Innehållsförteckning för English Cottage 2025 från Victoria

Each time I travel to England, my tradition is to bring home a teacup and saucer. These gleaming keepsakes add loveliness to my interiors while stirring pleasant memories of hours whiled away in search of vintage treasures. Two of my most cherished favors were discovered in London’s charming Notting Hill area. Illuminated by a shaft of sunlight pouring in through a shop window, the first teacup caught my eye immediately. This bone china beauty, made by Royal Grafton, captivates with a floral medallion bordered in pale blue and accented with delicate gold motifs. On another excursion, I gasped when I spied a Royal Albert pairing among the wares of a street vendor. “Is that Enchantment?” I cried. “I have been looking everywhere for that pattern!” Admittedly, my unbridled enthusiasm probably…

A crown jewel in the history of British porcelain manufactory, Wedgwood Jasperware offers a simple elegance to both home and table. The company’s founder, Josiah Wedgwood, made many notable contributions to the industry, but, arguably, the most important and famous was this fine, unglazed stoneware developed in 1774 after thousands of experiments. Though the natural state of this hard porcelain is white in color, it is iconic for being stained throughout, rather than merely on the surface, in order to achieve a particular pigment. The most famous shade is Wedgwood Blue, a recognizable sky color that came about with the invention of Jasperware, but the company also made the pottery in lilac, yellow, black, and green, each featuring a uniquely desirable matte finish. For this reason, Jasperware is not usually…

Weathered steamer trunks are stacked alongside silver teapots, and art prints mingle with costume jewelry in a happy hullabaloo that is the Portobello Road market. Each Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of the year, throngs of shoppers in search of furniture, clothing, and assorted bits and bobs weave in and out among the wares of more than 1,000 dealers. Behind the neat navy-blue facade of The Cloth Shop, Henry Harley and his mother, Susie, are searching for their own bits and bobs—Bob, the cat, in particular. They find him curled up in the front window amid a display of vintage milk bottles, assorted piece goods, and spools of twine. “THE SHOP IS A REAL EXTENSION OF OUR STYLE AND TASTE.”—Henry Harley As the name suggests, fabric is the store’s primary focus,…

Below is a listing of products and companies featured in this issue. Items not listed are privately owned and are not for sale. Pages 11–14: French Market Collection: Hunt Scene Wallpaper 8.5'x16', Blue & Gold Vines Aubusson Pillow 17"x23", Rooster & Fox Aubusson Pillow 20"x20", Calla Chair Cushion 19.5"x21", frenchmarketcollection.com. Coalport: Ming Rose Footed Cup & Saucer Set, Sugar Bowl & Lid, Teapot & Lid; from Replacements, Ltd., replacements.com. Pages 15–20: Royal Crown Derby: Footed Cup & Saucer Set in Gold Aves; from Replacements, Ltd., replacements.com. Pages 21–24: Elizabeth Bradley, elizabethbradley.com. Pages 25–28: Jeannette: Hellenic Green Flat Sherbet, Hellenic Green Wine Glass, Hellenic Green Flat Tumbler, Hellenic Green 8" Round Bowl, Hellenic Green Candy Dish and Lid; Wedgwood: Cream Color on Celadon Jasperware, various decorative pieces; from Replacements, Ltd., replacements.com.…

Though the origins of tea drinking can be traced to ancient China, it wasn’t until the seventeenth century that the pastime became embedded in English culture. Because tea was grown in Asia and had to be shipped great distances, it was a costly commodity, with hefty taxes driving prices even higher. Households fortunate enough to afford this coveted import regarded it as a prized possession. As a rule, the mistress of the house was tasked with the responsibility of keeping the tea properly and safely stored. The first containers—also called caddies—were simple jars of porcelain or faïence, but these soon gave way to more ornamental receptacles made of materials such as tortoiseshell, brass, and pewter; more common were finely wrought wooden boxes, complete with locks and keys. Although these canisters…

As an assistant to the Living editor at British Vogue in the late 1970s, Christina Strutt aided in scouting the loveliest abodes to photograph for the magazine. She was immediately drawn to these aging but elegant interiors, replete with furnishings in soft shades—the colors subdued by generations of use. “Most of the grand houses we photographed were timeworn and unchanged for many years; the bright florals appeared faded and breathtakingly beautiful,” says Christina. “That is the effect I fell in love with.” Her burgeoning passion for these ethereal textiles inspired the founding of Cabbages & Roses, a lifestyle brand that found instant footing with admirers who appreciate the delicate patterns and softened colorways that bestow a dwelling with charming character that normally takes ages to develop. “The gentle tones and…

The Trent and Mersey Canal wends its way through the English countryside, as it has since the late 1700s. The scenic 90-mile path connects these two major rivers, allowing easy transport for both the clay components and the finished products of the pottery industry that has flourished in central England for centuries. Middleport Pottery has been producing its signature wares for nearly 170 years. Formed under the partnership of Frederick Rathbone Burgess and William Leigh, the company began production in 1862 and quickly established a reputation for quality. The business moved to its present location in Stoke-on-Trent in 1889, but it wasn’t until the twentieth century that its items bore the name Burleigh—a portmanteau of the original partners’ names. Resting alongside the canal, the esteemed pottery’s Brobdingnagian, dappled-brick building, with…

“NEEDLEWORK ENDURES AS BOTH PASTIME AND PASSION—AN ART FORM AS WELL AS A CRAFT.”—Elizabeth Bradley While browsing a well-known London market, needlework collector Elizabeth Bradley became enchanted with Berlinwoolwork, a style of embroidery that originated in Germany during the early nineteenth century. Her initial impression was that the intricate patterns resembled brilliant mosaics—black grids printed on cream paper and hand-tinted to reveal romantic Victorian images, from lush bouquets to reproduction paintings. Executed on open canvases with brightly dyed wool, the resulting pieces were used to decorate myriad furnishings, such as floor coverings and footstools. The historic cross-stitch diagrams ultimately charted a new course for Elizabeth, who had operated an antiques shop out of herhome in Beaumaris, Wales, before deciding to specialize in the decorative art. In the 1980s—nearly 150 years…

After years of declaring she would one day live in the sixteenth-century cottage not far from her home, upon finally viewing the property, Lizzie Best realized it wasn’t the dream come true she’d hoped for. She recalls the cottage, which at one point served as the village store, “had been empty for some time,” leaving it dark, damp, and in need of a lot of work. “It was unloved,” she says, and for the moment, her long-held dream dissipated. But when no other available property presented itself, she and her partner, Steve, took another look—and they decided to take the leap. Inside and out, they took the bones of the old house and built their home in and around them, handling renovations rather than hiring professional help. “Steve even built…

For interior-architecture design duo Kate and Odom Stamps, lifelong partnership has brought about a flourishing more lovely than the most elaborately calligraphed ampersand. The husband and wife have combined their talents professionally under the moniker “Stamps & Stamps” since 1991, creating beautiful abodes that abound with history, color, and an authentic sense of home. Best known for their renovations of long-established residences in Southern California, where they have lived for three decades, the pair also accept clients across the country and even abroad, taking special interest in Louisiana and England: places to which they each have a strong personal connection. With most of their projects, Odom first sets the stage by perfecting the architecture. While he sometimes designs structures from the ground up, more often his canvas is a historic…

When nineteenth-century architects George Frederick Bodley, Thomas Garner, and George Gilbert Scott the Younger joined forces in 1874 to design the offices of the London School Board, the resulting partnership offered the gentlemen the chance to spread their wings beyond brick-and-mortar blueprints and enter the world of interior furnishings. Christened Watts & Company—the origin of the name still remains a mystery—the noted trio drew inspiration from the Aesthetic Movement to create fabrics, wallpapers, and more that reflected the charmingly eclectic Queen Anne style of the day. “There were always two sides of Watts,” notes Princess Marie-Séverine de Caraman Chimay, company director and descendent of founder Scott. “The ecclesiastical projects at the end of the nineteenth century were prolific—the ancestors designed everything from altar frontals to priests’ copes—as were secular orders.”…