soothing in its rhythmic repeat and gentle synergy with nature. Full of Indian references, with a contemporary update on the tree of life, offset by gold inlay frames and latticework stripes, this wallpaper and fabric feels rooted in tradition yet full of contemporary character. It makes an ideal choice for a garden room, to aid transition from inside to out. Taniska wallpaper, £139 a roll; Taniska fabric, £95 a metre, and all other fabrics & trims, Osborne & Little…

With tones varying from soft butter and warm primrose to bold citrus and deep mustard, yellow is a versatile hue whose roots lie in pigments first extracted from ochre in prehistoric times. A key note in art, architecture and interiors, yellow was prized by Ancient Egyptians for its association with the sun god Ra. In medieval Europe, it adorned stained glass windows, while the Renaissance saw its wider use in frescoes and textiles. By the 18th and 19th centuries, yellow featured in wallpapers and neoclassical architecture. Reminiscent of joy and energy, it became a symbol of post-war optimism too, culminating in Nancy Lancaster’s wonderfully vibrant 1950s Yellow Room at 39 Brook Street. Today, yellow remains a popular choice for its associations with positivity and warmth, used in an array of…

LEMON SOUFFLÉ Serve a light and zesty lemon pudding for an impressive finale to Easter feasts Serves 4 INGREDIENTS 40g soft butter; plus extra75g caster sugar; plus extra2 egg yolks100g quark2 tbsp lemon juice1 tsp lemon zest; plus extra3 egg whites2 tbsp plain flouricing sugar; for dusting METHOD • Preheat oven to 200°C, gas 6. Butter 4 x 10cm ramekins; sprinkle with sugar. • Cream the butter with 50g sugar until very pale. Stir in the yolks, quark, lemon juice and zest. • Beat the egg whites until stiff; beat in the remaining sugar. Add a third of the whites to the mixture, sift in the flour; fold in. • Gently fold in the remaining whites. • Fill the dishes three-quarters full with batter. Wipe the butter and sugar from…

What are your early memories of Berkeley Castle? My brother Henry and I spent the winter months at the Castle when we were boys (the summers were spent at Spetchley Park, our home in Worcestershire). The Castle was a magical place to grow up in – we had the battlements, tower rooms, old stone steps, creaky doors and floorboards, and our bedrooms were at the very top, in the oldest part, the Keep, which is 12th century. We were allowed to explore all of the rooms and would hide behind towers on the roof and go down to the old dungeon where King Edward II was murdered. Our mother would occasionally ring a big bell for us to come down for lunch or if we needed to go out. Who…