Category: Coastal style interiors

Grand Tour, A La Ronde

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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 …

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Coastal interior style 2024

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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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Interior design directions 2024

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A very Happy New Year to you. I hope you had a peaceful and happy Christmas. As is tradition, the blog is looking forward to some of the interior design directions that have been catching my eye for 2024. On the list are some sweet feel-good colourways, new designers, bespoke muralists and antiques. And just when we need it most, high street stores have arrived like the cavalry with some terrific design to layer up our homes. 

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On the button

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As is so often the case with fashion or interior design, it is the finishing touches that have the power to elevate a design into something truly special. Along with ruffles, piping and passementerie, bespoke covered buttons are once again being specified onto upholstery and smart soft furnishings too. With this in mind, the blog takes you behind the scenes of Button Covering Services, an inspiring artisan button covering business on The Roseland Peninsula in Cornwall.

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British coastal style 2023

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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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Coast-to-Country interior style

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Batten down the hatches this Autumn with some cosy new interior design ideas. The season is off to a gallop with a bumper crop of new collections. There’s a wealth of botanical motifs from the hedgerow and some inspiring earth tone and spicy winter hues. Whilst foraging for interesting design stories, the blog also unearthed an irresistible new paint and wallpaper collection from Stroud-based designer Josephine Munsey.

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Renaissance of blue and white interiors

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The renaissance of blue and white interior style I wrote about in March 2022 is now growing apace on both sides of the Atlantic. It is like alchemy takes place whenever these two colours connect as together they spark something excitingly fresh and hopeful. And, in an uncertain world, maybe this intoxicating chemistry is another reason why decorating with blue and white is once again proving to be so inspiring.

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Coastal Grandmother Style

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It isn’t particularly usual for a coastal style interiors story to find itself at the centre of international news headlines, especially when there is so much else going on in the world. But in the Spring when I was researching Styling Box schemes for a client’s Greek Island holiday home, and writing about coastal style for the August issues of Period Living and Saga magazine, a curious ‘Coastal Grandmother Style’ story was emerging from a Tik Tok influencer in California.

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Blue and White House interiors

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Blue and white interior style is having what some might say is a long overdue renaissance. It is the smart tailored preppy design aesthetic that’s long been associated with the East Coast of America. A significant factor in this revival is the recent appointment of US interior designer Mark D Sikes by the First Lady, Jill Biden to redecorate her East Wing office at The White House. But inspiration comes too from the UK and from Singapore.

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Collage by Charis White Interiors including Rapture and Wright wallpaper and bedroom with wallpaper by Mimi Pickard Textiles

Coastal Style 2021

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Each year ‘coastal style’ collections arrive with the jaunty promise of the joys of living by the sea. And this year it is going to be harder than usual to resist the urge to create your very own ‘beach house’ at home. Coastal Style 2021 offers an unpredictable global weave of inspiration from the palaces of India and Spain to West Africa and our own coastal shores.

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