DESIGNS WITH RURAL SPIRIT Fabrics

from The English Home August 2021

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THIS PAGE, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT Wallpaper, Willow, Yellow, £75 a roll, Morris & Co Curtains, English Oak Velvet, Leaf, £69.90 a metre, Linwood Cushions, Cranes, Blue, £70 a metre, Emily Burningham Curtains, Cloud Garden, Vert de Gris, £134.99 a metre, Rapture & Wright Fabric swatches: (top) Blackberry, Russett, £180 a metre, Marthe Armitage; (bottom) Balmoral, Aqua, £65 a metre, Warner House Wallpaper, Chickens, Green, £65 a roll, Belynda Sharples Wallpaper, Delicate Butterfly, Moss, £85 a roll, Eleanor Bowmer OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP Wallpaper, Cleo, Sky Blue, £105 a roll, Elizabeth Ockford OPPOSITE PAGE, BOTTOM Wallpaper, Fly Fishing, £95.86 a roll, Lewis & Wood

DESIGNS with rural spirit

Explore the prints and weaves used to create quintessentially English country interiors, from florals to tweeds to bucolic scenes and pastimes

Pastoral prints

From sporting scenes to beetles and butterflies, patterns consisting of motifs inspired by and associated with rural life can add immense character and whimsical charm to interiors. Traditionally, country motif patterns referred to toile de Jouy, which depicted scenes of idyllic pastoral life and were relied on to create elaborate country-style room schemes. Modern interpretations of life rely on a more tongue-in-cheek artistic approach, and contemporary patterns can include illustrative depictions of all sorts of activities that truly capture the spirit and embodiment of rural life including fishing, hunting, birdwatching, country sports as well as finely detailed drawings depicting nature, entomology and wildlife.

STYLE NOTES Nature is a source of immense inspiration for artists, illustrators and designers, so leaf motifs and patterns depicting trees and vegetation are hugely popular. Simple line drawings in muted colours work well as a backdrop against which more elaborate designs can be layered. For impact, opt for a tapestry-style design in bold shades of green, such as English Oak by Linwood, which captures the natural shape and broad colour palette of a tree canopy.

Many patterns focus on mythological woodland folklore and medieval hunting scenes and their stylistic visual references to the past make them a perfect choice to add authentic heritage charm to a country house. Seek designs by Lindsay Alker or Warner House. Meanwhile, handsketched illustrations of farmyard animals, such as those by Belynda Sharples, can add characterful charm to a family dining room or kitchen.

Patterns celebrating the opulence of life on a grand estate will add a modern twist to a traditional country interior. Look out for designs by Mulberry Home – its Long Weekend collection – and Barneby Gates. These will offer quirky appeal in an instant and cleverly capture the essence of English country charm, from croquet to polo, to pheasants and deer.

Finely woven

Plaids, tweeds, tartans and herringbones are synonymous with country life. The products of a once-thriving woollen industry that was at the heart of the rural community, they would have been hand-dyed using hues derived from local mineral and plant sources, echoing the landscapes within which they were made.

These deep earthy shades of brown, grey, green, ochre and russet are still found in modern designs and are ideal for complementing the natural tones found in materials used to build many a country home, including sandstone, slate, flint and timber.

Similarly, textural wallpapers in natural fibres such as grasses and hemp can be used alongside woven wools to add a sophisticated modern rustic feel to a country interior.

STYLE NOTES Decorating with woven wools brings softness and warmth to a country home. Use heavyweight woollen fabrics as full-length curtains that pool onto a flagstone floor as a beautiful contrast of materials and as a practical solution for keeping draughts at bay. Traditional weaving methods still exist, with working mills such as Melin Tregwynt and Mourne Textiles creating designs that are steeped in history and ideal for adding rich textural interest to a country cottage with whitewashed walls and timber beams.

The orderly, almost regimental, configuration of a herringbone in monochromatic black and white makes a modern statement in an old-style country interior. Take inspiration from Ian Mankin, whose curated collection of striped, herringbone, houndstooth and patterned weaves work harmoniously together.

Tartan plaids have plenty of appeal and are ideal for adding a touch of the country lodge to a rustic interior. The bright jewel-like shades work particularly well with the rich tones of dark wood panelling.

For a modern twist on tradition introduce contemporary weaves and textural chenille in patterns and colours inspired by nature, such as tree bark, woody branches and velvety moss, and team with complementary wallcoverings in grass, hemp and hessian. Or put classic plaids and traditional woollen weaves with flamboyant florals and utilitarian ticking stripes for a look that is beautifully bohemian in spirit and design.

Cushions (from left): Textured Linen Weave in Indigo and Peacock, £138.50 a metre; Empire II Velvet in Russet and Cedar, £105.50 a metre; Tempera Linen Mix in Indigo, £144.50 a metre; bedcover, Brushstroke Linen Mix in Indigo, £128 a metre; upholstered bench (at front) Tempera Linen Mix in Indigo, £144.50 a metre, all Mark Alexander

OPPOSITE PAGE, BOTTOM ROW FROM FAR LEFT Padstow Check, Dried Grass, £138 a metre, Fox Linton Mourne Mist 202/25, £108 a metre, Mourne Textiles Chair, Magnus Plaid, Old Blue, £85 a metre, Colefax and Fowler Cushions (from top): Boundary, Indigo, £80 a metre; Ambit, Indigo, £73 a metre; Mimar, Indigo, £84 a metre; Ambit, Teal, £73 a metre; Boundary, Teal, £80 a metre; Arlo, Indigo, £60 a metre, all Threads, GP & J Baker ABOVE Wallpaper, Sutton Stripe, White on Natural, £324 a roll, Grasscloth collection, Anna French TOP RIGHT Sofa, Volupté Chenille 696; cushions, Volupté Chenille 796, £119 a metre, all Etamine MIDDLE RIGHT Fabrics (from top): Rodmell in Blue, Green, Yellow, Chocolate/Coral, Red/Teal, Aqua, all £74 a metre, Nina Campbell BOTTOM RIGHT Headboard, Stanley Stripe; pillows, Ripon Houndstooth; cushion on bed, Malham Damask; blanket, Gisburn, all in Grey colourway and £57.50 a metre, Ian Mankin BELOW LEFT Knot Garden, Copper, £138 a metre, Melin Tregwynt BELOW RIGHT Hikari, Slate, £40 a metre, Scion

ABOVE Chair, Octavia, £95 a metre; blind, Josephine, Yellow, £90 a metre; lampshade, Josephine, Red, £90 a metre, all Kate Forman RIGHT Blind, Stapleton Park, Squirrel/Olive, £65 a metre, One Sixty collection, Sanderson BELOW, FROM LEFT Cushions (from top): Ullington in Lettuce/Blush, Honey, Plum, all £132 a metre, Cloth & Clover Wallpaper, Hencroft Primula, Pink, £97 a roll, Little Greene Wallpaper, Twickenham PATW02, £153 a roll, Hamilton Weston Wallpaper, Botanica, Ivory, £108 a roll, Willow Crossley at Barneby Gates

In full bloom

Floral wallpapers and fabrics will add a dash of quintessential English country style to any interior. Inspiration comes in the form of an abundance of flowers from classic cottage garden favourites to wildflowers native to the countryside, all bringing different levels of decorative detail and romantic charm.

From dainty sprigs and ditzy flower designs to voluptuous, blowsy florals and faded vintage rose patterns, each is as captivating as the other in its representation of our national flora, with many designs deeply rooted in history, too. Rose emblems have been favoured as far back as medieval times and are still immensely popular in today’s designs.

English chintz is an anglicised adaptation of an Indian block-printing technique, but is considered a country classic in English interiors. The Arts and Crafts movement, too, allowed intricate and highly elaborate flower patterns to flourish, adding to an already rich heritage of floral-inspired designs.

STYLE NOTES Decorating with florals is a wonderful way of introducing nature’s colourful, elaborate and intricate creations, adding life and energy to interiors.

When choosing designs for wallpapers and fabrics, consider the room the pattern is intended for. Tiny sprig designs and small repeat floral patterns are intimate in feel, so are ideal for spaces where a degree of cosiness is required, such as a country cottage bedroom.

For country homes that boast high ceilings and ornate cornicing, bigger-scale florals, such as large-headed hydrangeas or a profusion of tulips in full bloom, from companies such as Designers Guild will accentuate the already established sense of grandeur.

For older, low-ceilinged properties, large or small, an archive print depicting a historical floral design can add authentic period charm. Hamilton Weston’s collection of prints includes sympathetic reproductions of pattern fragments uncovered during the restoration of some of the country’s historic buildings, including Jane Austen’s Georgian country home. For a more recognisable, iconic floral design, consider Bowood by Colefax and Fowler or Stapleton Park by Sanderson, teamed with a fresh country stripe or heritage paint colour.

Beauty in simplicity

Pretty checks, ginghams and stripes are at the heart of classic country style. In colours that range from soft pastels to utilitarian monochromes, these popular patterns are hugely versatile and add a relaxed, homespun feel.

Their simplicity stems from the centuries-old traditional weaving methods used in India and the Far East, where a single dyed yarn was introduced to a plain woven fabric, creating a stripe that added colour and interest. This evolved into the array of ginghams, checks and elaborate stripe designs available today.

Different aspects of rural life have, over time, adopted these naïve patterns in a variety of ways. There are ticking stripes synonymous with mattress coverings, blue and white stripes that conjure up coastal style, grain stripes used to embellish agricultural hemp sacks, and colourful patchwork ginghams and checks that are staple designs for country kitchen textiles.

STYLE NOTES These patterns can bring a cheerful note to any room, from a simple rustic kitchen to a grand entrance hall. Classic pencil stripes and ginghams in bright pinks, yellows and greens from designers such as Jacqueline Milton or Tori Murphy will add freshness and vibrancy to a small cottage living room, for example, particularly when the co-ordinating colourway is pure white.

For a modern take on tradition, decorate with striped designs by Charlotte Gaisford, inspired by haberdashery stitching and braiding, or Molly Mahon, whose Trellis design takes its cue from the lattice repetition of the traditional country garden plant support.

The clean lines and geometric configuration of a stripe or check can introduce orderliness and structure in an uncontrived way, adding visual interest whilst maintaining a sense of calm in a room that requires a simple element of decoration.

Ginghams, checks and stripes work well with floral patterns, large and small, so combine them for a joyful country decorating scheme, introducing, say, a ruffled gingham curtain at a window, or a simple striped armchair.

Stripe and check wallpaper designs can enhance the sense of space in a small attic room or snug by being applied vertically or horizontally. To add intimacy and a sense of cosiness to a country room of more generous proportions, paper the ceiling too. n

ABOVE Chair, French Ticking, Mushroom/Raspberry, £57 a metre; cushion, Nordic Stripe, Reindeer, £72 a metre, both Vanessa Arbuthnott RIGHT Wall in Poppy Red fabric, £62 a metre, Charlotte Gaisford BELOW RIGHT Cotton Checks & Stripes collection, all £62 a metre, Trend at Christian Lee BELOW Walls in paper-backed Blue Tented Stripe, £130 a metre (excluding paperbacking), Fermoie BELOW FAR LEFT Noki, Satsuma/Sky/Pebble, £44 a metre, Scion BELOW LEFT Woodhouse Cotton Check, Radish, £50 a metre, Tori Murphy