Every Autumn, my desire to move to a country cottage deepens and with it comes thoughts on how best to decorate. I had every intention of sharing with you some of the country-inspired earth tones and textural burgundy browns that are emerging for interiors. But, the power of the colour palette I mentioned in Interior Design Directions for 2024 has, rather like an irresistible Lewis & Wood vine, taken hold here at blog HQ.
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From every angle, A La Ronde is an 18th-century circular home that thrills. Its 16-sided exterior belies a theatrical 8-sided interior complete with shell grotto and sea views beyond. To describe it as a cottage doesn’t quite cover it and although it shares some of the decorative DNA of a folly, this doesn’t entirely do it justice either. Quirky it most certainly is, and therefore very much my kind of wonderful. So here are a few highlights from my tour of this National Trust treasure …
Continue reading “Grand Tour, A La Ronde”
It’s that time of year when beachcombing for coastal interior style is in full swing on the blog. With winter’s storms behind us, this year’s surf rolls in with a colour palette where thundery North Sea greys meet the balmier tones of Atlantic and Cornish coastal blues. A sea spray of sepia tones wash over 2024 coastal styling, highlighting the textures of antique and vintage treasures along with wavy scallop shapes and the magic of artisan-made shell decoration.
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Not since the 1970s when Laura Ashley’s love affair with all things Victorian/Edwardian has there been quite so much interest in this decorative era. Ruth Eaton, Coco Conran, Anna Mason and Sarah Vanrenen are in the vanguard of fashion and interior designers creating a new age of elegance for the 21st Century. To find out what is so appealing about late 19th/early 20th Century design, the blog invites you to visit The National Trust’s Lanhydrock House in Cornwall.
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With inspiring art as well as luxurious woollen textile designs and dark wood antiques, Pembrokeshire offers interior design a unique weave of Welsh style. The longish journey to this coastal region of West Wales makes the arrival (and lack of crowds) all the sweeter. You can be assured of incredible colour and light, from textural landscapes with medieval field patterns to pretty wildflower hedgerows and colourfully painted buildings. And that’s not to mention some of the best sandy beaches in the UK …
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“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” is the hauntingly evocative first line of Daphne du Maurier’s novel Rebecca. So many authors, artists and designers have been captivated by the Cornish coast both for its magical coves and for its colour and light. Inspired by a recent trip to this part of the country, the blog pays its yearly homage to coastal decorating ideas with a tour of some of the fairy tale castles, country houses and follies that hug the British coastline.
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Amongst all the nature-inspired greens for interiors this spring is an unfurling palette of mood-boosting colour. From global colour forecaster Pantone’s colour of the year Viva Magenta 18-1750, to refreshing citrus shades, floral pinks and sea-hued turquoise, you might find yourself inspired to do some decorating this year. But how to use this uplifting palette and where? I talk to top interior designers Penny Morrison and Kate Guinness for a feature in Saga magazine and take inspiration from new UK paint, flooring, fabric and wallpaper collections.
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The Modern Makers Collective couldn’t have chosen a more seasonally appropriate venue to exhibit their annual winter market of British arts and crafts. The picture-perfect West Berkshire village of Yattendon – where forest green estate cottage doors serve as a colourful reminder to the acres of Christmas tree farming that lie on its doorstep – is the scene setter for this year’s winter market (19 and 20 November 2022, Village Hall, Yattendon, Berkshire, RG18 0UE, 10 to 4 pm). Yattendon village hall sits amongst centuries of architectural heritage that ooze period drama. Perhaps the only missing ingredient is a film crew from the new Shinfield Film Studios in Reading to cue… snow…
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As well as smart Buenos Aires design of the 1970s and a refreshing look at decorating with white, it is the smaller interior design details which have also been catching my eye this Autumn. The blog takes a look at some of these new design directions, looking in particular at the amazing wealth of artisan lighting we have in the UK. And If you haven’t got designs on an ‘indoor garden room or table’ by now, you might find that you do in 2022…
Continue reading “Autumn/Winter 2021 interior design directions”
When a press release dropped into my inbox for a forthcoming attic sale at Dunrobin Castle in Sutherland, I think my jaw also dropped, just ever so slightly. Sales like this don’t happen very often. A recent decluttering of the attics and cellars at the Scottish castle revealed generations of long forgotten treasures of domestic life. Prior to the sale on 20 April 2021, Bonhams auctioneers in Edinburgh have curated a selection of some of the 450 lots with an evocative set of photos.
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Charis White Interiors 