OKA Magazine: Christmas 2022 (US Edition)

Give Your Home a Tale to Telloka.com

Romance, revelry, first-class naps… this pair has seen it all

GEORGE CLUB CHAIR AND COLERIDGE SOFA

Welcome

Is there a more magical idea than Christmas in the English countryside?

The special combination of time and place banishes even the frostiest of blues. Fortunately, the enchanting atmosphere we Brits are so lucky to have can be achieved anywhere. You just need a few key ingredients, which you’ll find in these pages: the glow of candlelight, your softest throw draped over a comfy chair, a bit of greenery and a crackling fire. Add a few (or quite a few) twinkling ornaments, a rousing game of charades and the aroma of something delicious, and you're there.

If you need more help, look to the gift recommendations we've gathered from some of our most discerning friends, and treat yourself to tablescaping inspiration from hosting expert India Hicks.

Wishing you and yours happiness and health for the coming year.

Sue Jones Co-Founder and Creative Director of OKA

OKA.COMSTORES

Browse the entire OKA collection online. Your new favorite pieces could be on their way to you in just a click.

Our first US stores are now open in Houston and Dallas, with a Westport, CT location coming soon.

collection of lifelike faux flower stems and ready-styled bunches add that final flourish to your home.

All About OKA

Since our founding, we’ve been on a mission to create pieces that make time with friends and family more memorable. Living beautifully is all about sharing, after all.

For more than 23 years, we’ve partnered with talented artisans all over the world to bring our ideas to life. Our furniture and homeware prioritize beauty, comfort and style, with each piece chosen for its integrity, rather than because it fits a prescribed look. The magic of OKA is in the mix: handpicked global treasures, rich textures, intriguing patterns and timeless furniture profiles. It’s ever changing but unwaveringly British. Elegant and easygoing, sophisticated but never stiff.

Accents with Character

Discover a wealth of unusual statement pieces that add a dash of drama or make the ideal finishing touch.

Effortless British Style

Our style is a reflection of our home country: full of warmth and personality. A blend of layered pieces creates a look that feels perfectly put together but never predictable.

A Love Affair with Living Well

We take a relaxed approach, believing that homes should never be too precious or perfect to be enjoyed, and we’re here to inspire you to do the same.

The Most

Wonderful Time of the Year

Your turn to host this holiday season? Bringing a little magic home is simple with our festive countdown, which takes you from decking the halls all the way through Christmas Day, with a few gift ideas to boot.

Dress to Impress

The Gift Edit

WITH PANDORA SYKES

The journalist, broadcaster and author of How Do We Know We’re Doing It Right?, a collection of witty essays that explore the anxieties and myths of modern life, is an avid reader. Here, she picks a playful gift lineup to perfect a bibliophile's hideaway, including feline accessories, that all-important reading light, and plenty of calming natural tones and textures.

For more gift ideas, visit oka.com/us/gifts

Pandora Sykes

Clockwise, from top right: Bobina Bobble Mirror $995 Liaodong Pot Emerald $225 Sorano Serving Bowl $75 Lakadema Leopard Bookends $95 Arzella Bowl $110 Calabash Table Lamp Saffron $275 (seen with Serigraph Shade $195) Miniature Faux Fiddle Plant $110

The bobbin is having a moment, but there’s something timeless about this mirror”

Tis the Night Before Christmas...

And no one sits idle ’til everything’s perfect for Santa’s arrival. Candles are glowing to light up his way, plus a treat or two waiting (to munch on his sleigh).

The Gift Edit

WITH PAULA SUTTON

Is it any wonder that the stylist, writer and creator of popular interiors blog Hill House Vintage has curated a set of gift recommendations that seem bound for a classic and colorful English country house? If the loved ones on your list are fans of the style Sutton describes as “vintage, chintzy, home-cooked and slow-paced,” you can’t lose with these ideas. For more gift ideas, visit oka.com/us/gifts

Clockwise, from top right: Koralli Pillow Cover Red Madder $80 Faux Tea Rose Stem Pink $25 Fenghuang Lidded Pot $295 Mattaban Pet Bed Large $650 Dachshund Dog Bookends $95 Talasa Tray Chinese Red $175 Kraak Breakfast Cup and Saucer $65 Set ofThree Odonata Box Files $75

Paula Sutton

I love seeing china on display; this cup and saucer is the perfect addition to a cabinet”

The Festive

Hit

The Gift Edit

WITH JACK GUINNESS

The British GQ Contributing Editor and author of The Queer Bible—an illustrated collection of essays from Guinness’ heroes about LGBTQ+ icons—is well-known for his hosting prowess. Fittingly, he focuses his gift list on entertaining in style, from the pop of the cork to the perfect recovery setup for the morning after.

For more gift ideas, visit oka.com/us/gifts

Clockwise, from top right: Gonglin Tray $195 Faux Shagreen Backgammon Set $1,995 Haoma Floor Pillow $495 Coleridge Armchair Pure Navy Linen $1,695 Fyli Vase Small | Distressed Blue $40 Areca Pillow Cover Mustard $75 Artemisia PillowCover Gold/Teal $90

Jack Guinness

I love a tray. Lean it against the wall to create instant art while not in use, or add it to a floor pillow or trunk and you have a table”

In Good Sprits

Whether your preferred digestif is shaken, stirred or, in fact, best served with crackers, make sure it looks the part with pretty, patterned glassware and china

And That’s a Wrap

When it’s time to hit the hay, an assortment of glowing hurricane lamps, sumptuously soft throws in faux fur and alpaca wool, and plumped-up pillows create the ultimate retreat—for you or your guests

our entire collection at oka.com

Tailored to Perfection

Introducing Tailored by OKA, our handmadeto-order sofa service, with more than 1,000 combinations to choose from

The brief was simple: to create exceptionally comfortable, well-crafted sofas that could be passed down for generations. However, finding a manufacturer to collaborate with—one that shared OKA’s ethos and passion—took time. Staffed by some of the most skilled craftspeople around, the family-run business we chose has been making furniture for decades in North Carolina.

“Each of the sofas is beautifully uncomplicated; with Tailored we really wanted craftsmanship and comfort to take center stage, through the shapes, structure and even the stitching,” explains Sue Jones, our Co-Founder and Creative Director.

The collection’s sofa, armchair and footstool shapes are a combination of classic and contemporary styles. Each design is available in stonewashed or laundered Belgian linen and our “clever” fabrics: clever velvet, which has all the tactile appeal of the traditional material, but won’t fade, mark or stain, and clever linen, a more durable, colorfast and moisture-wicking linen. Each is offered in a variety of shades; from a neutral oyster hue to a rich charcoal.

Tailored by OKA - How it Works

Choose from several styles, which can be crafted in different fabrics, with sustainably sourced birch legs stained to a light or dark finish. To find the perfect material and color for your home, visit oka.com/us/custom-furniture

1. Select a Style

To begin designing, select a style and get creative with our online customization tool. Alternatively, visit one of our stores, where our team will be happy to help.

Beale

A contemporary classic, with a smart, clean-cut silhouette

Availableas: Armchair, Chair and a Half, Loveseat, 7ft Sofa

Egerton

The ultimate in comfort, with sumptuous seat cushions

Availableas: Armchair, Chair and a Half, Loveseat, 7ft Sofa

Radcliffe

A minimalist’s dream, with clean lines and flared arms

Availableas: 6ft Sofa, 7ft Sofa

Highmore

Timeless English style, with Italian webbing in its seat

Availableas: Armchair, Loveseat, 7ft Sofa

Fanshawe

A versatile footstool to pair with any OKA sofa

Availableas: Rectangular, Square

2. Choose Your Fabric and Legs

Velvet or linen? A relaxed vibe or a smart aesthetic? Then there are the colors…

If you can’t decide, take home up to five complimentary swatches and make sure to ask the team about our “clever” fabrics.

3. Work Begins

Once your order has been confirmed, our makers get to work on your design and our Customer Care team will be in touch to arrange delivery.

4.

Your Tailored Piece Arrives at Home

The item is unpacked and installed, ready to enjoy.

Home for Christmas

WITH INDIA HICKS

We had the pleasure of meeting the designer, author and—most notably for this occasion—entertainer extraordinaire at her mother's house in England, where we talked holiday traditions, tablescaping and decorating

India Hicks’ storied heritage is embedded in every nook and cranny of The Grove, located in bucolic Oxfordshire. From a set of interlocking Hs that decorate the facade of the house— an emblem of her father, the late interior decorator David Hicks—to the corridors of old photographs of her mother, Lady Pamela Hicks, who was Lady-in-Waiting to Queen Elizabeth II, it’s a property that’s positively bursting with tales and memories. The perfect setting then for a festive family reunion; while Hicks spends most of her time in the Bahamas, a holiday celebration in England is always in the calendar.

“Our Christmases are very traditional in many ways,” muses Hicks. The big day starts with opening stockings, followed by a full English breakfast and a trip to church, all gearing up to the main event: an early dinner with all the trimmings. "It's an entirely British Christmas menu," she says, "from the roast potatoes, turkey and stuffing to the mince pies and Christmas pudding. Our American guests are certainly surprised if they find a penny in their dessert that nearly chips off a tooth!”

There is, of course, a beautifully decorated table to match such a feast. “It takes very little effort to make the table feel utterly warm and inviting,” Hicks says. While she likes to mix up her tablescapes, she has one golden rule: “For a festive feel, more is more is more. This is not an occasion for less, in my opinion.” It's all about layering in abundance, from traditional Christmas crackers (which, when in the Caribbean, she will lug out from iconic London department store Peter Jones) to candles, glassware and napkins.

When styling, let your surroundings be your starting point; here, the paneled walls of the dining room guide the tabletop. Created by the famed 20th-century British painter and illustrator Rex Whistler for Hicks’ grandparents, the vignettes tell (and hold) a fascinating story. Originally designed for the Hicks’ London home, each panel details an element of their lives—had they not been painted on panels and relocated, they would not have survived WWII. ”They anchor the room, they command it. The palette needs to work with, not against them,“ explains Hicks.

Every Christmas table needs a centerpiece; Hicks’ chosen silverware has been passed down for generations. Paired with a faux wreath it adds essential festive drama. ”OKA's foliage is very convincing, which is hard to find,“ says Hicks, ”but mixing in some pheasant feathers from the garden makes it feel a little wild, and certainly not predictable; I hate predictable.“

To discover more of Hicks’ world, follow her on Instagram @indiahicksstyle

The low-key colors of the chairs and plates, mixed in with my family’s silver, works perfectly”

Adam