Innholdsfortegnelse for June 2024 i The English Home

There’s nothing quite like a lick of paint to refresh interiors for summer. Not only does it make rooms feel instantly clean and bright, but a change in colour palette or finish can pull everything you set against your updated backdrop into renewed focus. It can literally feel like falling in love with overlooked treasures all over again. The question is, what colour will you choose? Perhaps now, more than ever, there’s a seemingly endless choice of beautiful paint charts and tempting options – from brilliant brights to rich darks and warm neutrals – and that’s before you look at texture and finish. In this issue of The English Home we’ve devoted space to the latest, creative ways to use paint in interiors, highlighting winning colour combinations and contemporary techniques…

‘We loved the fact it was individual, and I adored the huge windows, particularly the arched ones’ Tenacity paid off for Nicola Huthwaite who, having walked into a crumbling Victorian farmhouse, was determined she would be its next occupant – despite discovering that the property had just sold to someone else. “When we viewed the neglected, damp house, although it was in a sorry state, I was captivated by the wealth of period features and could immediately picture myself living there,” Nicola confides. “For some reason, I had a funny feeling the sale would fall through and when the buyers pulled out four months later, my dream of becoming the house’s next custodian came true.” In 2020, Nicola and her partner, Scott, who were living in Derbyshire, began hunting for…

ENGLISH COUNTRY Adopt a quintessentially British look outdoors that complements a traditional English home. Whether it is a place to entertain informally by lounging on a daybed with a cocktail or creating a show-stopping tablescape to celebrate a special occasion, a classic country design is timeless. “Include a special secret seating spot by placing a cosy corner sofa or lounge set beneath a tree or underneath a floral archway. Choose a space that offers shade from the hot sun while providing a wonderful view of your stunning garden,” suggests Caron Grant from Bridgman. Offer guests an extra layer of shade with an elegant parasol or canopy. To create an outdoor area with an English country look, be inspired by the array of colours that adorn the garden’s flower beds. Incorporate…

Roses are often named the nation’s favourite flower, and it’s not difficult to work out why. Set aside their heart-stopping beauty and look at it objectively: what other plant offers such luxuriant flowers over pretty much the entire summer in such a wide range of colours and forms that it’s suitable for almost every spot in the garden? I’m struggling to think of any other plant that can do what roses do. They’ll clothe walls or arches, fill borders or pots with opulent blooms, make lovely cut-flower displays in vases, or feed wildlife and add autumn interest with their abundant hips: whatever you need them to do, roses will rise to the occasion. In celebration of these brilliant all-round plants, we bring you this guide to roses. If you already…

What would the summer garden be without the delicate furls of roses? Yet these iconic blooms are often wrongly regarded as tricky. Methodical pruning, foliar feeding and dutiful deadheading are at the heart of many rose growers’ sworn-by practices – but are they really necessary? “People say that when you prune a rose, you need to open up the centre and go stem by stem,” says Tony Hall, Head of Gardens at the Royal Botanic Garden, Kew. “But it has been proven that you can take a hedge trimmer to a rose without doing it any harm.” Other traditional pruning advice includes cutting at a 45° angle a quarter of an inch above a leaf axil that slopes away from a dormant eye – talk that can leave even the…

SPOTLIGHT ON… Dream Weavers: A Rum Fellow Founded by Caroline Lindsell and Dylan O’Shea, London textile studio A Rum Fellow is marking its recent 10th anniversary with new handwoven rug collection Tekton, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement. Caroline says: “For this collection, I delved into what makes craft special to me personally, those small connections inherent in crafted objects, a dovetail joint or stitched detail, or elements of an architectural column. A Rum Fellow has always been about pattern and the positive feelings it can give to you – and that hasn’t changed. What has evolved over the last decade is how I use colour, how I explore the properties of weave and develop the flow of the rug patterns and how I want people to feel when…

NEWS HERITAGE REDEFINED A new collaboration between The White Kitchen Company and English Heritage has resulted in a kitchen range reminiscent of the beautiful interiors of historic stately homes such as Apsley House and Brodsworth Hall that reflects a deep respect for the environment – even down to the paint used. Made of solid oak and FSC-certified hardwood, the English Heritage kitchen collection, a timeless fusion of history and craftmanship, pays homage to classic English cabinetmaking, with period features like cornicing and details from the Duke of Wellington’s campaign furniture inspiring the bespoke collection. Husband-and-wife team Christopher and Rima Proudfoot, who founded the company in 2014, draw on decades of expertise in furniture craftmanship and beautiful finishes to ensure this tailor-made collection is one of enduring elegance. thewhitekitchencompany.com WELL-WORN STYLE…

ALL IN ONE Colour drenching, where walls, woodwork and even furniture are painted in a single colour for a cocooning, seamless scheme, has been growing in popularity in recent years. Here the same hue in different finishes creates subtle variations in colour and is combined with a contrasting jaunty red floor treatment. Little Greene has made this look even easier to achieve with its new Intelligent Grip technology creating a self-priming paint in a range of finishes for use on multiple surfaces. Read our feature on page 115 to learn more about this as well as which ingredients are crucial to the performance and quality of decorative paints. Etruria Intelligent Matt Emulsion, Gloss, Satin and Eggshell, from £33 for 1l; Bronze Red Intelligent Floor Paint, from £41.50 for 1l, all…

DESIGN INSIGHT Pattern has formed the backbone to our interiors for centuries, and just like fashion, there are colourways, motifs and emblems that prove a returning source of inspiration for designers, makers and fabric houses. Britain has absorbed a number of global influences – from India to the Far East – resulting in designs that have become part of its decorating DNA, whether chintz, damask or chinoiserie. In the late 19th century, the Arts and Crafts movement, co-led by William Morris, spearheaded the revival of British textile arts and methods of production. Today, that legacy lives on, thanks to fabric and wallpaper stalwarts, including Morris & Co, Colefax and Fowler, Bennison and Sanderson, among others. Their rich archives provide inspiration for reissues, often with a fresh twist via simplification, rescaling…

RAINBOW TOMATO SALAD Taken from the recipe book Cypriana by Theo A Michaels (Ryland Peters & Small, £22), this recipe celebrates the freshest tomatoes, so use home-grown varieties or buy in season. Serves 8 as Meze INGREDIENTS 500g ripe heirloom tomatoes¼ red onion2 tbsp freshly chopped flat-leaf parsleyA pinch of Greek dried oregano4 tbsp white balsamic vinegar1 tsp pomegranate molasses2 tbsp pomegranate seedssea salt flakes and freshlyground black pepperolive oil, for drizzling METHOD • Slice the tomatoes about 1.25cm thick and layer them on a serving dish. • Slice the red onion as finely as possible and scatter over the layered tomatoes, followed by the chopped parsley. • Season generously with the oregano and some coarsely ground black pepper and a pinch of sea salt flakes. • Drizzle over some…

At midsummer there’s a certain kind of light that washes over the garden very early in the morning: it’s bright but also somehow opaque, as though it’s being filtered through a sheet of golden paper. At this time of year, I sit outside at dawn and watch the soft illumination of the garden; the stillness accompanied by an orchestra of happy birdsong. When I think of these summer mornings, the first image to appear is that of foxgloves (Digitalis purpurea). They catch the hazy light in a way that makes them appear almost translucent – as though they were towering glass skyscrapers in some herbaceous cityscape. In those quiet moments, I’m completely under their spell. Sowing foxgloves I grow a great number of foxgloves from seed every year. They’re biennial,…

ROSES Think of roses and our minds turn inevitably to the summer months, when our gardens are filled with their gorgeous colour and scent. These wonderful flowers are a quintessential component of an English garden, with indescribable beauty – in bud, in bloom and afterwards, when many bear decorative hips. Roses are also one of our most versatile plants. Centuries of breeding have given us varieties that will hug the ground, cover it with a carpet of flowers and stifle weeds. There are the traditional bush roses that could once be seen in every park’s rose garden, usually with an expanse of immaculately weed-free, bare soil at their feet. Nowadays, we’re more likely to grow roses in our gardens in mixed borders, letting perennials and grasses throng around their thorned…

ROSES Apuldram Roses Buy online for mail order or at Apuldram’s Chichester-based nursery. Tel: 01243 785769; apuldramroses.co.uk C&K Jones Extensive selection of winter bareroot and summer pot-grown roses. Tel: 01829 740663; jonestherose.co.uk David Austin Roses Renowned especially for its English Roses, bred by David Austin to combine old rose fragrance with modern day health. Mail order or visit the Albrighton headquarters to view the spectacular rose gardens. Tel: 01902 376300; davidaustinroses.co.uk Dickson Roses Northern Ireland-based breeder of exceptional roses including many Rose of the Year winners. Tel: 07821 922204; dickson-roses.co.uk Fryer’s Roses Originally rose breeder Gareth Fryer’s business, but now part of the Blue Diamond garden centre chain, with a wide range. Tel: 01565 755455; fryersroses.co.uk Harkness Roses Mail-order roses including many of Harkness’s own breeding, such as ‘Chandos Beauty’,…

ARCHIVE PATTERN If seeking to start or add to timeless ceramic collections, look no further than Blue Willow tableware, which is being reissued to celebrate this beloved motif. The pattern was originally launched by Burleigh in 1924, and features flora, fauna and architecture inspired by the Far East. Blue Willow 19cm plate, £24; teacup and saucer, £58; tankard jug, from £45; and teapot, £118, all Burleigh PAWS FOR THOUGHT How playful are these dog-themed fabric trims? The Westminster edit includes four distinct bouclé and embroidery borders on linen ground, each portraying a different breed for distinctive looks. Coton de Tulear border in Wedgwood 61041-02 and Cream 61041-01, both £84 a metre, Samuel & Sons FABRIC LIBRARY Renowned designer Rose Uniacke continues to expand her sustainably focused fabric range. Over 20…

Having celebrated its 10th anniversary last autumn, Juliet Travers Wallpapers and Fabrics has built up a strong brand identity and loyal customer base across the globe but has its eyes firmly on the future. Juliet’s ethos from the start has been to create timeless, carefully curated, high-quality designs that do not follow trends but stand the test of time. Unlike most wallpaper and fabric designs, Juliet’s are all hand-drawn and painted using watercolours, pencils and acrylics in her garden studio in Hampshire, and many are also available as original artworks and prints. Once drawn, Juliet forms the colour palettes, referencing Farrow & Ball, Edward Bulmer Natural Paint and Little Greene colours so her customers can easily co-ordinate the finishing details in a room with complementary paint colours. The designs are…

‘We buy what we think will suit the room rather than concentrating on any particular period’ Tucked away down a quiet, no-through lane in Wimbledon Village, Lucy and Mark Woodruff’s home is hidden from the outside world by a brick wall and a screen of espaliered trees. “Being totally private, the garden is ideal for entertaining. During the summer months whenever the weather looks promising, we ask friends and family over for drinks on the front lawn before serving lunch on the terrace at the rear of the house,” Lucy says. “If there’s a sudden shower, we take shelter in the conservatory or the old stable next to it, which we’ve turned into a rustic dining area. The peace, privacy and space make it feel as though we are living…

Economical, quick and able to completely transform a room, paint is an effective way to enliven a room with a new look. Either opt for a single colour or several complementary shades and mix with a generous dose of ingenuity to create all sorts of different looks. Paint can be used to enhance a room’s sense of space and highlight its architectural merit, as well as, of course, updating all interior surfaces from walls and woodwork to ceilings and cornicing. So, with brushes at the ready, get set to embrace the versatility of paint. 1 SATURATE IT Colour drenching is as dramatic as it sounds. Use this simple technique to create a striking effect with all surfaces saturated with just one colour. Select one that is available in the relevant…

TOP 10 PLANTS If there is one flower associated with June it must surely be the rose. Right now, passionate rose growers are almost certainly assessing their collections and wondering if there is room for just one more. Those bewildered by the choice available could visit Roses UK (rosesuk.com), the public-facing arm of the British Association of Rose Breeders, where you can whittle down the choice by selecting desired characteristics. Marilyn Stevens, project manager at Roses UK has some advice to offer: “The ‘ankles’ of roses are not their best feature, so I always underplant with low-growing perennials,” she says. “Once my roses are established, there is no special treatment beyond extra water during dry spells. Those in containers receive top dressing and slow-release fertiliser in spring.” Here she suggests…

ROSES IN REAL GARDENS As the sun sinks behind the Old Rectory, it suffuses the myriad flowers and grasses with a golden glow so that, glimpsed from a nearby hillside, the garden appears as a jewel set within wildflower meadows and copses. “It’s hard to believe that when we first came, there was no garden,” recalls Louise Ness. “Derek and I had wanted to make a garden from scratch, and then we found this blank canvas.” Today there is nothing blank about this beautiful garden just outside Kingston on the Isle of Wight. The bare canvas has been transformed into a vibrant tapestry of plants contained within a framework of yew or beech hedges. A strip of bearded irises flanks a rose cutting garden, while beyond, an allée of peonies…

TOP 10 PLANTS Award-winning garden designer Jo Thompson (jothompson-garden-design.co.uk) loves roses, pairing them with carefully chosen underplanting. She’s a fan of soft-toned palettes, noting that “pastels are so easy on the eye; you can almost touch the atmosphere of nostalgia.” For more modern appeal, she looks to sherbet shades, pairing the likes of Rosa ‘Buff Beauty’ with lemon Eschscholzia californica ‘Ivory Castle’, damask Verbascum ‘Helen Johnson’ and opal Geranium x oxonianum ‘Lace Time’. Here Jo recommends ten healthy and floriferous roses that will really add the wow-factor to your summer garden schemes. The Gardener’s Palette: Creating Colour Harmony in the Garden by Jo Thompson, £35, Timber Press. 1 Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ “Tiny, sweet, joyful clusters of buttery, pale sulphur flowers explode into bloom around late April and early May,” says Jo.…