Show and tell

The lure of Milan Design Week is strong for designers and aficionados wanting to keep up with the latest movements in interior design. John Law from Woodhouse & Law was there and give us an account of the new, exciting and emerging trends.

The world of interiors is ever-changing and evolving, offering us inspiration, anticipation and the odd surprise in equal measures. Keen to keep on top of the latest emerging trends, our team will visit many of the interior trade shows each year, whether here in the UK or further afield on the continent. Most recently we were fortunate enough to attend Salone del Mobile in Milan, returning to its traditional April time slot for the first time since the start of the pandemic. The annual event is the largest trade fair of its kind in the world, with almost 2,000 furniture exhibitors and over 300,000 attendees visiting from all corners of the globe.

Spanning hall after hall at the sprawling FieraMilano complex, the event is undeniably one of the highlights of the interiors calendar, one embraced and celebrated by the whole city. Coming together under the banner of Milan Design Week, designers and manufacturers add to the buzz by opening up a wealth of venues throughout the city. From ancient palazzos to derelict industrial units, the spaces are transformed for the week, offering exhibitions, workshops and the opportunity to entertain, celebrate and debate.

For us, this provides the perfect opportunity to identify those new, exciting and emerging trends. And this year didn’t fail to impress, with noticeable shifts not only in colour palettes, materials and techniques, but also in our approach to design and manufacture in a digital world –one of fast demand and fickle loyalties.

Some trends looked familiar, nostalgic even. Browns featured highly for instance –in wall treatments, materials and furniture alike. Once exiled and avoided for fear of throwback to the seventies and eighties, the colour was back, warmed up and ready for a fight. With back-up from other equally earthy tones, from terracotta pinks to warming caramels, the long-standing rule of the grey regime was decidedly over.

The newly appointed reigning tones instead offered a distinctly warm, calming and comforting atmosphere, perhaps born from a need for us all to cocoon after a number of turbulent years. It makes sense therefore that this movement joined at the show by an embracing of biophilic design, bringing the outdoors in and improving our connection to nature and the environment. Integrating natural elements –with their rich diversity of life, shapes and colours – is fast gaining a dedicated following for its ability to greatly improve our well-being and creativity. The show was testament to this, with a growing number of pieces made from natural stone and wood, often with curved lines and soft shapes to instil a more natural, organic feel to a scheme.

This use of natural materials also had a greater nod to sustainability than ever before. Alongside those more traditional ingredients stood the more unusual, with waste materials from other industries often being incorporated to reduce the environmental impact of these new products. Surplus sheep’s wool was used in place of plastic upholstery foam, waste hemp fibres were used to fortify bioplastic in compostable chairs and acoustic panels featured a byproduct of rice production. While some manufacturers returned to traditional craftsmanship, others looked to new technological developments for their latest collections. Take The New Raw, a young studio from the Netherlands. Using 3D printing, and inspired by traditional knitting techniques, continuous threads of plastic waste were threaded to create a series of tactile benches, permeable and strong enough to be used both inside and out.

Throughout the show, this meeting of the digital and the physical was omnipresent. New York artist Ryan Decker showcased for instance his latest collection of lights, combining textures created by artificial intelligence with digital renders to turn flat sheets of aluminium into three dimensional sculptural, alien-like pieces.

Despite this embracing of the latest technological innovations, there looked to be a determined backlash against the more Instagram friendly installations that had previously dominated the show. These had, in recent years, drawn in many a visitor and influencer keen to grab an image worthy of social media. This year however the emphasis seemed to be more on the experiential. With more pared-back scenography, designers ensured that the pieces and their craftsmanship took centre stage.

For some though, maximalism was still going nowhere anytime soon. Often a polarising aesthetic, mixing bold colours with just as striking patterns and textures, there were some designers that defied the move to a more restrained, calming palette. Some came from small boutique designers such as La DoubleJ, who transformed eight bathrooms around the city house venues with their daring printed papers. Others came from the more expected, such as Dolce and Gabbana. With sales of furniture growing exponentially after restrictions were eased, this proved one of many luxury fashion houses keen to create an impact and improve their market share. Big names were in force, with Dior collaborating with designer Philippe Starck to reimagine their iconic Medallion Chair. A reflection perhaps of a show that seamlessly combined the traditional with a definite eye to the future. n woodhouseandlaw.co.uk

Water ways

As the UK continues to experience longer and hotter summers with less rainfall, our gardens need to adapt. Elly West looks at how best tofuture-proof your garden to make it more resilient to the rising temperatures...

Climate change means we are all having to rethink the way we garden. If we want a low-maintenance garden that will largely look after itself without watering, we need plants that can cope with hot, dry weather. Bleached summer lawns are becoming the norm, as are gardens that are burnt out and fading from July onwards. But there are lots of ways we can future-proof our gardens to make them more resilient to what seem to be increasingly long British summers.

There’s no escaping the reality of climate change. The UK’s 10 hottest summers on record have all been in the last 20 years. The Met Office predicts that over the next 50 years, UK winters could be up to 4.5°C warmer and 30 per cent wetter, and summers up to 6°C warmer and 60 per cent drier, and we’re particularly vulnerable in the south of the country. There’s an urgent need to cut greenhouse gas emissions and remove carbon dioxide from the air, which means our gardens increasingly need to cope with the extremes of prolonged drought and heavy storms.

This is not a new concept. Scientists have been concerned about global warming since the 1950s. Beth Chatto, with her ‘right plant, right place’ approach, planted her famous gravel garden over 30 years ago as an experiment to see which plants would survive in full sun without any irrigation, in an area of Essex with low annual rainfall. A quick search on Amazon finds a wide selection of books available on the themes of drought-friendly plants and waterefficient gardening. It’s a consideration for all gardeners going forwards, as we have to cope with heatwaves and changing seasons, and should therefore select plants for their ability to cope with their conditions, not just for how they look.

When choosing plants that will survive through periods of drought, go for ones that originate from hot, dry countries, that have naturally adapted to these conditions. There are plenty of hardy succulents or Mediterranean plants from mountainous regions that naturally experience hot summers, as well as cold winters. Narrow-leaved ornamental grasses are good contenders, as are strappy-leaved agapanthus and phormiums. Succulent leaves that store water in them, such as sedums, or silvery leaves that reflect the heat, such as lavender and artemisia, will also fair well. The rhizomes of bearded irises will happily sit in the baking sun. Hairy leaves, such as those of Stachys byzantina or verbascums, are another plant adaptation that makes them more drought-resistant. Sea hollies have deep tap roots that seek out water, and tough silvery leaves that don’t suffer in drought.

There are also lots of annuals that flower well in dry conditions, especially if you’ve grown them in situ from seed, so they’ve had a chance to develop a good root system without being disturbed. Bristol-based garden designer Jane Porter included a selection of drought-tolerant annuals in her garden at RHS Chelsea Flower Show this year, such as Cerinthe major, poppies and love-in-a-mist ( Nigella damascena ).

New perennials should ideally go in the ground when they are still small, and in spring as the soil is warming up, so that they get chance to establish before a cold, damp winter. Prepare the soil well by adding organic matter such as compost or well-rotted manure, which will help it to absorb and retain water. Water well after planting and add a thick layer of mulch to help conserve moisture in the ground. This could be a deep layer of compost, well-rotted manure or bark chippings, or a layer of gravel. Gravel is a particularly good mulch around succulents, which may rot in winter if they are subject to prolonged damp and cold around the base. Consider replacing a border or an area of lawn with a gravel garden, and group together plants that have similar watering requirements to avoid over or under-watering.

We should all avoid wasting water, but if hosepipe bans are in place, then you will need to prioritise the areas of the garden that need it, such as pots, the veg plot and newly planted trees and shrubs. Don’t worry about the lawn. Even if it’s parched and bare, the lawn is the first thing to recover once the rain returns. Move pots into the shade temporarily, so you don’t have to water them as often. Water in the mornings and evenings when it’s cooler, and direct the water at the base of the plants so it gets down to the roots rather than splashing on the leaves, which can cause them to scorch, and also just evaporates before it gets to the roots. Re-use grey water from the house if you can, from sinks and baths. Install water butts on downpipes from your house, shed and garage to collect as much precious rainwater as possible to use on the garden. Avoid frequent shallow watering, instead water less frequently but with greater quantities that will soak down into the soil and encourage deeper roots that are better able to withstand drought.

Regular checks on your garden’s general health are also a good idea, so you can alleviate any additional stress from pests and diseases, or competition for limited water from weeds. n ellyswellies.co.uk

Plant of the Month: Sempervivums

These easy-to-grow, tough little succulents won’t bat an eyelid when water deprived and blasted with sunshine. Also known as houseleeks, they are extremely tolerant of cold and frosts, although they won’t like the combination of cold and damp, so need free-draining soil. They look great in pots, shallow bowls or troughs, where you can mix in grit or sharp sand with the compost to improve drainage, and perhaps move to somewhere sheltered from heavy rain in winter. They are good in groups, where they’ll create a mosaic of patterns, colours and textures. Alternatively, grow them in a rock garden or gravel garden, or on a green roof. There are lots of different varieties available with slight variations in colour and form, so are nice to collect if you are that way inclined. Most are evergreen, with rosettes of pointy, fleshy leaves in greens, greys and purple-reds. They also send up fascinating and exotic-looking starry flowers on fleshy stalks. I love the way they spread so easily, producing ‘babies’ around their edges, that can then be pulled away from the parent plant and potted up individually to make free new plants.

This superb development of 7 luxury apartments was built approximately 5 years ago by Ashford Homes, a much renowned local developer. All of the apartments are of a generous size, however, number 6 is quite unique with a larger square footage providing very good-sized accommodation which includes 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a large sitting room, fully fitted kitchen and utility room. Together with 2 good sized private roof terraces.

The specification throughout the development is of a very high standard and the property is presented immaculately throughout. It has the benefit of lift access to the first floor as well as the stunning staircase within the large reception hall and also a double carport with electric charging point and good sized storage area to the rear.

In addition to the high-quality kitchen and bathroom fitments there is oak wood flooring throughout much of the property, together with a built-in sound system and air circulation system. This is a very special apartment, and a viewing is strongly recommended to fully appreciate it.

This superb first floor apartment with the benefit of lift access is set in a quiet residential area on the southerly upper slopes of Bath. The development of 7 apartments is set in attractive grounds of approximately 2 acres comprising woodland and some communal gardens. From the upper west facing terrace of the apartment there are fine views over the City of Bath and beyond and close by are wonderful walks in the open countryside and national trust land.

Cobb Farr, 35 Brock Street, The Circus, Bath; Tel: 01225 333332

Claverton Down, Bath

•3 bedrooms

•First floor apartment with lift access

•2 large private terraces

•Parking barn with storage and charging point

•Close to nearby National Trust land

•Very high specification throughout

•Gated access

Price £1,350,000

Winsley, Old Village

£700,000

An Idyllic 3 bedroom cottage full of character and charm enjoying peaceful, private garden, set within the much sought after village of Winsley.

• 3 bedroom cottage, one with en suite

• Study area

• French doors leading to garden

• Private garden with timber built workshop

• Located in a much sought after village

• Planning permission for a further bedroom and en suite

Royal Crescent, Bath

OIEO £900,000

An elegant, immaculately presented 2nd floor 2 bedroom apartment with direct lift access, located in a world class address, enjoying stunning elevated views over the Royal Crescent.

• 2 lovely double bedrooms, 2 bathrooms

• Beautiful formal drawing room

• Open plan kitchen/dining room

• Plenty of built in storage

• Direct lift access

• Stunning views

Upper Church Street, Bath

£795,000

An elegant Grade II listed, beautifully proportioned 3 bedroom ground and lower ground floor maisonette, located in a fine position, adjacent to the Royal Crescent, within 5 minutes-walk of Bath city centre.

• 3 double bedrooms

• Elegantly proportioned formal drawing room

• Well-appointed kitchen / breakfast room

• Large bath and shower room

• Separate utility room / boiler room