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the best in inter nationa l design a n d decor ation

May 2014 £3.99

EXCLUSIVE

nEw LEaf

Joanna LumLey, Thomas heaTherwick & Dan Pearson rEVEaL pLanS for London’S GardEn BrIdGE

decorating with cut flowers and plants

InTErIorS To InSpIrE Building an English country house

Three clever conversions

a crooked cottage

M a d e to measure Mixing classical symmetry and vernacular charm, this newbuild country house is a triumph of teamwork, with architects and designers collaborating to create the owners’ perfect home Text Ros Byam Shaw | Photographs Simon Upton | Locations editor Lavinia Bolton

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OPPOSITE Having bought the land for its views and location, the owners built this house on the site of a former farmyard. THIS PAGE Classical details create a period atmosphere in the sitting room, such as the chimneypiece designed by Tim Reeve, made out of locally quarried Doulting stone

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The drawing room, which is painted in six different shades of white, bears witness to the owners’ love of contemporary art: key pieces include a large photograph by Candida HÜfer (left) and two sculptures by Ken Mihara (centre and right). The pendant light is by Ingo Maurer

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Lateral thinking

Formed by turning four adjoining flats into a single living space, this north London conversion is filled with its owners’ impressive collection of art and contemporary ceramics, much of which was bought to suit the restrained, modern interior Text virginia fraser | Photographs sharyn cairns

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focus on shrubs: Part Four

THIS PAGE The bright flowers of Cercis canadensis light up a woodland glade. OPPOSITE The lavenderpink flowers of C. canadensis ‘Ace of Hearts’ appear

blossom burst In the latest instalment of her series on flowering shrubs and small trees, Clare Foster looks at Cercis and offers advice on its cultivation Photographs marg cousens

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C on se rvat ion p i e c e

In upstate New York, a nineteenth-century house with a distinctive clapboard exterior has been carefully restored and renovated to create an elegant retreat Text Jeremy Callaghan | Photographs Gaelle Le Boulicaut

M

any of us will remember a house from our childhood that evoked a sense of mystery as we passed it on the other side of the road, glancing sideways at its derelict façade and concocting stories of an imaginary past, but never daring to explore further. This house, in the American town of Cooperstown, New York, is one such house, referred to by locals for generations as ‘The Crooked Cottage’.

In 1837, author James Fenimore Cooper – who wrote The Last of the Mohicans and whose father founded Cooperstown – described his

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beloved surroundings: ‘Lying, as it does, off the great routes, the village of Cooperstown is less known than it deserves to be. Few persons visit it, without acknowledging the beauties of its natural scenery, and the general neatness and decency of the place itself... Everything shows a direction towards ... an improving civilization.’

Today, Cooperstown demonstrates that American civilisation: family values and national traditions are alive and well. Old families with generations of history commune and you sense that heritage, cultural and otherwise, counts for a lot in these parts.

With her own sense of pioneering spirit, Danish-born Lisbeth McCoy had always

dreamt of a place in the American countryside.

Now a sculptor and interior designer, Lisbeth used to own Lisbeth & Co, a must-stop-shop for art, objects and furniture in downtown Manhattan, which was frequented by some of the style world’s biggest names. It was here that she met her husband, New York art dealer Jason McCoy. Jason bought a table, which he still owns, and the rest, as they say, is history.

‘Jason’s family is related to Jackson Pollock,’ says Lisbeth. ‘They were originally from the wide open plains and mountains of the American West, and I’m Danish, but there was something about the landscape of Cooperstown that struck a chord in both of us – probably for

OPPOSITE FROM LEFT The façade of the house, which dates from 1820, has been repainted in its original North Sea grey colour. The columns that flank the front door demonstrate the house’s crooked stance. THIS PAGE In the library, an eighteenth-century marble Italian bust sits on a table between the windows, which are dressed in cream linen, with pelmets in a custom-made embroidered linen, both by Chelsea Textiles

THIS PAGE Joanna Lumley, Thomas Heatherwick and Dan Pearson are pictured at Thomas’s studio. OPPOSITE A detail of a pearwood model of the bridge, showing one of the giant ‘planters’ that will support it

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Bridging the gap

As plans for London’s Garden Bridge take shape, Joanna Lumley, along with designer Thomas Heatherwick and garden designer Dan Pearson talk about their vision to create a leafy oasis above the Thames Text Hatta Byng | Photographs Mark Harrison

Nat ural

h igh

A disused railway, suspended above a section of Manhattan’s West Side, was transformed into an unusual public park that preserves the area’s industrial history Text Clare Foster | Photographs Andrea Jones

OPPOSITE PAGE The 1.5-kilometre linear park provides a green space in the heart of New York City. THIS PAGE Native grasses and orange-flowered butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa) attract wildlife to the self-seeding plantings along the railway m ay 2 0 1 4 h o u s e & g a r d e n 000

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OPPOSITE Shelving units built into the alcoves of the sitting room echo the lines of the Portland stone chimneypiece from Jamb.

THIS PAGE Banquette seating allows for flexible dining in the kitchen

Shared space Formerly a rabbit warren of small, dark rooms, this Victorian house in west London has been opened up, flooded with light and filled with the owners’ collection of art and furniture, to create a balance between its original character and modern style Text Miranda Vedral | Photographs Alexander James

A cu t a bov e

Inspired by the Matisse exhibition at Tate Modern, Gabby Deeming gets crafty with cut-out paper wallcoverings from de Gournay and patchwork textiles, which form the basis of organic, modern schemes

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Photographs Andrew Montgomery

Opposite Background and cut-out in Indian tea paper (indigo and lagoon), £209 a square metre, at de Gournay. Cushion in ‘Hand-Dyed Linen’, by Adam Bray, £194 a metre, at Tissus d’Hélène, and ‘Brera Lino’ (lemongrass), linen, £59 a metre, at Designers Guild. Gold-plated dressmaking scissors, £75, at The New Craftsmen. this page WALLS Paint, ‘Obsidian’, £35 for 2.5 litres matt emulsion, from Little Greene. Bespoke hand-dyed and painted patchwork panels, ‘Badminton’, from £667 a panel, at de Gournay. FLOOR Oak herringbone floor (natur), e143 a square metre (including delivery and installation), from Bohemian Works.

FURNITURE Sofa, ‘Hackney’, 75 x 254 x 96cm, £2,577, from Wrong for Hay. Textured-gesso coffee table, ‘Pablo’, 46 x 135 x 80cm, £1,397; and gesso and clearglass side table, ‘Picasso’, 66 x 60cm diameter, £720; both at Julian Chichester.

ACCESSORIES Hand-dyed and woven cushions, ‘Chromascope’, by Ptolemy Mann, cotton, £345 each, and handpainted ceramic bowls, ‘In The Garden’, by Laura Carlin, £240 each; all at The New Craftsmen. Linen cushion cover (grey blue), £29, at Oka. Lacquer trays, ‘Belles Rives’: small, £150, and large, £190; at Irving and Morrison. Glass vase, ‘Cylinder’, £15 for a set of 3 (smallest shown), at Ikea.

For suppliers’ details, see Stockists page

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