Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2015 i Homes & Gardens

THIS MONTH, THE DECORATING TEAM has used gingham, the simplest of patterns, as the starting point to create stylish schemes for a dining room, living room, kitchen and bedroom. So, does this mean that gingham is making a comeback? Well, yes, if my wardrobe is anything to go by, as I’ve recently bought a dress and a top in this print. Classic patterns never really go away; they just fall from favour, and all it takes is a fresh interpretation to pluck them from obscurity. Our interiors story on page 134 will give you new ideas for using gingham and, even if you can’t be convinced of its merits, you could always replace the fabrics shown with other checks or stripes. After all, it is the scale and colour combinations…

How did the shop begin? I had moved from London to Manchester to study for an MA in museum curation, while my mother, Denise, was director of an arts charity in Cumbria, and we were ready for a change at the same time. With backgrounds in fine art and a network of craftspeople in place, we imagined a shop that would celebrate the stories behind making. Why is telling a story important? Knowing the background of a piece can change how you feel about it, as it gives you a connection to it. We also realised that some customers would be giving items as gifts and wouldn’t always be there to talk about them, so we created little cards to explain the story of each piece. How do you choose…

Taking inspiration from his global travels, London-based American Michael Ruh has been producing glassware for more than two decades. His beautiful hand-blown vases, jugs, vessels and pendant lights can now be found at retailers such as Selfridges, The New Craftsmen, Contemporary Applied Arts and The Conran Shop. Tell us about your background. I grew up in Minnesota, Kansas and Colorado. At school, I was known for daydreaming so I wasn’t allowed to sit near the window, but looking outside was, and is, an aid to my creative thinking. Although I wasn’t good at maths, I understood drawing, colour and shape. How did you start glass-blowing? I went to Drake University to study fine art, but didn’t complete the course. Later, I was living in Belgium and I decided…

THIS MONTH, admire the easy elegance of a French villa (page 66) and enjoy the beauty of a Cape Dutch-style home (page 76). A love of history lies behind the construction of an 18th-century-style Connecticut house (page 84), while a London new-build is in tune with the needs of its musician owners (page 98). Our country garden celebrates natural curves (page 92), with exotic planting coming to the fore on the Cornish coast (page 104).…

At first glance, this clapboard clad house could be mistaken for one of the many original 18th-century homes that grace Danbury, Connecticut. In fact, it was built in 1968 by Barbara and Robert Sallick, co-founders of the Waterworks bathroom company and lifelong enthusiasts of all things 18th century. Why did you decide to build your own historical-style home? Partly because we were young and didn’t know any better. We had hunted high and low for an original 18th-century house, but they were all in a terrible condition. In the end, my father suggested that we build our own and we thought, “Why not?” Where does your passion for traditional American architecture come from? I think we were influenced by the region in which we live; there are some extraordinary 18th-century…

It is mid-afternoon and British cellist Matthew Barley and Russian violinist Viktoria Mullova are at the dining table eating chocolate cake left over from Matthew’s 50th birthday party. “It was fantastic. We had more than a hundred people here,” he says. The couple’s friendly manner makes it easy to forget they are both internationally renowned musicians who spend half the year travelling the world, playing to packed concert halls. It is equally easy to forget that their home is only a few years old, comfortable and well-established as it is, having been built from scratch with the help of architect Jean-Loup Msika and influential antiques dealer-cum-interior designer Axel Vervoordt. “It wasn’t our aim to create an amazing house,” says Viktoria. “We wanted a comfortable home that would be aesthetically pleasing,…

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE PROJECT? This is a new property in Windsor built in the Queen Anne style. We joined the project at the initial construction stage, so we were able to specify all of the interior architecture, including doors, fireplaces, floors and coffered ceilings. The living room is one of a series of rooms that flow into each other, starting with a conservatory, followed by this living space, a more formal drawing room and a dining room at the far end of the house. DID THE ARRANGEMENT OF ROOMS DICTATE YOUR APPROACH TO THE SCHEMES? The layout meant that it was important to create a sense of flow between the spaces, but it was also crucial that each room had its own identity, so that they didn’t…

DESIGNER PROFILE Inspired by work experience on a kibbutz during his teenage years, Spencer Viner studied landscape architecture at Leeds Metropolitan University. In 2001, he set up his own design and planting consultation business, North Eleven, which creates contemporary schemes in London, the South East and overseas. CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE GARDEN? This is my own garden in north London. It is attached to an attractive Edwardian house but, as the surrounding suburban area is pretty uninspiring, I decided to create an enclosed space that generated its own views, while also blocking out the noise from the streets. The design is influenced by Japanese gardens and, as it’s my garden, I had the luxury of time, which allowed me to carefully assess how the sun moved across the…

CHARLOTTE ROWE , design director of Charlotte Rowe Garden Design, 020 7602 0660, charlotterowe.com. The key to making an outdoor space an extension of the home is to continue elements of the interior scheme outside. This can be done with materials, such as stone flooring, or by bringing the colour palette into the garden. Small gardens lend themselves particularly well to creating an outdoor room, as they have a feeling of intimacy. Designing a room within a larger garden requires some form of partitioning in order to delineate the space and give it a sense of cosiness. I prefer to do this using “green architecture” such as trees, hedging, shrubs or plant pots. Where space is limited, consider built-in furniture such as benches and coffee tables. Incorporating raised beds behind…

SAILS Shade sails block out harmful UV rays and provide a contemporary focal point for a dining or seating area. You will need to consider firm anchorage points, such as a wall or a sturdy post, for all corners of the sail, but before planning these bear in mind the location of the barbecue, electrical cables and water pipes and the direction of the sun. Shade Solutions, 01929 554308, shade-solutions.com, offers sails in a choice of fabrics and will also undertake commissions. PARASOLS Selecting the right size and shape is key. “Opt for a canopy that is shower proof and offers a minimum of UV50 sun protection,” advises Nicola Gidlow, buyer for outdoor living at John Lewis, 0345 604 9049, johnlewis.com. “Tilting designs are more flexible and will ensure your…

Anew generation of garden designers is on the rise. Through a growing range of dedicated courses, increasing numbers of people are being trained and thereafter supported through membership of bodies such as the Society of Garden Designers (SGD) to play an active part in the front-line effort to conserve and establish the natural world in town and country. The gardens they are creating are not just beautiful and interesting. Many are innovative and have already caught the eyes of judges at prestigious events such as the SGD Garden Design Awards and the RHS flower shows. Among those celebrating early career success at RHS Hampton Court (the world’s largest flower show and 25 years old this year) were recent graduates Stuart Charles Towner and Bethany Williams, whose Green Seam design for…

These delicious recipes are quick, easy and, best of all, most are suitable for cooking on the barbecue. Their success lies in simplicity and a light touch with other ingredients, allowing the flavour of the fish itself to sing; just accompany with good bread or new potatoes and a salad to make a perfect summer meal. There are two golden rules to getting seafood right: buy and cook the freshest you can find and don’t go shopping for it on a Monday, as most fishmongers are closed. Trust your eyes and your nose; the freshest seafood should look bright and shiny and smell only of the sea, never fishy. Flesh should be firm, scales, if present, tightly packed and gills a bright pink or red, never brown. MUSSELS AND CLAMS…

If you fancy a bit of an adventure and are keen to make the most of the late-summer sunshine, why not hop on a bike for a picturesque cycling holiday with family or friends? Wheel2Wheel Holidays, 0800 731 1631, wheel2wheelholidays.com, offers hotel-to-hotel cycling tours in Europe and the UK, including routes in Jersey and Suffolk. Each tour has a difficulty rating and includes route maps and luggage transportation – perfect for a healthy, hassle-free getaway.…

London-based Frenchwoman Marion Labbez specialises in églomisé, the art of gilding the back of glass with metal leaf. She creates beautiful panels for walls, headboards and splashbacks, and is about to collaborate with Nina Campbell on a furniture collection. When did you discover this technique? I used to work as a designer for a company of specialist finishers in London. I created patterns for them, then I started to learn all the techniques they were using and gilding was my favourite. Even though verre églomisé has a French name, I had no idea it existed before I moved to the UK. Where do you get your ideas? From memories, travels, smells – anything. My Joelle pattern was inspired by the huge magnolia tree in my parents’ garden and is named…

FURNITURE CH53 footstool in Black, H47xW50xD39cm, £500.40 , Hans J Farrow at Carl Hansen & Son . ACCESSORIES Swill pendant lights , H12xdiam9cm, cord L200cm, from £195 for three , Singleton and Sebastian Cox at The New Craftsmen. Stern Gentleman portrait , 81.5x71cm, £850 , Puckhaber Decorative Antiques . Rush clutch bag , 38x20cm, £114 , Rush Matters . Drop contour key ring , diam10cm, £14.50 , SCP. FURNITURE Pantry cupboard in beech, H210xW110xD46cm, £3,200 , Sebastian Cox at deVOL . ACCESSORIES Fine silver beakers , H7xdiam6cm, £820 each ; Fine silver carafe , H19xdiam7cm, £1,855 , Grant McCaig at The New Craftsmen . Mali bowls , diam16cm, £24.95 each ; side plates , diam22cm, £24.95 each ; dinner plates , diam28cm, £34.95 each ; jug , H11.5xdiam7.5cm, £16.95 ;…

Victor Henriks’ St Tropez villa sits serenely in the Provençal countryside. “My work in the music and film industry takes me all over the world, so I wanted to create a haven, a natural paradise, here,” he says. As well as having a restful presence, Victor’s home, which he shares with his wife, Sabine, and children Zoe, Marie and Louis, is also rather splendid. Flecks of Italian marble incorporated into the stucco-style façade cause the house to glisten in the afternoon sunshine. “It’s a charming feature that subtly changes depending on the nuance of the light,” he explains. “Applying the various layers to create this effect was a six-month process, but we took our time. We wanted to make something very special.” Creating a beautiful family house with timeless appeal…

When Chris Hutt and his wife, Robin, moved to Fairlight End, 11 years ago, he laid out an orchard at the bottom of the garden. He planted three rows of ten trees, but that was the last straight line that would ever be drawn in the three-acre plot, which drops steeply away from the house towards Rye Bay. Since then, the garden has been developed to follow the contours of the land. The couple originally had a holiday home on the East Sussex coast but, when they decided to settle there permanently, they knew they would need a larger house. A mile inland, they found exactly what they were looking for in the shape of an 18th-century redbrick farmhouse. “We were bowled over by the view to the sea,” explains…

Christine and Charles Taylor’s acre of garden in the far west of Cornwall, with its sea views, intimate shady courtyards and largely green palette, exudes more than a faint scent of Italy. When Christine’s father bought Ednovean Farm, a small plot of land with a semi-derelict 18th-century granite barn, in Perranuthnoe near Marazion at auction in 1976, it was as a site for his daughter’s livery business. Only when Christine married Charles in 1991 did the couple convert the barn into a home and go on to transform the surrounding farmyard into a garden. “From the beginning, I had wanted an Italianate garden, perhaps because my father had spent time in Italy during the war and had already installed columns and urns when I was a child,” says Christine. “I…

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE SPACE? This guest bedroom is located in a late-19th century mews house, which is attached to a much larger property in central London. We decorated the latter in a rather grand style, but for the mews we opted for a fresher, more contemporary aesthetic. Although it is big, the bedroom was an awkward shape, so we opened it up to the rafters to create a pitched ceiling, adding reclaimed antique oak beams from France to give character. TELL US ABOUT YOUR USE OF PATTERN. You can have fun with a space like this, so we chose Romo’s bold floral Kimura fabric (now discontinued) and backed it with paper so it could be hung on the walls. Our challenge was to create a headboard that wouldn’t distract…

LAYERED Outdoor lighting is not only effective in the summer for parties and alfresco dining, but also in the winter when looking out from inside. As Sally Storey, design director of John Cullen Lighting, 020 7371 5400, johncullen lighting.co.uk, suggests, “Pick out key garden features, such as a line of trees or a sculpture, using spiked spotlights.” She also recommends putting spotlights on one circuit with floodlights, which offer a broader wash, on another. “But avoid over-lighting,” she cautions, “as a little light goes a long way at night.” In a small garden, Sally suggests lighting something immediately outside the door or window, as well as a feature at the back of the garden to draw the eye to the perimeter of the space. NAUTICAL Simple and unpretentious, ship’s lights…

FURNITURE Preben chairs, H90xW45x D51cm, £80 each, Ikea. Similar mid-century dining table, Mid-century expandable dining table, H76xW203x D96.5cm, £699, West Elm. FABRICS Chairs in (clockwise, from left) Moyen Check in Nugget, Espresso, Seaglass and Aqua, linen, 140cm wide, £59.90m, Robert Allen. Curtains in Brera Mattone in Granite, linen, 140cm wide, £68m, Designers Guild. PAINT Walls in Strong White, Estate Emulsion, £38 for 2.5 litres; panelling in Mole’s Breath, Estate Eggshell, £53 for 2.5 litres; both Farrow & Ball. ACCESSORIES Classic curtain pole 25mm, 20p per cm; Chapel recess brackets, £8.90 each; Chunky Twist curtain rings, £1.65 each; all Jim Lawrence. Gold placemats, 40x30cm, £22 each, The Conran Shop. Stoneware dinner plates, diam27cm; side plates, diam21cm; both £60 each, Kasper Würtz at Sigmar. Banquet goblets in White, H13xdiam9cm, £7.50 each, India…

PROFILE Celia Rufey has been the Homes & Garden s decorating expert for more than 30 years. She has a wealth of interiors knowledge and has also designed her own range of fabrics. WHAT SORT OF UNDERLAY WILL KEEP DHURRIES IN PLACE? I’ve previously laid wool pile rugs on my oak floor, but have seen a pair of geometric dhurries that I like. They are thinner and I don’t want to have to constantly reposition them. Which type of underlay will ensure they don’t move? MT, Glasgow. Foxi Super Plus will make sure your dhurries stay put. This 5mm thick underlay is slightly sticky on both sides and was described to me as being like a Post-it note, sticking where it’s placed without leaving a residue on the floor or…

A Abbott & Boyd, 020 7351 9985, abbottandboyd.co.uk. Absolute Abode, 020 8090 3212, absoluteabode.com. Alternative Flooring, 01264 335111, alternativeflooring.com. Andrew Dominic, 0027 021 447 1574, andrewdominic.co.za. Another Country, 020 7486 3251, anothercountry.com. Aston Matthews, 020 7226 7220, astonmatthews.co.uk. B Baileys, 01989 561931, baileyshome.com. Balineum,020 7431 9364,balineum.co.uk. Barbara Osorio Fabrics, 0035 1 22 616 5030, pedrosoeosorio.com. BoConcept, 020 7388 2447, boconcept.com. Bohemia, 0131 555 2485, bohemiadesign.co.uk. Brintons, 0800 505055, brintons.co.uk. Broste Copenhagen, brostecopenhagen.com. C Cachette, cachette.com. Calligaris, 020 8994 8110, calligaris.co.uk. Camerich, 020 7833 8181, camerich.co.uk. Cane Store, 01975 651386, canestore.co.uk. Caravane, 020 7486 5233, caravane.fr. Carl Hansen & Son, 020 7632 7587, carlhansen.com. The Chelsea Gardener, 020 7352 5656, chelseagardener.com. Chelsea Textiles, 020 7584 5544, chelseatextiles.com. Chesney’s, 020 7627 1410, chesneys.co.uk. Chloe Alberry, 020 7727 0707, chloealberry.com. Christian Fischbacher, 020…

1|Two-tone lighting with a subtle elegance. Meringa light, diam35cm, €300, Servomuto at Animali Domestici, 020 7733 5304, animalidomestici.co.uk. 2| A modern take on a classic design. Knot chair in White and Natural, H72xW58.5xD50.5cm, £296, Folklore, 020 7354 9333, shopfolklore.com. 3|Inspired by Mediterranean harbour towns. Weigh Anchor in Navy, cotton, 137cm wide, £55m, Ralph Lauren Home, 020 7535 4600, ralphlaurenhome.com. 4|Beautiful vessels in deep sea-blue tones. Three blue cylinders, H22-25xdiam9cm, £125 each, Ali Tomlin Ceramics, 07770 424898, alitomlin.com. 5| Traditional craft with a nautical twist. Anchor needlepoint cushion, 40cm sq, £165, Jonathan Adler, 020 7589 9563, jonathanadler.com. 6|Limited-edition Britannia-themed tableware. Ship bowl, H6xdiam22cm, £35, Laura Carlin and John Julian Design at The New Craftsmen, 020 7148 3190, thenewcraftsmen.com. 7|Solid marble for a luxurious touch. Tied marble doorstop, H8xW20.5xD9cm, £68, Anthropologie, 020…

Hosted by the New Designers exhibition, newdesigners.com, in London, One Year On is a showcase for the latest wave of recent graduates who are now in business. The 60 participating designers were selected by curator Rheanna Lingham, a jeweller and founder of design boutique Luna & Curious, lunaandcurious.com, in East London. “There’s a wonderful mix of traditional craft practices and new technologies,” she says. Textiles and pattern were particularly strong this year, as demonstrated by Laura Melhuish-Sprague, melhuishandsprague.com, who kick-started a promising career in textile design when she won a major award at New Designers in 2014. She uses special weaving techniques and hand-painting to create distinctive, softly blurred abstract patterns on fabric (above left). Harriet Popham, harrietpophamtextiles.tumblr.com, has a studio in her parents’ Glastonbury garden, where she combines screen-printing…

Behind its serene façade, Jasmine Thompson’s Hampshire home is a constant hive of activity, with the comings and goings of her five children, aged between six and 18, and the frequent soirées that she and her husband Leo like to host here. “Leo and I have demanding jobs, and the children are in and out of the house, so life is a little hectic at times,” says Jasmine. “But we love socialising – spending time with family and friends is what weekends were made for.” A bountiful garden and magnificent views of the surrounding countryside enticed Jasmine and Leo to buy the house as a “fixer-upper” in 2007. “Though our first priority was for a space large enough to accommodate everyone, when I stood on the terrace, I just thought…

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE SPACE? This late-1920s property in north London still retains many of the architectural details that epitomise the era, including its original Crittall windows. My clients wanted to turn a muddle of rooms into an open-plan family kitchen-diner. They live in a conservation area that does not allow extensions or external alterations, so the only way to achieve this was to reconfigure the interior. This involved removing walls and a staircase, moving the utility room and then levelling the floors and ceilings. WHAT WAS YOUR MAIN CHALLENGE? Even after major restructuring, we were left with an odd-shaped room with lots of windows and faceted corners. There was no line of symmetry to start from, as the windows don’t relate to each other and the doorways are all…

CAN YOU DESCRIBE THE SPACE? This 15th-century monastery in Lincoln has undergone numerous extensions and alterations over the years, and makes an unusual home for my clients and their two teenage children. This bathroom, which is used by the lady of the house and occasionally by guests, hadn’t been touched since the Eighties and was in dire need of an update. We ripped out everything and started afresh. HOW DID YOU PLAN THE LAYOUT? The square room has a generous alcove in one corner, where we installed a spacious walk-in shower with a framed and panelled entrance that turns it into a separate room. We placed the bath between the two windows, with the WC at one end and the television at the other. On the longest wall opposite the…

PRIVATE VIEW To counter the fact that this garden is overlooked on three sides, landscape architects del Buono Gazerwitz, 020 7613 1122, delbuono-gazerwitz.co.uk, planted pleached, fruitless mulberry trees, which offer privacy and shade in the warmer months. LIVING WALL An uninspiring fence has been transformed into a striking vertical garden in this patio space, thanks to a simple wire system that holds standard-size terracotta plant pots. For a similar design, try Insitu wall planters, insituwallplanters.com.au, from AUS$220. SUNKEN TREASURE Garden designer Charlotte Rowe, 020 7602 0660, charlotte rowe.com, created this seating area on a lower level to the rest of the garden to define it as a separate zone. A structure featuring cedar slatting provides partial screening from the sun, while a fireplace ensures the area can be used on cooler…

1| Simple solution. Oakham fire bowl, cast iron, H16xdiam65cm, £131, Jim Lawrence, 01473 826685, jim-lawrence.co.uk. 2| Well rounded. Kamino outdoor fireplace, cast iron, with Tuscan grill for cooking, H180x diam50cm, £1,200, Morsø, 01788 554410, morso.co.uk. 3| Modern looks. Spot outdoor fireplace, H106xW80x D40cm, £1,294,Harrie Leenders at Robeys, 01773 820940, robeys.co.uk. 4| Great value. Wire Colorado chiminea, steel, £85, H125x diam45cm, Next, 0333 777 8000, next.co.uk.…

Harmen outdoor chairs in Black and Grey, H100x W55xD90cm, £128 each, Rowen & Wren. Storm lantern, H29cm, £20, Workshop. Knitted throw, 170x130cm, £275, Lexington at John Lewis. Verre recyclé decanter, H30cm, £23; Verre recyclé tumbler, H10cm, £9; both Caravane. Devon 1800 map, £21.50, The Unfolding World at Pentreath & Hall. Fishing creel, H27xW32xD20cm, £295, The Great English Outdoors. Rice straw broom, L135cm, £10, Pentreath & Hall. Martella trestle table, H76xW190xD80cm, £530, Out There Interiors. Enamel au gratin pan, 22.5x 17cm, £12.50, Workshop. Plate rack, H38xW52cm, £16, Baileys. Artisan wooden plates, from £13 each, Wood & Meadow. Reiss enamel storage container, H14xdiam12cm, £42, General Good. Splatterware shade in Green, H11xdiam26cm, £44; Forest Green woven cable, £4.50m; dark brass E27 bulb holder, £9.90; all Dyke & Dean. Kiki grinder in Natural, H17x…

A certificate, diploma or degree in garden design is increasingly desirable and valuable and the list of colleges offering such courses is extensive. Do as the SGD advises and take time to work out which course is right for you; bear in mind your available study time, budget and final career expectations as you assess each option. Key points to consider are: what sort of design training does the course offer? How does it cover the business of design? What sort of skills tuition is on offer, and what teaching methods are used? Compare course credentials with your own preferences (an artistic or horticultural bias, for instance), and the sort of accreditation you want. An internet search for garden design courses will include relatively long-established colleges such as Writtle College,…