Innehållsförteckning för December 2023 från Homes & Antiques

Tell us what inspires you in this issue of H&A. Tag @homes_antiques on Instagram or use the email address, right Welcome to the Christmas issue of H&A! With the big day creeping ever closer, our columnists delve into the traditions of festive entertaining and the history of the dinner party. Turn to page 82 for Luke Honey’s gallop through time, from the Roman roots of Christmas feasting to the emergence of formal table settings. On page 84, Celia Rufey unpicks the story of fine table linens, while Willa Latham talks us through the ins and outs of elaborate dinner services (p87), and offers guidance on buying and caring for fine porcelain. If you are seeking inspiration for your own Christmas table, turn to page 37, where you will find lots of clever…

Symbolism played an important part in Victorian jewellery design. Forget-me-nots stood for enduring love and remembrance; bumble bees meant community; and swallows, loyalty and the hopeful return of a loved one. Brooches were widely worn and some doubled as pendants popular motifs included ribbon bows, cameos and ornate, Etruscan-style designs. Outstanding examples are capable of making thousands, but there are many pieces selling at auction that would suit any budget. Recently, we sold an amethyst and citrine double heart brooch for £86. At the other end of the scale, a ribbon bow brooch - set with turquoise, emeralds and garnets and still in its original case - made rather more, selling for £2,356. Find dates for the next antiques and jewellery sales at catherinesouthon.co.uk…

Antique boxes are used today for decorative and practical purposes. Take an old sewing or vanity box void of all its contents - they’re incredibly well made (far better than you can get from the high street) and made from materials not as readily found today. They make wonderful jewellery, keepsake and memory boxes. Writing boxes are particularly popular for laptops and tablets - they’re great for keeping them safe! Tea caddies are proving most popular at the moment, due to their interesting shapes, sizes, materials and forms. We’ve seen everything from novelty fruit shapes to a wonderful inlaid tea chest with Georgian silver tea caddies. But, beware: their popularity means there are a lot of fakes being created, which more inexperienced collectors are purchasing, under the impression they’ve found…

LIVING BRIGHT Matthew Williamson For anyone toying with the idea of banishing beige and embracing colour in the home, Living Bright provides a perfect starting point. Matthew Williamson is well placed to make the case for living a life filled with colour, having spent almost three decades designing with rich jewel shades and exuberant patterns. His first interior decorating and lifestyle book is an empowering guide, helping the reader develop their individual style and imparting the confidence to embrace brighter hues. Williamson explores how different shades can affect our lives and our moods - pinks can be warming, yellows energising and greens life-affirming - and for each colour he incorporates anecdotal examples, as well as practical ways to introduce each shade into the home. The rich imagery throughout (including examples…

‘There is something special about using antiques when decorating for Christmas,’ says antiques dealer Ambrice Miller, arranging’ some spruce in a large ginger jar on the hall table. ‘Perhaps it’s because they remind me to think about my own history,’ she adds. Ambrice, who is American, was introduced to art and antiques at a young age by her parents, who enrolled her in the Alabama School of Fine Arts at 11, after which she studied at North Carolina’s liberal arts institution, Davidson College. ‘My parents’ influence meant I became a collector,’ she says. ‘I have fond memories of following them around estate sales and thrift shops. After moving to London in 2010, Ambrice continued to collect. Initially buying works of art and small antiques In order to decorate her diminutive…

Table linen has stories to tell beyond how our ancestors ate their dinners. The Romans were Europe’s early users of linens at table. Their victory at Carthage in 146BC gave them a new province in north Africa, where they took up the region’s practice of bringing linen pieces to table to carry home leftovers at the end of a meal. What an unexpected heritage for the doggy bag! By the time poet Catullus, 84-54BC, was writing, every Roman was bringing his own linens to men-only feasts and, when a guest used his left hand to steal the napkin the poet had received as a gift, Catullus angrily described the theft in verse as ‘uncouth and in the worst taste’. Besides linen squares for wiping fingers, each guest brought a large…

• The best way to prevent breakage is to remove risk. So no cluttered kitchen surface, no tall objects that could fall over on the table (be careful with that pepper mill!) • Wash up the antiques last, once the kitchen surfaces are clear. • Never use the dishwasher; clean them by hand in warm water - not hot! - using a plastic tub and mild soap. • Avoid metal or stone sinks, and tackle one piece at a time, so nothing gets chipped or knocked. • Use a cloth or the soft side of a scrubby sponge and never soak the dishes. • When stacking dishes, put a piece of kitchen paper between each one to guard against stacking wear. • Avoid strongly coloured or acidic foods (beetroot, vinegar…

Collecting In our digital age, we are bombarded with adverts. From subtle influencer ‘ads’ with hashtags on social media to the invisible algorithms that target marketing based on what we look at online, brands can advertise to us directly using irresistible images and ‘click-to-buy’ temptation. In a world where eagerly awaited and unashamedly emotive Christmas TV adverts are presented to us as if they were feature films, the lines between brainwashing and beauty are confusingly blurred. Adverts have the power to move us to tears, while all the time compelling us to spend, spend, spend. ‘It’s hard to imagine a simpler time, but before the internet, magazines or TV, the main way to advertise any goods – be it an airline, a piece of soap, a play, or an alcoholic…

Christmas wreaths Fans of Willow Crossley can sign up for one of two Christmas wreath workshops the floral stylist is running at Oxfordshire’s Ham Court this month (1st and 5th December). Willow’s elegantly natural-looking wreaths are popular on Instagram, thanks to their soft, wild-edged style, and you’ll learn just how to craft one of your own during one of these five-hour courses. Designed to be a pampering day out, as well as instructive, each workshop includes coffee, cake, lunch and afternoon tea. For a more budget take on decorating, pocket-money tutorials can also be downloaded from the website. £275. willowcrossley.com Everlasting winter wreaths A creative approach and no-dyeing, no-bleaching, no-spraying ethos means floral artist Bex Partridge’s dried flower workshops sell out fast - including her seasonal wreath courses. On these,…

Unbeknown to her at the time, Jen North’s first forays into hunting for treasures at car boot sales to decorate her flat would spark a new career. In the late 2000s, she founded her antiques business, nurturing her passion for fairs, and expanding to European markets, vide-greniers and brocantes. She now showcases her lovingly gathered pieces at around 25 UK events and organises the ever-popular Handmade and Vintage Weekend Extravaganza across three large shopping centres. Tell us about how you started out Having discovered a love of searching and buying, I realised that if I started to sell what I bought, I could carry on treasure hunting - the best part - without having to worry about running out of space. My hope was that if it went well, I…

THE ANTIQUES THAT SHAPED ME What first sparked your interest in antiques? I’ve loved furniture and accessories that have an age to them for as long as I can remember. I’m not entirely sure where it comes from, but I’ve always been drawn to items with a patina, faded colours, and interesting textures and materials, rather than things that are shiny and new. I think they hold much more charm and character than newly made pieces, and they can help to tell a much richer story in interior schemes. Tell us about the first antique you acquired I bought my first home with my partner in my 20s and set about furnishing it with items that I’m not sure would qualify as antiques (due to a tight budget), but they…

Fabric Wallpaper…

A desire to repurpose existing materials was the jumping-off point for Coldharbour Lights’ two fabulously flamboyant lighting collections. Feathers, the beautiful by-product of the poultry industry, were the visual inspiration, and the superstrong yet lightweight frame came via the bicycle wheel a design that is already in production and therefore avoids the carbon cost of a new manufacturing process. Prices from £445, and from £900 for a bespoke colourway. coldharbourlights.com…

For the home Foodie treats Nostalgic gifts Little luxuries…

With wide open rooms that lead from one to the next, Holly Armour’s antiquesfilled farmhouse in rural Suffolk really comes into its own at Christmas, when it is dressed for festivities. But with an overall scheme that was designed with elegant comfort in mind, the house is warm and welcoming all year round. ‘The most important thing you can do when designing your home,’ she says, ‘is put together rooms you want to spend time in.’ She adds, warning against the temptation to be swayed by trends: ‘I truly believe you’ll create something far more timeless and meaningful if you decorate your rooms with objects you love, or that are important to you and the people you share your home with.’ For Holly and her husband, Harry, that means the…

Condition is important, but some collectors and museums don’t mind a few blemishes if a poster is 100 years old. ‘If you can wait and be patient, you should try to find one in the best condition possible,’ advises Richard Barclay. ‘However, if it’s a rare poster and you’re a collector, you buy it when you can get your hands on it, then upgrade and sell it on if you find an example in better condition at a later date.’ A common complaint with posters is that they’re folded. ‘They were folded into a pile of 20 or 100 to be transported easily, before being pasted up on walls,’ reveals Richard. Another issue arises if the poster has been kept somewhere humid, when you can get brown spots known in…

THE WEALDEN BAZAAR CHRISTMAS SHOWCASE Are you in the mood for buying sustainable, pre-loved Christmas presents while also hibernating at home this winter? If so, look no further than The Wealden Bazaar Christmas Showcase, which brings you a virtual market every weekday morning from 27fh Nov to 12th Dec. Visit @thewealdenbazaar from 7am to view a selection of vintage and antique stock posted by a trader each day. These online market stalls will have gifts as well as decorations and pieces for festive entertaining. ‘Online markets like ours enable people to have a quick dose of vintage shopping when and where it suits them — it’s not a replacement for real-life vintage fairs, which most of our traders also do, it’s an adjunct to them that fulfils a different need,’…

Table service Cathy Nordström’s decorative fabrics can be whipped up as a tablecloth to add the perfect finishing flourish to a Christmas dining table Here, Florence in Red, £126 per m, is the star among block colours and candlelight. cathynordstrom.com HOTEL STYLE Kit Kemp, the interior visionary behind the Firmdale Hotels group, is known for her eclectic style, and now you, too, can share in that vision. Selected pieces from her room schemes, such as the Green Heart of Oak cushion, £150, and Holly Frean’s Nesting Dog Dolls, £1,500, are available online. firmdalehotels.com Garden of Eden New Eden is Graham & Brown’s ‘Design of the Year 2024’, a stylised forest scene bringing the outside indoors in glorious fashion. Shown here in Emerald, matching curtains, cushions, bed linen, and a custom…

Established in 1851, Burleigh has a rich and fascinating history, and the company continues to innovate with interesting designer collaborations and clever extensions of classic ranges. This Christmas sees three designs, Regal Peacock, Felicity and Calico, reworked as ceramic ornaments. From £15 for a kiln ring, and £25 for the conical modeller’s decoration. burleigh.co.uk Bowls of Plenty Jeweller Alexandra Robson is known for her timeless designs and clever use of exquisite gemstones. This winter sees her first foray into homewares with the launch of The Mercia Collection. The deceptively simple bowls, which draw on medieval designs, are made from sterling silver, plated with l8ct gold, and studded with bold citrine, garnet, onyx and malachite cabochons. From £250. augustinejewels.com Daft about Nelft Contemporary ceramicist Katrin Moye has taken cues from the…

What to Sell Now Sampson Mordan, best known for co-inventing the first patented propelling pencil in 1822, began his career as an apprentice to the locksmith Joseph Bramah and went on to set up his own business in 1815. In the 1820s he partnered with the stationer Gabriel Riddle, producing various silver novelties including menu holders, letter openers, whistles and pin cushions. After his death in 1843, Sampson’s sons took on the business, which continued to trade until 1941. Pieces with Sampson Mordan hallmarks (there are a few, including Sampson Mordan, S. Mordan & Co, SM and SM.GR) remain sought after, and in a recent Jewellery, Silver & Watches sale, we sold a number of his works, all featuring owls. See cheffins.co.uk for the next Jewellery, Silver & Watches sale…

GET SET… For a fresh take on the colours of the season, layer up the table with linens, ceramics and glass in subtle, faded shades of red and green for an attractive, vintage effect. Scattered decorations will add a touch of sparkle. LET THERE BE LIGHT! Simple and timeless, candles are an essential part of the celebrations. Select holders in reflective materials to maximise the subtle twinkling effect of the candlelight. HOW TO MAKE A WREATH A festive floral wreath hung from a door or gate will welcome your visitors warmly You wil need: Willow or birch branches, florist wire, foliage, twigs, berries, oranges, dried flowers, coloured fabric 1 Twist a long length of fresh willow or birch to form a 30cm circle and secure with a twist of florist…

The traditional shutter-clad exterior of Anne Gauthier and her partner David’s home belies its surprisingly fresh interior. Inside, exposed brick and whitewashed walls, terracotta floors, ceiling beams and salvaged materials combine to create a modern, rustic feel. Anne, a graphic designer, and David, a builder, have always loved salvaged materials and reusing old things in new ways. In their home, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-west France, salvaged windows (found at the French online marketplace, Leboncoin) make brilliant partitions between rooms - and create an airier, more layered look than simply building new walls. Similarly, shelves and tables are made from reclaimed planks and a contemporary kitchen has been made from scratch, using concrete and wood from a local joiner. Clearly, much effort has gone into thinking through each room,…

Exceptionally beautiful patterns in good condition are costly collector’s items. But it’s easy to find moderately priced large sets if you are willing to put up with some wear - a few chips and short cracks coming off the rims (which don’t matter for use), and the odd rivet repair. In fact, if you compare the price of a new dinner service from one of the better department stores with buying an antique service, you realise that there is hardly any price difference; if anything the antiques may cost less. 1 For the newcomer, transfer-printed wares are a great place to start. You have the option of classic blue-and-white printed pearlware dishes, or their more colourful stoneware cousins. These services were mass-produced, made for frequent use and are less expensive…

I grew up in the suburbs of Stockholm and was born into a design-loving home. Both my mother, a fashion designer, and my father, an opera singer, had a great influence on me, with their taste for Scandinavian classics by Bruno Mathsson, Hans Wegner and Arne Jacobsen. I remember spending many hours sitting in a Jacobsen Series 7 chair upholstered in green felt. At 18, after attending an international school and finding where my interests were pointing me, I came to the UK to study History of Art at the University of East Anglia, where I also took my Masters. Afterwards, I went through that typical stage of student unemployment. It was a tough period of my life and I threw the net wide, applying for jobs in the USA,…

Covelli Tennant Both with backgrounds in antiques and interiors, Sara Covelli and Janie Tennant joined forces to launch Covelli Tennant in 2005. Among their website offering of furniture, textiles and decorative antiques, you’ll find fabulous 1940s-60s Italian and French tole sconces: colourful flowers and fruit, mostly. Visit the Insta account for regular posts of these beautiful botanical sconces. covellitennant.com; @covellitennant James Worrall Located in London’s Marylebone Antiques Quarter, James Worrail has been selling decorative antiques for almost 20 years. As well as art, furniture, ceramics and glass, the family business stocks lighting, including sconces from time to time. Of note are some 1970s Italian wheatsheaf sconces, plus a selection of highly decorative Maison Baguès pieces from mid-century Paris. jamesworrall.com; @jamesworrallantiques Noah Ancienne Another family antiques business, Noah Ancienne brings together…