Indholdsfortegnelse for July 2025 i Period Living

There is a real sense of storytelling in this kitchen. From the framed prints to the mismatched crockery, you can feel that every piece has been chosen with care. The whole kitchen embodies Pearl’s world, her history and her eye for beauty,’ explains Francesca Froggatt, kitchen designer at deVol, whose love of antiques and sense of period style perfectly placed her to help give this London townhouse kitchen a much-needed refresh. Home to singer-turned-designer Pearl Lowe and her husband, musician Danny Goffey, it was inevitable that this flat was going to be special. Pearl’s name has become synonymous with vintage style, from her trademark dresses to spreading her love of all things floral and lace in her online store. The challenge facing Pearl and Francesca was to embody this light…

SAVE UP TO £40! LILAC STANDARD SYRINGA PALIBIN This fantastic new dwarf lilac is just the thing for small gardens or, if planted in a large pot, for sprucing up patios and decking areas. Ideal for adding colour, fragrance and a beautiful twist on other lilac varieties, this double-flowering, compact lilac will bloom first in May, continue through summer, then reach a second crescendo of colour in September. Because Syringa palibin is a dwarf variety of the classic lilac, it won’t take over your beds and borders and will not grow too tall, meaning you can enjoy the beautiful flowers and fragrance with very little maintenance. Deadheading faded flowers will keep the lilac flowering for as long as possible, and there will be little to no pruning needed, thanks to…

For American journalist Charles Warren Stoddard, this was a dream come true. The San Francisco Chronicle was sending him on a European tour: and there was a highlight. He was to be granted (for a fee, mind you) a night in the very house where Anne Hathaway had once lived. This was the place she’d been born in 1556 and where she’d tended the wealth-generating sheep her father kept, doing domestic chores when her mother died. Also where she’d helped raise her half-siblings after her father remarried. And — most poignantly of all for Stoddard — this was where Anne had been courted by her husband-to-be, one young William Shakespeare. Already, by January 1874, Stoddard was one of a long line of famous (and not-so-famous) tourists who had made the…

Few people can say that part of their home has ended up in the British Museum, but in the case of Emilia and Brian Lacy, that’s exactly what happened. When they bought their Georgian farmhouse on the island of Jersey, they quickly discovered that it came with a rich history. Documents show that a previous owner had unearthed two slabs lying face down in the cellar while renovating the house - both turned out to be precious reliefs from Ancient Greece that were swiftly salvaged and are now on permanent display. The building itself was once at the centre of a working farm, surrounded by outhouses and a large garden. In 1805, courtesy of a wealthy owner, it received an upgrade by way of coffered ceilings, panelling and casement windows.…

A long with their aesthetic qualities, renders serve as protection against windblown rain. Lime renders and limewashes have been used for thousands of years and allow walls to breathe and maintain moisture equilibrium within the fabric of the building. They are also relatively flexible and able to accommodate slight seasonal movement. In contrast, modern cement renders tend to be hard, brittle and impermeable, so can stop the building from breathing and trap moisture, which results in damp and decay. These problems are often exacerbated by other building defects, such as leaking gutters. It is essential to address these issues and not just the symptoms. How can you spot if render has failed? Cracking, delamination, hollowness and surface damage all indicate a problem. Even so, in the case of cement renders,…

As the sun sinks behind the Old Rectory, it suffuses myriad flowers and grasses with a golden glow. Glimpsed from the nearby hillside, the garden surrounding the house appears as a jewel set within wildflower meadows and copses, hills and hollows. ‘It’s hard to believe that when we first came, there was no garden,’ recalls Louise Ness. ‘Derek and I had been looking for somewhere to create a garden, and found this wonderful blank canvas.’ Today, that once uncultivated area has been transformed into an outstanding plot by this husband-and-wife duo, resulting in a vibrant tapestry of plants contained within a rich framework of yew or beech hedges. The first glimpse of the garden is from the gate as it opens into a paved, rose-filled courtyard. A path links a…

EXHIBITION For the first time, Sissinghurst Castle in Kent – once home to Vita Sackville-West (1892–1962), the prolific writer, poet and gardener – hosts a major exhibition celebrating her trailblazing literary legacy: Between the Covers with Vita: The Life and Literature of V. Sackville-West. Known for her passionate relationships, most notably with Virginia Woolf, and her deep exploration of identity and love, Vita’s work often centred on women’s lives and experiences. Ten of her key works are highlighted, revealing the influence of lovers, while personal objects, including handwritten notebooks, plus a printing press from Hogarth Press – founded by Virginia and Leonard Woolf – offer intimate insight. New illustrations by Sarah Tanat Jones bring a fresh perspective to Vita’s bold, often overlooked voice. Until 7 September, nationaltrust.org.uk. BOOKSHELF  A New English Style:…

Working from her studio in Kingston upon Thames, embroidery artist Lora Avedian is known for blurring the boundaries between textile design and art. From large-scale installations to soft furnishings, her pieces are sought after by interior designers. Her love for embroidery started at school; she went on to study embroidery at Manchester Metropolitan University (now Manchester School of Art) followed by an MA at the Royal College of Art in Mixed Media Textiles. Lora likes to replicate embroidery techniques found on vintage clothing or old trims she finds at flea markets. She uses the couching stitch a lot – where a thicker thread is laid on the fabric and secured with smaller stitches. ‘I draw inspiration from all sorts of things: I spend a lot of time in nature, I…

Having searched in vain for somewhere to put down new roots, Felicity Hunt felt an overwhelming sense of relief and instant connection when she first viewed an elegant Georgian property, nestled in the heart of a bustling Kent village. Approaching the house, Felicity was enchanted by the sight of the quintessentially English country garden and lilac wisteria blooming at the rear of the property. ‘I had a very emotional response when I walked inside,’ says Felicity. ‘I was impressed by the height of the ceilings, scale of the original windows and doors, plus the amount of natural light streaming into the rooms. Sometimes you have a feeling about a house and I knew that, finally, after 18 months of searching, we’d found the one.’ After living in the Middle East…

When Vanessa Bell took on the lease of Charleston Farmhouse in September 1916, it was full of Edwardian (and earlier) wall coverings. Together with fellow artist, friend and sometime lover Duncan Grant, she set to work whitewashing most of the interiors to create a blank canvas. The pair were inveterate mural painters, but here they took it a step further – no surface in the farmhouse was spared from decoration, from tables, chairs and beds to doors and fireplaces. One of the first projects was the flowers painted around the window of Vanessa’s husband Clive’s study. In a bold adieu to the fuss of the Victorian era, Vanessa, Duncan and the Bloomsbury group of artists who congregated at Charleston, created their own ceramics, wallpapers, rugs and lampshades – Duncan Grant’s…

Colour is a powerful tool for creating different effects by using specific shades, tones, hues, intensities or blends in a planting scheme. A garden space can feel quite different according to its overall colouring, conveying moods that vary from tranquil to invigorating, harmonious to contrasting. Colours come in neutral, warm or cool tones, A grassy path passes between double herbaceous borders of cottage-style plants in an array of harmonising colours: delphinium, catmint, foxgloves, hardy geraniums, feverfew and campanula ranging from calm pastels to vibrant tints. It is the interplay between warm and cool that is so vital to creating dynamic flower borders. Each season brings dominant plants. As spring advances, borders fill out with a wide range of flowering bulbs, while in summer it is herbaceous perennials and roses that…

This statement alternative to a traditional bouquet packs a decorative punch, especially when used to add interest to an alfresco dining set-up. A unique benefit of this design is that the blooms can be easily switched when they start to fade. YOU WILL NEED • Wooden garden sieve • Florist’s wire • Secateurs • Woody stemmed greenery: such as eucalyptus, rosemary, common sage • Seasonal blooms: we used mimosa, ranunculus, eryngium and forget-me-nots 1. Start with the greenery; this will provide the base of the design. Thread stems through the gaps in the riddle, starting with the largest pieces, then filling gaps with smaller sprigs. Build up the foliage to create a crescent shape along the base and sides of the riddle. 2. Once your design is finalised, secure the…