9000
9001
BEAUTIFUL OLD HOMES
DECOR ATING & SHOPPING
GARDEN ANTIQUES INSPIRATION & VINTAGE
RENOVATION & MAINTENANCE
PERIODLIVING BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING PERIOD HOMES MAGAZINE
APRIL 2021
Homes with history From a rustic farmhouse to a Tudor cottage
Traditional
treats Indulgent recipes for afternoon tea
Celebrate Spring Set the scene with floral displays, vintage pieces and pretty accessories in delicate prints
FABULOUS FLOORING
Timeless stone, natural wood and decorative tiles
GARDEN INSPIRATION SEASONAL CONTAINERS DAZZLING DAHLIAS JOYFUL TULIPS
Illustration Sarah Overs Photograph David Lloyd
Editor’s Letter
ntil last spring, the concept of working full-time from home was unfathomable to me. I loved the buzz of being in the office with the team – bouncing ideas off each other, sharing lunchtime walks and sampling home bakes. I made assumptions about remote workers on other teams, imagining them as outsiders who were less committed to their roles. But having worked from home for the past year, I now see things very differently. The PL team has stayed close – largely thanks to video meetings – and being at home hasn’t diminished our passion for the job – or sense of humour. None of us would have chosen this enforced period of reclusion, but we’ve made the most of it. On the eve of the first lockdown, my husband and I joined the long queue at Ikea to buy desks and chairs, and turned our ‘junk room’ (aka the dining room) into a home office. Over time we’ve decluttered the space, but as we believed its use to be temporary, it remained low on the decorating priority list. However, one year on, we consider this a key room in the house, where we will be spending a lot more time in future. If you find yourself in a similar situation, then don’t miss Features Writer Holly Reaney’s lovely ideas for creating a home office that complements a period property, and gives you as much work/life separation as possible (page 98), whether that’s carving out a corner of the living room or investing in a shepherd’s hut. One aspect of lockdown that I enjoyed last year was being able to spend more time in the garden – lunching on the patio, watching our cats’ ongoing standoff with the local pigeons, and doing a spot of deadheading between meetings. So, I’m delighted that spring is finally upon us. It’s a season that signifies new beginnings, which I hope this year will be in more ways than one. To get you in the mood, the issue is packed with beautiful garden ideas (from page 113), while Style Editor Pippa Blenkinsop has created the most joyful scenes of flowers, vintage gems and Easter treats to inspire (page 22). Finally, if you feel spurred on to refresh your home, then subscribe to receive a free Annie Sloan Chalk Paint set worth £24.95 (page 46) – it’s perfect for a creative upcycling project. Enjoy the issue! Melanie Griffiths Editor, Period Living
Period Living 3
Decorating & shopping
Homes
13
Journal
19
Shop for Easter treats
20 22
Welcome spring with the latest interiors offerings and news
Create a tea-party table with pretty pastel homeware inspired by wildlife and seasonal blooms
Plates shopping These beautiful dishes are perfect for serving tasty meals and bakes ON THE COVER
37
Bright and beautiful
48
The colours of spring
62
Spring styling
Embrace the seasonal magic by styling your home with uplifting florals and delicate vintage pieces
Features
72
With a six-month deadline, Caroline and Martin restored their Victorian townhouse
Margot and Harm Pustjens transformed every room of their farmhouse, along with the garden ON THE COVER
In the frame
Lucy Dawson has brought her artistic touch to the Tudor home she shares with her partner Olly ON THE COVER
30
Made in Britain
81
Antiques journal
139
Woodland walks
145
Food journal
Happy place
A big change led Tilly Wood to the small 17th-century cottage that became her treasured home
81
147
We visit artist Angela Harding as she captures nature in her lino prints and wood engravings
Discover the latest antiques trends and hear collectors’ stories
As the seasons turn, get outside and explore the natural world
Eateries, edibles and kitchen essentials for keen home cooks ON THE COVER
Recipes
Treat yourself to an afternoon tea at home with these delicious and traditional dainty bakes
147
20
19 Cover Styling Pippa Blenkinsop Photograph Kasia Fiszer Period Living 7
48
113
Advice & inspiration
85 89 98 104 109
House journal New products and expert advice for improving a period home ON THE COVER
Flooring ideas
Set the scene for a beautiful interior with resilient wood, stone or tiled floor coverings
Home office inspiration Find out how to create the perfect work space to maximise your productivity
Gardens
113 116 122 130
Health check Expert Roger Hunt advises on caring for your front door
133 122
The latest garden products and horticultural advice
Spring showstoppers ON THE COVER
Garden designer Isabelle Palmer reveals how to create versatile seasonal containers
Project journal Be inspired by these stunning home and garden renovations
Garden journal
Regulars
11 46
Your journal We share readers’ letters, artworks and photographs
Subscription offer This month get a free Annie Sloan paint set worth £24.95 when you subscribe to Period Living
Floral melody We visit Sue Martin’s delightful cottage garden that brims with the bright tones of her National Collection of geums ON THE COVER
Pippa’s plot
Period Living’s Style Editor shares her passion for tulips from her Cotswold allotment ON THE COVER
Garden advice
Discover the myriad varieties of dahlia and how to get the most from the dazzling blooms
72
READER INSPIRATION
BEYOND THE HOUSE
I always look forward to receiving Period Living every month, but during this past year the magazine has been even more appreciated. I find so much inspiration on the pages and I adore old buildings and the beauty and history associated with them. We moved into our period home three years ago, and I love living here. I’ve recently started to look into the social history of my home with the help of the local library and my own searches in the census. I’m finding it fascinating to learn all about the people who used to live here. I would love to see a similar feature in your magazine, telling the story of the people who used to live in a house. However ordinary the people were, their lives tell us about the era the houses were built in and why they were designed in the way they were. Mary Vincent
STA R
R
8 T T
E
E
L
I just want to compliment Carole Williams on her fabulous bedroom, featured in last month’s Your Journal. I especially like the cushions she made from a beloved old jumper! Georgina Davis
Readers’ letters, projects and views on the magazine
CAPTURED IN PAINT
My mum has been an avid reader of Period Living for many years now and will often talk with us about features that have piqued her interest. Due to lockdown, it has been difficult to visit her and my dad down in Sidmouth, and they have yet to visit our new home. So, I thought I would surprise my mum by sending in my watercolour painting of our new 1919 workers’ cottage. It is part of a row of four semi-detached cottages and was designed with a nod towards the fashion of the day: pebbledashing. While my wife and I both swore we’d never move into a pebble-rendered house, this one completely captured our hearts, along with its beautiful cottage garden. I painted the house from the end of the garden, as I wanted to capture the way the greens of the plants and foliage set off the vibrant orange of the original clay tiles of the roof and chimney. Hopefully my mum will get to see it in person soon. David Garnett
Get in touch: periodliving@futurenet.com
This month’s star letter writer receives a beautiful Italian handcrafted, red leather marbled-edged journal, filled with acid-free paper, worth £50 from Life Of Riley
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Do you love reading Period Living magazine? Then tell us your favourite features or ideas for other articles. We’d love to see your renovation projects, too, from kitchen makeovers to upholstery DIYs. If you are a keen gardener then let us know your top tips and send a picture of your garden. Share your thoughts and projects via email or social media @periodlivingmagazine
@PeriodLivingMag
@period_living Period Living 11
ki nso p n
le
Fe atu re
pa p i P
B
Welcome spring with the latest nature-inspired prints, homewares and artisan creations
Bold
bo
ca ni ta
Is your home office in need of a refresh? Renowned for its vibrant use of colour and pattern, and its twist on traditional toiles, Manuel Canovas at Colefax & Fowler has launched a brand new collection of exuberant fabrics and wallpapers, ranging from striking ikats to tropical embroideries, which take inspiration from across history and the globe. Drawing on antique engravings of lush tropical fruit, this Balangan paper in Kiwi, £79 per roll, brings zest and vitality.
ls
Period Living 13
Blueberry in Mellow Green Half Dozen in Midnight
TUNE IN Launching just in time for your spring decorating and garden projects, Roost is a new online TV show packed with inspiration for turning your house into a home. Airing weekly from 10 March, each episode will offer homeimprovement and garden design advice and styling tips, plus there will be a £1,000 giveaway. Head to the Homes Network channel on Youtube to watch.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME Named after her new house, Hillslie, the new collection from fabric designer Susie Hetherington celebrates the sanctuary that is her home. From chickens pecking under the runner beans, to a first crop on a blueberry bush, and the canopy of sapling oaks on the path running to the woods, the designs capture the things that make Susie’s home so special. Drawing on the design heritage of her Cotswold surroundings, the detailed designs have a distinct Arts and Crafts feel and are brought to life on linen union in a beautiful array of soft blues and greens with a hint of blush, all £56 per m.
Filigree in Pale Blush
Canopy in Keen Blue
Vine in Mellow Green
MINI TREND LEAFY GREEN
S
As the garden springs into life, bring its verdant shades into your home with Astier de Villatte this array of nature-inspired pieces Matricaria leaf plate, £120, Small cabbage Summerill & bowl in Fennel, Bishop £15, Daylesford
ing cle r p a
n
Make doing the dishes a more pleasurable task with a beautiful botanical teatowel from We Love Cushions, £12.99 each. They’re so pretty you could even hang them as wall art!
Green Garden Study mug, £7.49, Gisela Graham
Robin & Wren 30cm drum lampshade, £78, Hannah Madden Exotic Leaf embroidered napkins, £65 for 4, Oka
NATURAL SELECTION Renowned for its romantic wallpapers, Woodchip & Magnolia is launching its first collection of 16 carefully curated paint colours to complement five new wallpaper designs. A rich, earthy palette, Petrichor has its roots in the Lancashire Moors and the transition of the seasons. ‘Now more than ever I’ve felt a connection to nature and the ethereal beauty of the great outdoors,’ says Nina Tarnowski, founder and creative director. ‘Petrichor draws inspiration from my morning runs through the countryside, aspects of the wild woodlands and the ability to see the beauty in everyday.’
From left: Cotton, Magnolia, Pink Cloud, First Light, Hare, Peat, Drizzle, Turton 14 Period Living
Journal
asonal e S
to
s he uc
Looking to make your Easter table eggs-tra special? Emma Bridgewater has added the adorable new Easter Egg Hunt and Wildflower Pink Daisy designs to its collection. Perfect for serving Easter bakes and treats, the pieces, from £12.95 for a 6.5-inch plate, can be easily mixed and matched with its existing designs such as the cheery Buttercup, and there’s also a pretty Garden Easter Egg Hunt teatowel, £12.
SWEET TREATS Indulge loved ones with a beautiful chocolate Easter egg. Here’s our pick of the prettiest, from top: handpainted Cockerel egg, £95 Fortnum & Mason; Cotswold Lambs egg, £16, Daylesford; papier-mâché egg with milk chocolate eggs, £6.25, Bettys
STYLE WATCH Mid-century meets mellow tones and earthy textures in the new Modern Mediterranean look from John Lewis & Partners. Inspired by the design and culture of Southern France, the laid-back style sees sleek seating teamed with the unbleached tones of terracotta, plaster and pistachio, and natural materials such as rattan to create a relaxed sunbaked feel. Platform medium two-seater sofa in Hope Grey, £1,799; Hendricks loveseat in Harriet Mustard Linen, £699; Tuck armchair in Relaxed Linen Cinnabar, £399; West Elm Pillar glass coffee table, £369; Skye Jute rug, £80, and Jute pouffes, both £79; distressed Medallion pouffe, £90, all John Lewis & Partners.
Bracken, Moss, Forest, Mallard, Reservoir, Coal, Moorland, Gorse, all £45 for 2.5ltrs Period Living 15
TALENT SPOT TATIQUE
Clockwise from top: Recycled tin art with (from left) sparrow, coal tit and siskin birds and tulips on cotton reels, £28 each; recycled tin art bunny in teapot, £14; recycled tin art Easter chickens and antique domino, £20; recycled tin art bunnies and primroses, £29; recycled tin art goldfinch family, £58
16 Period Living
Fusing a lifelong passion for antiques and collecting with her expertise in silversmithing, Sian Peters of Tatique transforms vintage tins into beautiful and surreal pieces of ‘tin art’. Journey down the rabbit hole into Sian’s creative world and you’ll find bunnies popping out of teapots, birds perched on tulips that meander from ornate vases, bow-tied budgies nestled among flowers, and chickens standing proudly on dominoes. Sian’s whimsical creations are the culmination of experience working in an array of different mediums. Having studied painting and print making at university, she then trained as a silversmith, continuing to work with and teach the craft for 15 years. Later her passion for vintage led to the creation of accessories from old textiles. ‘I’ve always loved going round antiques shops and junk shops, hoarding and collecting since I was a child,’ says Sian. ‘I was making things with vintage textiles until I came across a beautiful Christmas biscuit tin at a car-boot sale; I thought I could use it to make baubles, so I applied the cutting skills I developed as a silversmith to tin and things went from there.’ Wherever Sian goes she is on the look out for beautiful tins to repurpose. ‘I buy a lot on Ebay and people also give them to me,’ she says. ‘I have become friendly with some people who work in charity shops who will save them for me, and then I’ll make a donation.’ Some of the tins Sian uses are mass produced, so there’s no love lost over cutting these up, but she is more selective with antique examples. ‘I wouldn’t cut up a beautiful Edwardian tin or any in great condition, but a rusty or bashed up one I feel fine about transforming into something that can be enjoyed.’ Occasionally she’ll come across a ‘keeper not a cutter’ - so called by her Tin Smiths Facebook group of fellow tin artists from across the world – which she adds to her collection. Sometimes an idea for a finished piece will immediately spring to mind when she comes across a tin, other times she will cut up the tins and play with compositions on a flat surface. ‘To cut out the shapes I use a jeweller’s piercing saw with a very fine blade, 0.4mm wide,’ she explains. ‘It’s the same technique as jewellers use to cut delicate pieces of silver and gold.’ She then spends a lot of time smoothing rough edges, before soldering the pieces into position and mounting them on plinths, be it a cotton reel or letterpress block. The crafting process can take anywhere from an hour for smaller pieces, to up to 20 hours for the larger. Depending on the age of the tin each one presents its own unique challenges. ‘Some of the modern tins are difficult to saw as they are very flimsy; the older tins, which are thicker, tend to be easier as you have more control.’ Likewise, the modern tins don’t discolour, but the older Edwardian tins will when soldered. Beautiful curios for displaying in a cabinet or on a mantelpiece, a selection of Sian’s recycled tin art assemblages, including an array of Easterthemed creations, can be bought from Etsy and she also undertakes commissions at her Lancashire studio. (etsy.com/uk/shop/Tatique)
Shopping
Goldfinch cushion, £45, Particle Press Fiori ceramic platter, £45, Oliver Bonas
Bees mini stoneware jug, £10, Sophie Allport Handpainted glass Pansy carafe and tumbler, £72, Petra Palumbo
Mr & Mrs Bunny decorations, £30 for the pair, Ella James
Easter delights
Bunny ears napkin rings, £12 for 4, John Lewis & Partners
Embrace the magic of spring by laying a beautiful tea-party table with pretty pastel homeware and treats inspired by British wildlife and seasonal blooms Olney teapot in Flax Blue, £25, Neptune Caramel-filled chocolate Easter selection, £7, Bettys
Feature Sophie Warren-Smith
Garden Geese tin egg container, £4.99, The Contemporary Home
Hand-blockprinted Pink Tulip tablecloth, £85, Molly Mahon Lazy rabbit cupcake plate, £12, Rockett St George
The Libby bouquet, £42, Bloom & Wild
Bright New Morning Rabbits & Kits half-pint mug, £19.95, Emma Bridgewater Period Living 19
Shopping
Kintaro dinner plate in Indigo, £90 for 4, Oka
1948 dinner plate, £48, Jonathan Adler
Bitossi Home green patterned fruit 26.5cm plate, £16, Amara
Jolie blue 32cm plate €29.95, Pip Studio Foxgloves dinner plate, £32, Susie Watson Designs
t e a up l P
Italian Splatterware dinner plate in cream/pink, £18, Montes & Clark
From pretty nature-inspired designs to statement splatters, these beautiful dishes are perfect for serving tasty meals and spring bakes
Wildflowers Pink Daisy 8.5-inch plate, £17.95, Emma Bridgewater
Cream/Leaf enamel 21cm plate £12, Toast Micuit Jellyfish dinner plate, £32, Micucci Interiors
Marimekko Siirtolapuutarha 25cm plate, £25, Abode Living
20 Period Living
Handmade Moroccan tile plate, £72, Katie Almond at Made by Hand Online
Feature Sophie Warren-Smith
Bees stoneware side plate, £9, Sophie Allport
Ambrosia dinner plate, £72 for 6, Sophie Conran
The joys of Spring Celebrate the magic of the season by filling your home with scented bulbs and fresh blooms, botanical bakes, floral prints, pretty pastel accessories and elegant vintage finds
Feature and styling Pippa Blenkinsop | Photographs Kasia Fiszer
Location courtesy of C’est Tout antiques barn, Instagram @cesttoutinteriors
Decorating
DRESS TO IMPRESS Left: An antique white painted dresser base and carved Tunisian shelf, set against beautiful French panelling, all from Cotswold antiques barn C’est Tout, makes the perfect place to pay homage to spring. Style the scene with rustic French and floral finds alongside an array of vintage pots and vases filled with spring bulbs, cut tulips, narcissi and hyacinths. PRETTY DETAILS Above: A beautiful carrot cake topped with orange cream cheese frosting and dried edible rose petals, baked by Spring Bake, makes a pretty showpiece set on a handmade stand from Marigold & Lettuce. Add instant cheer by pinning up seasonal artworks, such as Unity Coombes’ mini duck and rabbit paintings and vintage-inspired floral scented sachets from The Blueberry Patch. Period Living 23
TIME FOR TEA Above: Lift spirits by serving a vintage-inspired afternoon tea. For a pretty yet rustic spread, lay a chippy painted table with potted bulbs and mix and match vintage plates and teacups. Add a floral flourish by decorating bakes with edible flowers, piling them up on a beautiful handcrafted pedestal cake stand, and serve with vintage cake forks and block-printed napkins. SIGNS OF SPRING Right: Styling up your dining space with nature-inspired pieces will make for a cheery seasonal setting. Think beautiful prints by British artisans, such as Isla Middleton’s Spring Foraging poster, which can be easily displayed on the wall in a magnetic poster hanger, alongside botanical wall charts. For a relaxed feel, arrange assorted vintage chairs topped with ditsy pastel cushions and create a whimsical centrepiece with armfuls of blossom collected on April walks. 24 Period Living
Decorating
Decorating
SIMPLE PLEASURES Left: Getting out on a country bike ride, with the fresh spring air gushing past, is a real tonic for the soul. Make the ride even sweeter by stopping off to buy a bunch of heavenly scented narcissi; their floral fragrance drifting up on the breeze as they bob about in your basket is guaranteed to put a spring in your step. Use them alongside sprigs of blossom and tulips to add the finishing touches to a wreath of pussy willow. POTTING UP Above: Create a unique botanical display by filling vintage finds with spring bulbs and cut flowers. Opt for an array of vessels with sculptural shapes and time-worn patinas, such as vintage French confit pots, urn-shaped Dartmouth vases, weathered watering cans, and even vintage enamel colanders for a quirky feel. Keep your eyes peeled at fleamarkets and car-boot sales for items to repurpose. Period Living 27
PAGE 22/23 Carved Tunisian shelf, £220, and painted dresser base, £680, C’est Tout. On shelf: Vintage stoneware jars, £12 each, from a selection at C’est Tout; vintage French storage tins, stylist’s own, for similar try Etsy; French ceramic herb pots, £35 for the set, C’est Tout; spring Duck and Little Rabbit paintings, gouache on cotton paper, £30 each, Unity Coombes; vintage toleware chandelier, £180, C’est Tout. On dresser base from left to right: weighted French florist vase, £65, C’est Tout; artificial flowers, stylist’s own mixed with the Wildflower bunch, £60, The White Company; handmade nest, £10, C’est Tout; hanging mini eggs, £15 for 10, The White Company; green enamel colander and vintage French latte bowls, both stylist’s own; vintage French landscape painting, £120, C’est Tout; green enamel pot, for similar try Riess; Italian splatterware large oven dish, £70, Montes & Clark; white enamel jug, wooden trays and pink napkins, stylist’s own; vintage daffodil seed packet scented sachets, from £4, The Blueberry Patch at Etsy; vintage Dartmouth urn vases (used as bulb planters), stylist’s own, for similar try Ebay; large stoneware jam jar, £12, and cake knives, from a set of forks and knives, £25, all C’est Tout; handmade ceramic cake stand, from £50, Marigold & Lettuce; carrot cake topped with edible rose petals, £30, Spring Bake; vintage French confit pot, £130, C’est Tout; pink and white tulips, from £20 for 20 stems, Smith & Munson; vintage French books, £25, C’est Tout; mint green teacup, stylist’s own; vintage bird postcards, try Ebay. On floor: wooden trug, £45, C’est Tout; enamel bucket, stylist’s own, for similar try Ebay.
28 Period Living
PAGE 25 Spring Foraging linocut poster on recycled paper, £18, Isla Middleton; magnetic poster hanger, for similar try Postery; vintage wildflower wall chart; stylist’s own. Cushions on bench: Vintage sack cushions, £55 each, C’est Tout; large Moonflower linen cushion in Smokey Blue, £58, and violet Megha linen cushion, £56, both Susie Watson Designs; original French post sack cushion, £55, C’est Tout. On yellow chair: Catkin Sprig cushion, £45, Susie Watson Designs. For items on table see below. PAGE 24 On table, from top: Faux pear blossom stems, £68 for 4, Sophie Conran; green enamel pot, as before; vintage yellow French confit pot, £130, and vintage enamel coffee pot, £25, C’est Tout; ceramic cake stand, from £50, Marigold & Lettuce; white chocolate and raspberry blondies with edible flowers, £28 for 12, Spring Bake; vintage French transferware plates, £40 for 6; set of vintage cake knives and forks, £25, all C’est Tout; Dandelion/Cyclamen block-printed cotton napkins in pink, £3 each, Scarabee; teacup, as before.
PAGE 26 From left: Galvanised planter, for similar try Burford Garden Company; vintage wooden crate, £40, C’est Tout; Tulips, as before; Step Through lightweight bicycle, from £875, Temple Cycles; vintage bike, C’est Tout; cushions, Susie Watson Designs, as before, tied with Antique Rose naturally dyed ribbon, £3.50 from Edie Rose Ashley; faux pussy willow wreath, £55, Oka, embellished with fresh spring flowers; vintage garden sifters, large, £60, and medium, £35, C’est Tout; handmade nests and hanging mini eggs, as before; large vintage French sign, £150, C’est Tout; bulbs in vintage crate, stylist’s own.
PAGE 27 From left: green enamel colander, turquoise enamel jug and Dartmouth vase used as planter, stylist’s own; white enamel jug, as before; vintage watering can (holding tulips), £45, C’est Tout; green enamel pot, as before; aqua enamel wash bowl (used as planter), for similar try fleamarkets.
Engraved on memories
Artist Angela Harding loves to be outside enjoying the wonders of nature, while back in her garden studio she turns her careful observations of wildlife into intricately detailed lino prints and wood engravings that capture the magic of all she sees Words Mirjam Enzerink and Karen Darlow | Photographs Peggy Janssen/CocoFeatures 30 Period Living
Made in Britain
This image: Artist Angela Harding takes a sketchbook with her wherever she goes, always looking for ideas for her next lino print or wood engraving. Her favourite subjects are birds, but hares, foxes, deer and even whippets, Amy and Lily, and greyhound Syd sometimes feature Far left: Angela’s hand-printed lino-cut designs – two curlews and Highland warblers – drying in the ball rack Left: The finished blocks for a bird alphabet, a series of wood engravings Angela produced for an exhibition
A
ngela Harding’s bright and airy studio spans the bottom of her long, narrow garden. Picture windows give a panoramic view of the farmland beyond and the gentle rolling landscape of Rutland, Britain’s smallest county. From the decking outside, Angela watches and sketches fieldfares, redwings and hares, and in the distance by a ridge of trees she will sometimes spot a group of deer gathering at sunset or a fox skulking at dawn. Her favourite subjects, however, are birds. Not showy, exotic ones, but native and garden birds: the blackbirds nesting in the rose bush by the front door; thrushes pecking berries from the ivy; and the curious robin who watches her just as carefully as she watches him. ‘These birds are always there. They’re wild, but you can look them in the eye because they’re hungry and they dare to get close,’ says Angela. ‘It’s as though they’re letting us into their natural world and it’s fascinating. And of course their shapes intrigue me, too. Take the common
32 Period Living
blackbird, for instance. Look how powerful his silhouette is and how his colour contrasts with the green of the garden. Beautiful.’ Angela bends over a wood block at her work table in front of the window. A magnifying lamp enlarges the minute marks she makes with an engraving tool, and her nightjar design is almost finished. Only the tail has to be filled in. The bird’s back is made up of dozens of groups of fine lines, which look just like real feathers, and follow the characteristic contours of the nightjar and its pointed tail. ‘A friend of mine said recently: “as you work across the block you’re letting the light in”. I like that description,’ says Angela. ‘And it sums up the process perfectly. What remains is going to be black. What you see on the print is what is actually no longer there. A bird of light. I outline the birds in pencil first, then I fill in the details freehand with an engraving tool, cutting straight into the wooden block, which keeps it fresh and interesting to do,’ she adds. As a child, Angela was fascinated by birds. She collected feathers, hung posters and drawings of birds above her bed and bought binoculars from her first savings. As a fine art student in the 1980s, she studied birds minutely, occasionally picking up
Made in Britain
This page, clockwise from top left: Having first drawn her design straight onto a piece of Japanese vinyl, Angela works her chisel across the drawing; comparing a design in progress with a finished piece helps her to work out how much to cut; rolling out the ink thinly across the surface of the block, taking care not to fill it; the screenprinted coloured background is placed onto the ready-inked block; peeling the finished print off the ink block Opposite, bottom: Printing in the garden studio, with the Rochat press on the left of the picture Opposite, top: Angela’s sketchbook is packed with memories and inspiration
roadkill and bringing it home to draw. ‘I even cooked them to get a closer look at the anatomy. At that point my work was still very realistic,’ she says. In the years since then, Angela has worked as an artist in residence at a nearby school, and brought up her family, before focusing solely on her art practice in her garden studio. ‘Nowadays I work much more stylistically. I try to capture the essence of the bird and the atmosphere that nature produces rather than creating a literal description.’ Once her design is cut into the block, she prints off a series of black and white artist’s proofs to check the cuts are deep enough, that the feathers run nicely together, and to make sure she hasn’t cut too much away, although that rarely happens. ‘I’m dyslexic and I naturally think in reverse,’ says Angela. ‘The nature of what I do means that I’m always working in mirror image, so the print is a mirror image of my drawing on the block.’
The backgrounds are important, too. Angela places the birds in their natural habitat, adding colours with silkscreen printing to set the mood and season. Ice blue and warm red in a wintry landscape where thrushes eat berries; light green for a summer meadow where godwits nest. ‘I use my own inks and mix them myself to create a calm, typically English palette, sticking to just a few colours. I like the colours to echo the landscape.’ In the corner of the studio is a Rochat printing press, a modern design based on an old Victorian press. Angela uses it to print her wood engravings and also to make limited-edition prints from designs she carves in lino and Japanese vinyl. She demonstrates the press with one of her lino-cut illustrations of Highland warblers. She has already screenprinted the yellow-green and grey background onto printmaking paper. Then the ready-inked lino block is overprinted onto the Period Living 33
Left: Angela’s Shooting Stars and Look Out teatowels Above: Sylvia the chicken makes it into the sketchbook Right: Using an engraving tool, Angela cuts the fine lines into the wood block, which is made from English boxwood, a very hard wood. The nightjar design is almost complete
coloured background. The registration method is a simple paper-to-paper method – the block is always in the same place and the paper is always in the same place. Angela pulls the lever of the press and the ink does its job. She gently pulls off the paper. ‘I love the combination of water-based paint and oil-based ink – matte and shine – they provide contrast and thus extra layering and texture.’ Angela’s quick pencil drawings are the basis of every design and fill her sketchbook, which is always open on her workbench, just in case she spots a new garden guest. The sketchbook accompanies Angela on her daily walks, with dogs Lily, Amy and Syd, along with the binoculars she uses to spot water birds in the nearby Rutland Water Nature Reserve. ‘A walk often triggers a memory. How I cycled 3,000 miles round the whole coast of Britain in my twenties. Or watching birds in the garden with my father. Memories inspire me and are ever-present in my designs.’ Angela points to a lino-cut print hanging to dry in the ball rack in the rafters of the studio. It depicts 34 Period Living
two curlews in an agricultural landscape. The call of the birds on a visit to Norfolk inspired this piece. ‘The sound took me instantly back to the Shropshire hills, where I grew up with my father,’ she says. ‘It was the sound of my childhood, and it’s still my favourite bird, with its distinctive silhouette and long, curved beak.’ These days, Angela’s work is divided between illustrations for book publishers, including Bloomsbury, Faber & Faber and Little Brown, alongside her limited-edition prints and a popular gift range of cards, calendars and teatowels. She often uses elements from her life and memories in the background of her designs. Her children, running through a snowy landscape with the dogs; her father dragging the Christmas tree home through the snow. Or her husband Mark, sailing his boat. ‘The birds literally and figuratively give wings to my memories,’ she says. For more information about Angela’s designs or to buy her work, visit angelaharding.co.uk
Victorian Townhouse
BRIGHT AND BEAUTIFUL Well-worn but beautifully made vintage chairs sourced from Pushpull Vintage stand the test of time. A natural linen tablecloth from Piglet in Bed and collection of terracotta tableware brought back from family holidays add to the rustic vibe in the family dining area
Caroline Duckett and Martin Agar gave themselves six months to restore their late-19th-century home, renovating its original features and giving the whole house a fresh new look Words Ashlyn Gibson | Photographs Penny Wincer
38 Period Living
Victorian Townhouse This image: The room divider was the only 1970s feature that Caroline decided to keep. Patterned floor tiles in the kitchen contrast with stripped limewashed boards in the adjoining dining room and help to mark out the two areas; try Tiles Direct for similar tiles Opposite, clockwise from top left: Caroline found the rustic terracotta jug in a Lisbon fleamarket. Next to it, just seen, is a stack of handcrafted ceramic bowls by Saskia Pomeroy; simple open shelving displays a selection of serveware collected over the
years; Caroline updated the old kitchen units with some good quality handles from traditional ironmonger WP Wakefield; at the back of the kitchen, two walls are painted in a deep blue shade to complement the floor tiles – Hicks Blue from Little Greene is a similar shade; a mid-century cabinet (try Vinterior for similar) provides handy storage for table linen and cutlery near the dining table. A trio of baskets on the wall makes an unusual display, and on the shelf above are pieces from ceramicists Miyelle and Small Spells
olour and craftsmanship make an impressive double act in Caroline Duckett’s home. A short stroll from a busy London high street, the Victorian terraced house is approached by a striking Carron-tiled garden path. Coloured light bounces off the stained glass in the reclaimed Victorian front door, creating a magical entrance, and you soon get the sense that this lucky house is in the hands of someone with a magpie eye and meticulous attention to detail. Inside, the unique mix of treasured possessions and hand-woven fabrics, alongside fine examples of traditional crafts, add rich layers of interest and beauty. ‘My eclectic style is craft inspired,’ says Caroline, who founded childrenswear firm Apolina. ‘I love to use a mix of found textiles and objects. I consider everything I buy to be an investment piece, whether it’s a piece of clothing or something we need for our house.’ Caroline had a clear vision for her home that would honour the original period of the building. She recalls how different the house was when they bought it. ‘One family had lived in the house since it was built. It had fallen prey to the dreadful 1970s trend of modernising period homes. It hadn’t been touched since then, so it needed a lot of work to restore it to its former glory.’ With their second baby due six months after work began, Caroline and husband Martin had a strict deadline and no wall, floor or ceiling escaped their attention. ‘We wanted to create a blank canvas of bare plaster and Victorian pine,’ says Caroline. Woodchip wallpaper and gaudy painted woodwork were stripped back to reveal the beauty of the house, before the couple turned their attention to the family bathroom. A roll-top bath from Cast Iron Bath Co was a key renovation purchase and the bathroom’s stylish mix of old and new was inspired by a stay in a historic hotel in New York. ‘Our bathroom in ‘The Jane’ had simple little white hexagon tiles on the floor but it felt grand and cosy at the same time so we wanted to replicate that,’ says Caroline. There are strong global influences all over the house, which draw you into a travel narrative that 40 Period Living
evokes a thousand memories for Caroline and Martin. ‘A lot of our belongings are from travels, picked up in fleamarkets in New York, Berlin, Stockholm and Lisbon,’ says Caroline. ‘Looking around our home takes me back to all the places we’ve visited over the years.’ The colour palette conjures up some of the different places where Caroline has roots and connections. ‘We have family in Sweden,’ says Caroline. ‘Once we stayed in a little ‘stuga’ (a Swedish holiday cabin) in the countryside that was full to the brim with mid-century antiques and textiles. The colours of the walls were subtle and had a typical Swedish calm to them, which I love.’ The Scandinavian influence continues into the kitchen where Caroline cleverly repurposed the 1970s room divider rather than demolishing it. ‘It just seemed like an interesting way to divide the room and provided lots of useful storage,’ she says. ‘We love the wood panel on the dining room side, which gives that space a cosy Scandi feel.’ Upstairs the girls’ shared bedroom is a charming space. Here, folkloric influences add yet another rich and whimsical layer to the interior of the family home. ‘The rest of the house has quite a tranquil mood but there is a nice, warm, folksy feeling in this room,’ Caroline smiles. At the back of the house, overlooking the garden, Caroline and Martin’s bedroom is peaceful and serene. A soft palette with pastel hues has a gentleness that suits Caroline’s character. ‘I favour colours which allow the furniture and objects to take centre stage,’ she says. The spare room has been pressed into service as the headquarters for Caroline’s thriving bohemian children’s fashion label, Apolina. In the same spirit as her home, her designs are inspired by traditional craft skills. There is the distinct feeling that the business is taking off and that it will soon be time for another move. ‘I need to expand my small studio but I don’t want to rent a separate space in London,’ Caroline says. ‘We are looking to move to a cottage or farmhouse in a country village outside London. The dream would be to have an outbuilding so I can still work close to home.’
Above right: Caroline runs her children’s fashion label Apolina from what would have been the master bedroom in their home. Stripped floorboards and white walls create a calm workspace. The vintage leather chair is from Homeplace Top right: Caroline found a Victorian stained-glass front door in Enfield reclamation yard. She painted it in Boringdon Green from Little Greene Far right: Vintage embroidered textiles collected over the years are a source of inspiration for Caroline’s fashion label, Apolina. Her sketchbooks are brimming with ideas for her childrenswear
Victorian Townhouse
THE STORY Owners Caroline Duckett, founder of children’s fashion label Apolina (apolina-kids.com), lives here with her husband Martin Agar and their daughters Veda, six, and Bonnie, five Property A two-storey Victorian terraced house in east London, built in 1890 What they did Caroline and Martin renovated their home in just six months, restoring and revealing its original features. They stripped walls and floors, removing woodchip wallpaper and layers of dark gloss, rewired parts of the house and then updated the family bathroom with a new roll-top bath and tiles
Period Living 41
Victorian Townhouse
Left: Caroline reinstated a Victorian fireplace to give the living room a focal point. A vintage-inspired sofa from Laura Ashley creates a divide between the playroom and living room and a simple linen curtain provides an additional way of transforming the space Below: Sisters Veda and Bonnie
share a book. The cushions behind them are Svenskt Tenn’s Mirakel print from Josef Frank Right: William Morris curtains add another layer of pattern Below right: Dried grasses are used to create a gentle, natural arrangement where soft texture is more important than colour
Period Living 43
Above: Having the top bunk doesn’t mean you have to miss out on all the fun. Caroline has arranged colourful pictures, interesting ornaments and bright bags around Veda’s bedhead Above right: The pastel colour scheme of Söndagsmorgon wallpaper by Josef Frank brings tranquillity to Caroline and Martin’s bedroom. A traditional Welsh handcrafted vintage bedspread from Pembrokeshire brings back holiday memories that the couple cherish Right: A reproduction roll-top bath from The Cast Iron Bath Company is in keeping with the Victorian home. Painted in Breakfast Room Green from Farrow & Ball, it gives the space a sense of tranquillity
44 Period Living
Opposite: Colourful and whimsical Vårklockor wallpaper by Josef Frank creates a dreamy backdrop for the girls’ room. A vintage rug might seem an unusual choice for a children’s room, but this Turkish kilim from Malthouse Antiques in Narberth works well with the bright wallpaper and bedlinen. A handcrafted dress from Caroline’s children’s label, Apolina, hangs on the door
Victorian Townhouse
Subscribefor£43 and get a FREE Annie Sloan paint set
ABOUT YOUR GIFT This beautiful Annie Sloan paint set is from the Charleston collection, inspired by the home of the artistic Bloomsbury Group. It features 120ml of Chalk Paint in Firle, a zesty green that echoes the distemper of the wall surrounding the mantelpiece in Clive Bell’s study. The set also contains two complementary Chalk Paints: 120ml each of Scandinavian Pink and Old White, plus 120ml of Clear Chalk Paint Wax and an inspiration guide. Perfect for creative upcycling projects.
FREE GIFT WORTH £24.95 46 Period Living
Subscription Offer
Great reasons to subscribe
Brilliant value – save 20 per cent on the cover price O You’ll never miss an issue O Every issue is delivered in an eco-friendly paper wrap O
GO DIGITAL FOR JUST £5.35
SUBSCRIBE NOW Go to www.magazinesdirect.com/PLAPR21 or call 0330 333 1113 and quote 87AK Terms and conditions: Offer closes 31 March 2021. Offer open to new subscribers only. Gift only available for new UK print subscribers. Direct Debit offer is available to UK subscribers only. *£43 payable by annual Direct Debit. This price is guaranteed for the first 12 months and we will notify you in advance of any price changes. Please allow up to six weeks for delivery of your first subscription issue (eight weeks overseas). Payment is non-refundable after the 14-day cancellation period unless exceptional circumstances apply. Your gift will be delivered separately within 60 days after your first payment has cleared. Gifts only available to subscribers on the UK mainland. We have gifts available for the first 250 subscribers. In the unlikely event that we run out of this gift, we promise to offer you an alternative gift of the same or greater value. For full terms and conditions, visit magazinesdirect.com/terms. For enquiries please call: +44 (0) 330 333 1113. Lines are open Mon–Fri 9am–5pm UK time, or email: help@magazinesdirect.com. Calls to 0330 numbers will be charged at no more than a national landline call, and may be included in your phone provider’s call bundle. Period Living 47
It was Harm who first saw the potential in the old farmhouse and garden with its various outbuildings and this spacious summerhouse. Margot took some convincing, but now she has got the garden into shape, and stocked it with spring bulbs, she is delighted they made the move and enjoys sharing the house and garden with the people who join her floristry workshops
Farmhouse Renovation
THE COLOURS OFSPRING Margot and Harm Pustjens renovated every room in their country home, taking their time to find the right materials and achieve the perfect look before turning their thoughts to the garden Words Geraldine Nesbitt and Karen Darlow | Photographs Joyce Vloet/Cocofeatures.com
THE STORY Owners Margot and Harm Pustjens live here with their 20-year-old daughter Maud and son Kay, who is 19. Margot has her own floral design company and gift shop (allseasonsdecorations.nl), and runs workshops, and Harm owns a kitchen company (mazakeukens.nl) Property A farmhouse, built in the 1820s, set in a quiet spot in Limburg in the southern Netherlands, about 20 miles from Maastricht. There’s a large garden with several outbuildings What they did The couple renovated everything. Not only did they replace floors, repair the roof and update the wiring and plumbing, they also opened up the ceiling in the living room to create an airy, double-height space. Harm built the country-style kitchen
nyone who knew Margot as a child would not be at all surprised to discover that she now has her own floristry design business and gift shop, and that she sells vintage accessories, and lives in a house in the country with a garden brimming with flowers. Her love for interior design began when she was still at school. She loved to decorate and was constantly changing her bedroom décor. One of her favourite hobbies was making flower arrangements with flowers picked from her parents’ garden. Another was repurposing old pieces of furniture to give them a new lease of life. The home that she shares with husband Harm and their two grown-up children is full of Margot’s special decorative touches: a bowl of fresh-looking spring bulbs here, a pretty display of vintage china there, and a few surprises – such as taxidermy birds - mixed in for good measure. The overall look is calm, fresh, but also cosy and welcoming; a lot different to how the house looked when the couple first moved in. In fact, although Harm fell under its spell from the start, loving the rural setting and big summerhouse, it took Margot a while to come round to the idea. The couple had just finished renovating their previous home, and Margot had finally got her English-style cottage garden planted up exactly how she wanted it, so it was always going to be a bit of a wrench. ‘I honestly didn’t feel terribly excited at first about starting from scratch with another renovation,’ she says. ‘But Harm was so enthusiastic about all the outside space and what we could do with the house, that he soon convinced me we should take it on. And I’m so glad he did.’ When they moved in everything was tatty and dark, the exact opposite of the light, bright colour palette the couple favour. They chose traditional materials for their renovations, in keeping with the age of the house; for instance, the floor tiles and woodwork are all salvaged to give an authentic period look. They allowed themselves plenty of time to make the right choices and track down the best materials for the job. Margot believes it pays to be patient when you’re working through a whole house. ‘It’s better to move in and live in a ‘work in progress’ for a while,’ she says. ‘That way you get to know the house before rushing in to change and 50 Period Living
upgrade everything. Follow your instincts and your heart; what the house needs will be revealed to you, if you take the time to listen.’ Margot decided that what this house needed was a ‘dusty and old’ colour palette. ‘Colours that evoke the spring and summer even when it is winter,’ she explains. She combines coloured candles, cushions, throws, and antique furniture, in a cosy, relaxed way to ensure her home and garden offer visitors the warmest of welcomes. Her favourite room is the kitchen. Gathering friends and family around the table to enjoy a meal makes her really happy. In an old farmhouse like this, with such a big garden, there is always a lot to do. But Margot never sees it as a chore. She takes her inspiration from meadows and fields, and just as she did when she was a child, she still loves to pick garden flowers. She gathers branches and moss from the woods to make natural decorations for almost every room in the house. ‘I decorate to suit every season,’ she says. ‘And my home and garden never stay the same for long. Most of the furniture in our home is also for sale, so we’re always changing things. Whether that’s the furniture, decorations, accessories or just the flower arrangements.’ Having a garden filled with all types of flowers and ensuring there is plenty of spring, summer and autumn colour is essential for Margot. After all, flower arranging, and running workshops is her job. Besides the workshops, she also holds open days, lunches and seasonal events in her garden. ‘When we moved in I was less worried about the house renovation than I was about the state of the garden,’ she says. ‘It was all just grass and fruit-trees. I love roses and flowers but there was nothing like that here then.’ The outdoor space is virtually unrecognisable now. Margot and Harm have worked hard to come up with a planting scheme that would suit the rural setting and give Margot the cut flowers she needed for her arrangements and workshops, but that would also incorporate the trees and some of the plants that were there already. ‘It gave the garden a mature feel and the older trees were marvellous anchor points for the new layout,’ says Margot. For someone as passionate about gardens as Margot, combining her hobby with her job gives her the perfect work-life balance. ‘I love hosting flower workshops in my studio. It’s so nice to share our home and garden in this way.’
Farmhouse Renovation
Clockwise from top left: Margot has planted hundreds of bulbs around the mature trees in the back garden, where low wicker fencing encircles the trees and keeps the soil and bulbs in place; every corner of the house and garden is used to display and store vintage finds from fleamarkets and antiques dealers. Many of these items are for sale through Margot’s shop, All Seasons Decorations. The spring wreaths are her own creations; there are Scandinavian touches in places – the stone eggs in this Easter display are Swedish; Margot is never happier than when she’s tending her garden. She tries to grow everything she needs for her seasonal flower arrangements
Period Living 51
Clockwise from top left: Margot was keen to introduce different styles of planting as she worked her way through the garden. This is her cutting garden, where low box hedges mark out the flowerbeds and an urn-style planter on a pillar, from Dutch company Il Cupido, creates a focal point where the paths cross. For a similar planter, try Haddonstone; the chickens are perfectly happy scratching about in the rough grass, but the whole garden was like this before Margot and Harm took it on; Juul, the family’s dog, is a Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever and is 10 years old; classical columns provide a striking contrast to the frothy spring blossom and softer planting schemes Right: The garden looks good at all times of year, but it is magnificent in spring, when the daffodils are still around and the tulips are just starting to take centre stage. ‘It’s great to have a bit of a show garden, since we have so many visitors,’ says Margot
52 Period Living
Farmhouse Renovation
Clockwise from top left: The province of Limburg, where the couple live, is famous for its cakes and pastries, and an old bakery display cabinet has been given a new lease of life in Margot’s kitchen, showcasing her vintage china, and spring flower arrangements; Harm built the kitchen from scratch – all in a day’s work as he runs his own kitchen company. The couple chose hardwearing Belgian bluestone for the worktop, adding a Lacanche range cooker to complete the farmhouse look; another bakery find, a vintage flan rack, serves as shelving for enamel cookware; the large wardrobe in the entrance hall came from Margot’s parents and was originally dark brown. A couple of coats of white paint later, and it looks much more in keeping with the airy entrance hall, and the perfect complement to the pretty salvaged tiles Right: The kitchen table is Margot’s favourite spot in the whole house. ‘I love relaxed meals here with friends and family,’ she says. Harm made the dresser to store and display Margot’s special china. The intricately patterned floor tiles may look as though they have always been here but they were originally on a monastery floor and were sourced from a salvage yard 54 Period Living
Farmhouse Renovation
Farmhouse Renovation
Clockwise from top left: The sofa in the living room is new, so to help it blend in with the older pieces around it, Margot has added throws and cushions from Jeanne D’Arc Living, which she stocks in her shop. ‘I really like this Danish brand,’ she says. ‘It’s romantic and feminine, and I love the colours’; this formal table is in the dining area of the living room, and is set for an Easter feast. ‘When the table setting is nice, I think the food tastes even more special,’ says Margot; the couple wanted a traditional fireplace in the living room, but soon realised that reinstating an antique stone surround would be too expensive. Harm made an imitation fireplace from more affordable materials, then aged it with a wax finish; Margot sells similar tablecloths in her gift shop. The shelves, all decorated for Easter, are from Jeanne D’Arc Living Left: The couple opened up the ceiling in the living room to its full height and fitted salvaged floorboards. The white cabinet is made up of two separate pieces of furniture. ‘I thought they would look nice together, so I fixed the glazed cabinet on top, and painted both pieces,’ says Margot, who also made the pretty spring wreaths. She bought the taxidermy geese from a brocante Period Living 57
Farmhouse Renovation
Clockwise from top left: The doorway from the new living room to the kitchen. Farrow & Ball’s Sulking Room Pink is a good match for the shade Margot and Harm chose for the living room walls, and the company’s Blue Ground would give a similar look to their choice for the kitchen walls; spring flowers find their way from the garden into the house and pop up in all kinds of unusual bottles and containers; no vintage collection is complete without antique parasols and old hat boxes. Margot is especially fond of the silk top hat, which turned up in a local fleamarket; the family’s cat, Stich, takes life easy in the living room
Period Living 59
Clockwise from top left: The elegant armchair was a charity shop find. Now reupholstered and with a freshly painted frame, it is perfect for this corner of Margot and Harm’s bedroom; antique shutters make an unusual headboard in the master bedroom, adding character to an ordinary divan bed; the dressing table is a repurposed vintage washstand – Margot thinks it dates from the 1920s; the freestanding bathtub is from Albion Bath Company, and has been positioned under the rooflight for sunny and starlit bathing
60 Period Living
Advertorial
Take a seat Chairmaker Sam Gill from Batheaston shares his passion for Windsor chairs and their unique history How did you become a chairmaker? I am a third-
generation furniture-maker born in Harrogate. I started making Windsors as an apprentice in Bath when I was 18, while studying Art & Design at university. After graduating, I moved back home and joined the family business, making chairs alongside my mother and father, who were already making our well-known cabinet and table range. What’s your favourite part of the job? I really enjoy
designing new pieces to complement my family’s existing designs, working on traditional concepts and adapting them to suit modern homes. One chair that I have in the pipeline will celebrate the nature and pure wildness of the material’s woodland origins. What makes Windsor chairs so special? For me, they
are the closest chair to their natural source, originally being made out in the woods – or at least for the most part. The chairmaker would live in a hut surrounded by his work, the trees and everything at his fingertips. It is much the same for us today, although perhaps to a lesser extent. We start by selecting an ash tree, then utilise every inch of it, dividing it to create chair seats and leg turnings, bending into arms or backhoops, as well as making sticks and decorative back frets.
Above: Illustration by Marcus Beaven Left: Ash milking stool, £113 Right: Ash Yeoman’s armchair with pippy oak splat, £767
Has the design changed over the years? I have no doubt
these chairs have been a progression. They all started out as milking stools in the beginning, so I’m told, then one day somebody decided to add a bit to make it more comfortable, making it taller and lean back a little. The best example of this in my time is one of my own designs, the Yeoman’s armchair. I played with it for years, adding and taking away parts, and it just evolved into what is my favourite chair to make. Why did you choose to specialise in Windsors? One of
the most magical things about making these chairs for me, and one of the elements that sets them apart from other styles, is the bending of wood – applying steam and bending around profiles. It is these bent components, that when put together, add an unmatched strength; the nature of the wood tells it to straighten out again, and because it can’t, the tension holds everything together. This is the main reason why they have been around for hundreds of years. What I make will be around long after I’m gone and hopefully will be passed down to new generations to inherit. To see the whole range visit batheaston.co.uk, call 07718 900854 or visit Instagram and Facebook Period Living 61
IN THE FRAME When artist Lucy Dawson moved in with Olly Hackett, her creative touches made a picture-perfect home to share Words Vivienne Ayers | Photographs Polly Eltes
Tudor Cottage
Clockwise from top left: Lucy and Olly’s Grade II-listed home is right on the high street in a Suffolk village and dates from the 16th century; Lucy and Olly with Diesel the dog, who is a saluki; Lucy, next to one of the outbuildings in the garden; beautiful original beams in the guest bedroom. The chair is one of a set of four that Lucy has painted and reupholstered; Olly uses his 1964 Nuffield 460 tractor for all kinds of jobs around the garden; Lucy’s hare print is the perfect choice to complement the earthy colours in the living room; a pretty side table, which Lucy upcycled for the bathroom; Lily the cat
Period Living 63
THE STORY Owners Lucy Dawson is an artist and founder of Bella Art (bellaart.co.uk). She and her partner Olly Hackett have recently opened The Log Burner Barn (thelogburnerbarn.co.uk) Property A Grade II-listed cottage with three bedrooms, built in around 1570 What they did Olly replaced the roof and heating, and worked with his architect uncle to reconfigure the space and reinstate period details
inishing touches are what really turn a house into a home, as artist Lucy Dawson discovered when she moved into her partner Olly’s 16th-century cottage on an idyllic village high street. ‘It’s such a beautiful place,’ says Lucy. ‘I was brought up here in Suffolk and I love the nature and wonderful skies. I went to university and then off travelling, but I came back to the county and appreciated living here even more. It provides a lot of inspiration for my country-themed artwork.’ The couple have Olly’s parents to thank for introducing him to the village. Ten years ago, they bought a house here and Olly liked visiting the area so much that he snapped up the cottage next door when it came up for sale. ‘Olly loved the people, the village and the atmosphere. It’s such a nice community,’ says Lucy. She was living nearby and knew the village well when she moved in a few years ago. ‘I loved the cottage,’ she says. ‘It’s cosy and full of character.’ Olly had already done a lot of work on the building before he met Lucy, gradually renovating it over a three-year period. It needed a new roof and heating, and he was keen to reintroduce some period character as the previous owners had boxed over many of the old features, including the beams. ‘One of Olly’s uncles, Michael Woodcock, was a talented architect who helped him come up with a plan to change the layout,’ says Lucy. ‘Sadly, Michael passed away in 2019 but his clever designs for the open-plan kitchen-diner included removing the ceiling in the dining area to open the space up to the beams for added wow factor.’ He also brought more light into the front of the house by knocking through part of the wall between the living room and hallway and replacing it with new vertical oak beams that are now a stunning feature. A utility and cloakroom were also added. Upstairs, the original beams were exposed and new bathrooms have been fitted, including an en-suite shower room for the main bedroom. It might seem as though there was little more for Lucy to contribute, but she helped to add the finishing touches to the cottage when she moved in. ‘It was a little sparse at first,’ she laughs. ‘There weren’t any doors!’ Now, however, Lucy’s artist’s eye can be seen in the combination of simple décor and creative design ideas that give the cottage its unique character. She used a white and off-white 64 Period Living
backdrop to show off the beams and exposed brickwork. ‘I tried to keep the interior light throughout as it works with the furnishings and accessories. We wanted the cottage to have a fresh and airy feel and the neutral colours are in keeping with the country look.’ The kitchen is Lucy’s favourite room, with its soft blue-grey cabinets, reclaimed Suffolk floor bricks, exposed brickwork and bold blue Aga built into the fireplace. ‘We both enjoy cooking and socialising,’ says Lucy. ‘Everyone gravitates towards the Aga.’ The dining area is the perfect space for entertaining, and Lucy and Olly have created an unusual feature by fixing tree branches into the ceiling. ‘We saw the idea in a hotel and loved it,’ says Lucy. ‘The branches are also great at Christmas and Easter when we decorate them for a festive look.’ Meanwhile, vintage ladders have been fixed horizontally across the walls on either side of the room and are a quirky way of displaying books. Not surprisingly, many of the fabrics, accessories and soft furnishings in the cottage come from Lucy’s own country-themed range. ‘They’re inspired by the wildlife we see around us. I’ve painted animals and wildlife for the past eight years then moved more into interiors a few years ago, creating fabrics based on my watercolour designs. They’re in neutral tones and are great for adding subtle colour and pattern to a room.’ Lucy has also converted one of the bedrooms into a workroom she can use when she’s not at her studio. ‘It’s lovely to be able to work from home in idyllic surroundings.’ Olly’s architect uncle advised on the cottage renovations. One of his suggestions was to replace part of the wall between the hall and living room with new oak beams, which not only bring more light into this part of the cottage, but also add an interesting architectural feature. The wood-burning stove is an old Villager. The coffee table is from The Barn (the-barn.co), and Lucy restored and painted the blue chair herself. For similar sofas, try Sofa. com. The cushions, and the Hare and Partridge paintings are Lucy’s own, from her company Bella Art
Tudor Cottage
Above right and opposite: A bright dining area has been created by opening the ceiling up to the beams and adding a skylight. Reclaimed Suffolk floor bricks and a farmhouse table and chairs from TW Gaze’s Diss auction rooms are the perfect finishing touches for the new space. The table runner and seat cushions are from Bella Art. The bar storage unit is from Emzo. For similar lights, try Pooky Left and above left: Vintage ladders make unusual bookshelves, while tree branches add to the rustic look in this country kitchen-diner. The soft blue Shaker-style cabinets add subtle colour; Harvey Jones kitchen cabinets are a good match. For a similar cabinet paint, try Celestial White by Little Greene Right: The twin-oven, oil-fired Aga is the perfect fit for the chimney alcove, and warms the whole room
66 Period Living
Tudor Cottage
Tudor Cottage
A spare bedroom doubles as an office and additional studio space for Lucy, when she wants to work at home. The desk and walls are full of Lucy’s paintings and prints. The table, chair and filing cabinet are auction finds, the desk lamp and camera lamp are from Bulldog Vintage and the lampshade and paintings are all from Bella Art
Period Living 69
Above: Painted and wooden furniture teamed with mix-and-match fabrics creates a classic country look for the main bedroom. The lampshades and kingfisher, fern and feather print cushions are all from Bella Art. The throw is from Emzo and the blind fabric is from John Lewis & Partners Right: Lucy’s cushions, lampshades and prints steal the show in the guest room, too; soft greys and powder blues provide a calm backdrop. The tray tables and the blanket box are from Emzo Below: A pretty collection of bottles on a table in the spare room
70 Period Living
HAPPY PLACE A change in direction led Tilly Wood to the medieval town of Rye in East Sussex, and to her small 17th-century cottage which, after some gentle alterations, is now her treasured home Words and styling Marisha Taylor | Photographs James French
This page: Tilly’s little cottage is close to the historic gateway to the town of Rye. The cottage dates from the 18th century, but was originally part of a bigger property built in the 1660s Right: Tilly stained the old floorboards in the living room and painted the walls in Bancha, a cosy dark green by Farrow & Ball. The sofa, an Ebay find, was reupholstered in velvet from Designers Guild, with vintage fabric cushions by Amelie Rose Bespoke Cushions
Historic Seaside Home
Period Living 73
THE STORY Owner Tilly Wood, a freelance designer Property The cottage was once part of a larger property dating back to 1660, which was converted into four dwellings in the 18th century. The cottage is in Rye, East Sussex, a medieval town that was one of the historic Cinque Ports What she did Tilly has sympathetically renovated the kitchen, revealing the original 17th-century wall. She has redecorated throughout and has furnished the cottage with reclaimed furniture and salvaged items
74 Period Living
Historic Seaside Home
iving in central London, Tilly often escaped city living to spend time with friends in Rye, East Sussex. And it was this charming medieval town that came to mind when in 2017 she decided it was time to leave London permanently. ‘I’ve always loved Rye and with some of my best friends already there, it felt like a natural move,’ says Tilly. ‘I wanted sky – lots of sky – green fields, and breathing space close to the sea. I was born in Birkenhead, on the Wirral Peninsula, and grew up surrounded by sea, so I wanted that again.’ Tilly decided to rent before committing, and it was her friend Marcus, who runs McCully & Crane, an interiors shop in Rye, who found her a little cottage near the old gateway into the centre of town. The original building dated back to the 1660s and Tilly found it ‘cute and charming’. ‘It had been divided into four little dwellings in the 18th century and my cottage only had four rooms over two floors,’ she adds, ‘but it was cosy, well proportioned and had absolutely everything I needed at that moment in time. I fell in love.’ Tilly had to downsize when she moved, putting most of the furniture from her London house into storage. ‘I could only take what would fit into my tiny cottage – the size of a postage stamp!’ Luckily it was in good condition. ‘I brightened it up with a lick of pink paint and happily rented for almost a year,’ says Tilly. ‘Until one day I instinctively called the landlord, Rupert, and asked that if he ever considered selling the cottage, to give me first refusal, as I had fallen in love with it. He came around, we chatted and drank tea. He loved what I’d done to the place and could see how much I enjoyed living there. Even though selling hadn’t really crossed his mind before that point, he decided to sell it to me. I was delighted!’ Top left: The wood-burner was a welcome feature that was already in the cottage when Tilly moved in. The mirror and lamp are auction buys and the cupboard doors are lined with linen from Merchant & Mills, onto which Tilly painted stripes Far left: With space for only a small table and chairs, Tilly has made them stand out from the crowd.
She decorated the table, from Brewhouse Salvage, with spots and gave the chairs, from Ardingly Antiques Market, a coat of red paint. Barbara Cartland looks on, from a picture by Leyman Lahcine Left: The armchair is another auction find and the small wine table, which was brown wood, has been given a cheerful spotty paint effect
Tilly didn’t want to make too many changes to the cottage. ‘I loved how ramshackle it was, but the kitchen fixtures were dated and too big for the space they were squeezed into,’ she says, ‘and the wall cupboards dominated the room - they had to go!’ Enlisting the help of local builder Stephen Russell to help with the work, Tilly got going with the kitchen. ‘Stephen completely understood my aesthetic and desire not to use anything new,’ she says. ‘I wanted reclaimed, old and interesting. New just didn’t feel right for the space and with a world already full of beautiful things there’s no need to buy off the shelf – you just need to find them.’ A gorgeous chiffonier sideboard that Tilly sourced from Ardingly Antiques Market, with a salvaged sink installed into it, became the basis for the whole kitchen. A splashback was created from a section of an old billiard table, old scaffolding planks were fitted into the fireplace as shelves for Tilly’s crockery, and a beautiful old window frame fitted with a mirror was hung above the fireplace, allowing light to bounce around the room. ‘The most exciting part of the kitchen work,’ recalls Tilly, ‘was ripping down the wall cupboards. They were stubborn and I had to use my whole bodyweight to shift them.’ When they finally gave way, so did some of the plasterboard behind, revealing an original wall dating back centuries, made not only from brick but pieces of wood. ‘Rye was a bustling port at the time the house was built,’ says Tilly, ‘and it’s romantic to think that these pieces of wood may have been recycled from old ships.’ The once-hidden wall is now a cherished and integral part of the kitchen. Once the kitchen had been completed, the rest of the house just needed decorating. The bathroom had a mini makeover – the flesh-coloured tiles and walls were painted white. Tilly chose the same shade, Farrow & Ball’s School House White, for her bedroom. ‘I wanted it to be a calm place where I could relax and work on my design projects and I needed the décor to work harmoniously with all my antique furniture and curios,’ she says. ‘In the living room I had a door put over existing shelves in an alcove to hide away my clutter and before Christmas I had the room painted dark green while I was away in New York. I wanted to come home and feel Christmassy, and it definitely had the desired effect. I’m not sure I would have gone for that colour in spring or summer, but it’s a really good backdrop for my colourful furniture and artwork.’ Tilly admits that her diminutive cottage is a little old-fashioned. ‘But so is my style. I adored my grandma’s house, and I love chintz and stripes and Spode china. I like colour and a lived-in look that can stand the test of time and doesn’t feel faddy.’ Even with a Christmassy living room, it’s a house that looks good all year round. Tilly loves lighting the log-burner and candles in winter and sitting on the doorstep in summer talking to the tourists as they wander through the ancient town. ‘The cottage is completely unique and has such a good energy. As I said to Rupert over tea all those months ago… Quite simply, I am happy here.’ Period Living 75
76 Period Living
Historic Seaside Home
Above: A chiffonier sideboard that Tilly bought at Ardingly Antiques Market is now the base for a salvaged sink from Lassco Above right: Tilly’s lucky-find sideboard provides much-needed storage and was the inspiration for the characterful kitchen, now her favourite room in the cottage Right: Tilly was delighted to find the original brick wall hidden behind plasterboard in the kitchen Left: The original kitchen floor was kept and scaffolding boards have been used as shelving in the fireplace. Above the shelves, an old window frame has been upcycled as a mirror. The Iroko oak worktops from Woodwork Tops were the only new purchase for the kitchen
Period Living 77
Top and left: Simple décor in the bedroom showcases Tilly’s antique furniture. The old mantelpiece above the bed, the Victorian chest of drawers, and the Globe Wernicke barrister’s bookcase were all auction finds. The cushions on the bed were made by Amelie Rose Bespoke Cushions, from vintage floral fabric
78 Period Living
Above left and right: The tiles and panelling in the bathroom are painted in Farrow & Ball’s School House White. Little rustic touches include an old ladder that Tilly found and uses for towels, and an old tablecloth softly draped over the window, instead of curtains. Similar items can be found at Etsy
News from the antiques and vintage world, from fairs to collectors’ stories
IN FOCUS
ignette v r e Vintage chocolate st
Feature Alice Roberton Images (top left) Tamsyn Morgans, (bottom left) Piers Philo, (Beatrix Potter figurines) theantiquescentreyork.co.uk
E a
moulds have a wonderful sense of nostalgia and trigger fond memories of bygone Easter celebrations. If you have a collection, or feel the inclination to start one, and you’re more of a home stylist than a chocolatier, why not try teaming them with vintage Easter cards and spring flowers to create a pretty dresser, shelf or windowsill display? Antique chocolate egg moulds planted up with a delicate primrose and topped with moss will complete the look. For an array of Easter moulds try @klvintage on Instagram.
TALKING SHOP Looking to freshen up your home for spring? Head to the Decorative Country Living online shop to find a bright and breezy curation of antiques and vintage. Discover original English, French and Scandinavian furniture styled with galvanised planters, enamel jugs and glass jars ideal for floral displays, to paintings, textiles and lighting. Plus, keep an eye out for pop-up ‘open weekends’ at the owner’s 19th-century chapel in Lincolnshire. (decorativecountryliving.com)
BESWICK BEATRIX POTTER FIGURINES Established in 1894, Beswick is one of the most famous names in fine ceramic models and gifts, notably lifelike animal figures, so it was no surprise that John Beswick should secure the right to reproduce a range of 10 Beatrix Potter earthenware characters in 1948. After selfpublishing her first book, The Tale of Peter Rabbit, in 1901, Potter applied the same maverick approach to modelling her own characters, which she presented to Royal Doulton in the early 1900s. She was sadly turned down and it wasn’t until after her death that John Beswick’s wife, Lucy, suggested they make figurines of Potter’s characters. With copyright obtained from publisher Frederick Warne & Co, they were put into production at Gold Street works, Stoke-onTrent. Enjoying huge popularity, figures from all the tales were available by 1977. The Beswick business was sold to Royal Doulton in 1969 and production continued until 2002. Still made today by Dartington Crystal, the delightful figurines are collectibles of both past and future. Investors should familiarise themselves with the various back-stamps and how they relate to date, origin and limited editions. Prized pieces from 1948 to 1977 carry pricetags of £35 to £150, but later pieces can be picked up for a few pounds. York Antiques Centre carries an excellent range.
Beatrix Potter figurines from top: Flopsy, Mopsy & Cottontail, 19541997; Mrs Tittlemouse, 1955-1972; Benjamin Bunny, 1948-1954; The Old Woman who Lived in a Shoe, 1959-1972; back-stamp on rare Hunca Munca with straw cradle, 1951-1954, all Beswick England
WHAT’S HOT
GUSTAVIAN FURNITURE Toby Lorford, owner of Lorfords Antiques in Tetbury, discusses this elegant style ‘Originating in Sweden circa 1772 to 1809, Gustavian furniture has long been popular and has sold strongly at Lorfords for the last 20 years. Characterised by their gentle, elegant lines, and often found with a soft washed paint finish, Gustavian pieces have a timeless charm. The European ‘Age of Elegance’ led to a fusion of styles across countries, and the Neoclassical movement in France under Louis XVI was widely admired, so you will often see Greek key friezes and column-style reeded carving on Gustavian furniture. Combining the restraint of English style with the decorative flair of Southern Europe, these pieces complement both contemporary and traditional interiors. The price of originals has risen in recent years, with examples with early paint becoming very rare and collectable. If you are going to enjoy the later reproductions for their decorative qualities, beware of paying period prices!’
With the annual carousel of fairs still affected by the pandemic, LAPADA (The Association of Antiques Dealers) is offering a monthly online event at lapada.org to give buyers a unique opportunity to snap up the newest acquisitions of some of the UK’s finest antiques dealers. Going live on the first Thursday of the month and running for a limited time, LAPADA Firsts invites you to browse and buy new and unseen stock, from furniture right through to jewellery. 1-6 April.
n
BOOKSHELF An antidote to online retail and fast fashion, the enduring beauty of a vintage item – purchased with all its imperfections and age-worn beauty – is the inspiration behind the new book from Michelle Mason, stylist and founder of Mason & Painter in London’s Columbia Road. Vintage Shops London (£12.99, Pimpernel Press) features over 50 vintage shops, markets and stalls, each profiled with a description, what it’s best known for, and illustrated with beautiful photography to tell the story of each store. Organised by geographical area – North, South, East, West and Central & the City – the book is easy to use and a must-have guide for vintage hunters.
Images (top) Lorfords Antiques lorfordsantiques.com
Collection of 24 miniature Napoleonic military hats, or ‘Shakos’, Sean Clarke Antiques
o
he fair t f
F u
Georgian mahogany bow-front sideboard, c.1795, £2,250, Graham Smith Antiques
A Gustavian-inspired living room featuring a Swedish Longcase clock, £2,250, corner cabinet and an original painted Gustavian bench/ pull-out bed, £2,950
Antiques
MEET THE COLLECTOR
EASTER ANTIQUES
Lizzie Bennett
What I collect I am an avid collector of old
things and have been collecting antique and vintage Easter-related items for 30 years. The bulk of my collection consists of around 60 papier-mâché candy container eggs from Germany and the UK, dating from the 1900s to the 1960s, which includes examples from J.S. Fry & Sons and Cadbury’s. I also have approximately 30 tiny chenille figures and cotton batting carrots, a set of 1930s plaster bunnies, postcards, and various oddities, like a trio of 1960s Italian Sevi egg cups. Why I collect I largely collect for sentimental
and nostalgic reasons; my Easter collection started with a small box of handmade chenille figures – chicks, rabbits, birds – inherited from my mum. I fondly remember them being brought out each year to be displayed around an Easter tree made with foraged twigs and branches of blossom. My aunt worked for a notable German family and was given beautiful foil-wrapped chocolates and candy container eggs, which I would marvel at; the colours, spring imagery and sheer light-heartedness of them definitely left an impression on me. How I collect Vintage Easter decorations are
quite scarce in the UK as most were made from fragile, disposable materials such as paper, card, foil, chenille and cotton wool. To find them takes a lot of hunting at antiques centres, vintage fairs, fleamarkets and auction houses. I collect and sell Christmas decorations and other vintage finds on Instagram @stuffiamselling but don’t like to part with Easter items as they are so hard to find. My collection highlight
My favourite candy container egg is a rare 1920s Cadbury’s one with a man in the moon image – I’ve never seen another like it. I treasure the little box full of my mum’s chenille decorations and every Easter, when I lift the lid, I am transported back to childhood.
From top: Lizzie with her vintage papiermâché egg collection; Edwardian (top) and 1920s Easter postcards; 1930s plaster bunny figures and toadstool decoration; Lizzie’s cherished chenille Easter figures; mid-century tin chick and Steiff pompom chick; 1960s Italian Sevi egg cups Papier-mâché egg-shaped candy containers clockwise from top: Early 20th-century German Easter bunny egg; 1920s chicks egg; 1950s chicks egg; early 20th-century German floral egg; 1920s Cadbury’s man in the moon egg
w
he block t on SPRING PALETTE Inspired by the Norfolk countryside that it calls home, Fenwick & Tilbrook brings these captivating colours indoors. Adding 30 new shades to its paint range, the Countryside collection is a mix of new shades and special editions, paired with the return of some classic favourites. Using high-quality pigments, the waterbased paint is made to order and delivered to you fresh the next working day. Prices start at £25 for 1 litre of Pure matt emulsion.
B
N e
There was a time when the adage ‘buy once and buy well’ underpinned every significant purchase, but the rise of cheaper, mass-produced imports changed this mindset. The need to be more sustainable has, however, rekindled our desire for long-lasting, British-made homeware. Introducing new kitchen brand Huckleberry, the brainchild of a husband and wife team with many years in the industry. With no showroom overheads, Huckleberry is able to craft highquality wooden kitchens at achievable prices, starting from £12,000. The kitchens exude timeless English style, influenced by classical architecture and historic cabinetry designs.
m artwo o o rk r h culture, atthereInisChinese more to colour than
mere aesthetics, with each hue holding symbolic significance. Inspired by this ethos, London Basin Company’s new porcelain Octavia design possesses a deeper meaning. Its rich blue background connotes health and prosperity, the paisleyinspired red floral pattern welcomes good fortune and joy into a home, while the white interior promotes purity and renewal. Priced at £940, Octavia makes a stunning accent piece for any bathroom.
MAKING SPACE
In lockdown our homes became multifunctional spaces, serving as offices, schoolrooms, gyms and so much more. Changing the way we use our homes has highlighted the need for a different approach to how we furnish the spaces. This is the principle behind Sharps’ new Home collection of fitted furniture. The made-to-measure, built-in designs maximise storage and promote flexible living – whether this is making it easy to tidy away the home gym at the end of a living room workout, or carving out an office space under the stairs. Prices start at £1,500.
ASK THE EXPERT Douglas Kent, technical and research director at the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB), answers your queries
17th-century house has Q Our pine floorboards in one room
e Med h t of Marking the
Ta s
first range from a new collaboration between tile experts Bert & May and Fired Earth, Bolonia unites the two companies’ expertise and shared love for handmade products. Inspired by an original reclaimed tile sourced from the Spanish village of Bolonia, the new design features a classic floral repeat pattern reimagined in two new artfully faded shades for a traditional look. Drawing on both brands’ skills and artisan roots, the handmade tiles are available in blue or blush, priced £7 per tile. CLEAN COOKING Handcrafted from wrought iron and boasting five ovens, Thornhill’s new carbon-neutral wood-fired range cooker is its cleanest-burning design. Developed with the brand’s signature Turbo technology, the new range is certified for use in smokeless areas and is DEFRA approved. A wood-fired, electric hybrid design, it offers 85 per cent efficiency, with 1kg of logs providing over an hour of cooking time, while also being able to swap to electric for an extra boost when needed. Available in 24 colours, prices start at £8,750.
ILLUMINATED WORKSPACE
Inject industrial style and practicality into your kitchen with Christopher Wray’s new Howell light, from £345. Its seeded glass shade offers vintage charm, while the metal fitting, in antique brass or satin nickel, pivots to offer both task and ambient lighting. Available as either a pendant or three-light bar. 86 Period Living
timber-framed building Q Our has metal-framed windows. They have some distortions in places – can these be rectified? Distorted frame members are best left alone unless they are hampering the operation of your windows or are serious enough to put the glass at risk of cracking. Except for cast iron, which is brittle and may break, the metals used for window frames are usually sufficiently malleable to allow distortions to be eased readily back to square. Stiff opening casements should first be serviced to ensure proper operation. All major work will, of course, require prior removal of the glass. This may enable the window frame to be pulled back into position. In some cases, significant distortion may need the affected component to be strapped onto a rigid timber framework with ratchet straps that are gradually tightened over a number of days. If you have a renovation question for Douglas, email periodliving@futurenet.com*
Feature Holly Reaney *We do our best to answer all queries, but cannot guarantee a response
te
and the rest are chipboard. We are looking to replace all the flooring with oak or elm, but is the pine original and should we replace it alongside the chipboard? Your house may have had elm floorboards originally, but there was a trend for softwood, such as pine, being used in the 17th century for its novelty value – the absence of redundant nail holes in the joists beneath could indicate your pine boards are original. I’d recommend retaining the pine but replacing the chipboard. Whether you use oak or elm is entirely a personal preference, but ensure that the wood is of a good quality and from an environmentally sound (FSC-accredited) source.
Solid Flooring
Standing firm Set the scene for a beautiful interior with characterful and resilient wood, stone or tiled flooring
T
he path to creating an interior that is sympathetic to the age of your property begins with getting things right underfoot. Solid flooring offers durability, low-maintenance and, if you choose the right style, will set the tone for an elegant look in every room. Wherever possible, restoring an original floor will not only preserve the property’s integrity, but result in a more sympathetic finish. It might also save you money, especially if you can undertake the work yourself. If the existing surface cannot be saved, then reclaimed flooring is a sustainable alternative that will look like it has always been there.
Feature Ife Adedeji
Classic wood flooring
PERIOD DRAMA Laid in a herringbone pattern, this majestic solid oak floor, £90.50 per m2 from Junckers, is finished with an invisible matt lacquer that protects the wood while letting the grain and natural variations shine through. Promising a long lifespan, the boards can be sanded and refinished up to eight times, giving many decades of use. You can even fit them yourself if you are competent at DIY.
When it comes to buying new flooring, there are countless options to suit every style of home, and huge flexibility in design, colour, material and price. Consider the needs of the room in question: high-traffic areas will require a more durable floor covering, bathrooms need a material that can withstand humidity, and kitchens need an easy-to-clean option that can take the inevitable spillages. It is common for floors in older properties to be uneven, so some preparation work will likely be needed. If a new screed is required – such as where underfloor heating is being fitted – then opt for Limecrete, which is breathable, to avoid damp.
WARM UNDERFOOT Engineered wood offers the elegance of solid wood but with more flexibility and often at a lower price. It is made from several layers of more affordable wood, which have been glued together, and then topped with a section of quality hardwood. Once fitted, engineered flooring is indistinguishable from solid wood but is easier to fit and more compatible with underfloor heating, since it responds better to changing floor temperatures and humidity. Depending on thickness, it can be sanded once or twice in its lifetime. This engineered walnut lacquered wood costs £84 per m2 from The Natural Wood Floor Company.
GET THE LOOK Fully waterproof, laminate is ideal for a wood finish in the bathroom, as it lets you create a welcoming natural look without the worry of warping or rot. This Quick-Step Aquanto Natural Oak laminate flooring, £33 per m2 from B&Q, features embossed grooves and graining for an authentic appearance. It is easy to maintain and straightforward to install on a level subfloor, as its click system means that no glue is needed, plus it can also be laid over underfloor heating.
90 Period Living
AUTHENTIC TOUCH Solid timber has been used as a floor covering for centuries and for good reason. Long lasting and versatile, it has a rich patina that continues to develop over time, resulting in a completely unique finish. Keep it looking its best by cleaning with a non-abrasive wood cleaner and soft broom, then re-oil every two years for an additional layer of protection. This Etesian oak flooring is priced from £120 per m2 at Broadleaf.
Solid Flooring GREENER CHOICE Offering a durable alternative to hardwood, bamboo is an increasingly popular flooring option for both modern and period homes. A highly sustainable choice, bamboo takes just five years to fully replenish, unlike hardwoods, which can take decades. The Bamboo Flooring Company’s solid carbonised strand woven design, £28.99 per m², is almost identical to conventional wood. Plus, its easy-toinstall tongue-andgroove system means that it does not require expert fitting, as it can be glued directly onto the subfloor with a flexible adhesive.
HIDDEN TREASURES Sometimes removing an old carpet can reveal stunning original timber floors. Bringing them back to life by cleaning and waxing or oiling will not only save you money, but imbues your home with a character that modern designs cannot replicate. If you are not so lucky to have the originals, then buying reclaimed boards is a charming and durable alternative. We love this reclaimed weathered oak barn flooring, which costs £153 per m2 from The Main Company.
RICH TONES Make a statement with this engineered oak matt Providence Herringbone flooring, from £88.98 per m2 at Kersaint Cobb. The deep brown shade of the PC420 colourway is achieved by smoking the top oak layer, rather than just staining the surface. This means that the colour penetrates through the board, so you can sand it when necessary and still retain the same rich chocolatey hue.
Period Living 91
Beautiful stone HISTORIC CHARM Imbued with the character of age, reclaimed stone brings original style to your home. The subtle variation between the stones makes it look as if the floor has always been there. These Yorkstone flags, £168 per m2 from Ribble Reclamation, have been carefully hand cleaned to retain their natural, foot-worn patina, and are delivered with a specific plan for laying.
COUNTRY COLOURS A form of limestone, travertine has been used to construct buildings for centuries. Available in tile and paver formats, this warm-coloured stone has a variety of shades within each flag, creating a patchwork across the floor. Travertine is naturally porous, so sealing and polishing is essential to limit exposure to air and moisture and prevent any pits from expanding. This Country mix tumbled design costs £22 per m2 from Floors of Stone.
LUXURIOUS MATERIAL Adding elegance and timeless charm, marble flooring is as revered today as it has been for centuries. Found in many colours and variations, marble also lends itself to being laid in patterns. Here, Artisans of Devizes’ Aliseo white honed marble tile, £154 per m2, has been framed by dark Nero Marquina marble inset borders, for added interest. However, with luxury comes responsibility. Due to its fragility marble is ill-suited to high-traffic areas and is best laid by a professional. It also requires annual sealing to prevent damage and staining. 92 Period Living
Solid Flooring NATURAL BEAUTY With colours ranging from glossy black to warm brown, slate can be riven for a rustic look that showcases its natural clefts, or honed, for a sleeker finish. It is highly durable, as well as water- and slipresistant. Use it to add classic charm to a bathroom or lay it both inside and out to create a seamless link between a kitchen and patio area. These Metropolitan slate hexagon riven tiles cost £59.95 per m2 at Ca’Pietra.
COTTAGE STYLE With a warm, welcoming feel, limestone is a popular flooring choice, and is also one of the more affordable stone options. A relatively porous stone, it must be sealed to ensure its durability and prevent scratching, but it works well with underfloor heating. This Century limestone, £67 per m2 from Indigenous, has rich honey tones and a subtly aged finish that evokes the charm of a century-old Cotswold farmhouse.
SMOOTH FINISH Sandstone is a hardwearing, timeless flooring choice. The Seaton design from Neptune, £80 per m2, has a subtle grey tone, which is accented with ivory flecks, creating a neutral base that complements an array of interior styles. The stone is riven cut to make a feature of its natural patina. Sealing is vital in order to ensure it stands up to the wear and tear of daily life, especially in the kitchen.
ARTFUL INSTALLATION Cast from the moulds of original slabs, these Old Mill Heritage Grey flagstones are a traditional, hardwearing option. Made from concrete and fibre glass, they feature the authentic textural finish of real flagstones, while being more affordable. Their uniform 25mm thickness makes them easy to lay and means they also work with underfloor heating – which can be a difficult solution for real flagstones. Once sealed they are impervious to stains, too, making them ideal for the creating the farmhouse kitchen look. Priced £42 per m2 from Farmhouse Flagstones.
Period Living 93
Solid Flooring
Timeless tiles
ORNATE DESIGN Ideal for use in any room of the house, ceramic tiles are a hardwearing and versatile choice. Topps Tiles’ Berkeley design in Slate Blue, £49.98 per m2, has an elaborate scrolled pattern inspired by William Kent’s masterpiece staircase at 44 Berkeley Square. The timeless design brings together different style eras into a format reminiscent of traditional encaustic tiles.
Image (terracotta tiles) Kasia Fiszer
RUSTIC TONES Capture the laid-back essence of Mediterranean style with terracotta tiles. Working well with clean white interiors, their copper tones evoke the warmth of the sun – perfect for brightening up a cold kitchen. The tiles can be made by machine or hand and offer an affordable flooring solution. Look for pretreated versions, which are treated with a primer and durable sealant to give them longevity and durability, especially if you are planning to lay in high-traffic areas. For similar terracotta tiles, try Baked Earth. HERITAGE INSPIRED Imitating Victorian geometric tiles, Karndean’s Clifton luxury vinyl planks in Dove Grey, Azure, Lace and Nero, £124.99 per m2, offer the same vibrancy as the real thing. Slip-resistant and waterproof, luxury vinyl is ideal for bathrooms, also working well with underfloor heating. It needs to be left for 48 hours after laying to fully acclimatise, but then requires little maintenance. An annual deep clean with strip and polish solutions will keep the flooring looking its best.
Period Living 95
MAKING AN ENTRANCE The colourful encaustic tiles of Victorian hallways are one of the most beloved features of this era of home. So if you want to emulate the style or reinstate lost flooring, then new ceramic tiles offer the ideal solution. Hardwearing and easy to clean, they deliver a statement entrance while also standing up to being trampled by muddy boots. Available in myriad shapes and sizes, the individual tiles can be laid to create a bespoke pattern. If, however, you’re unsure about designing your own, then consider one of Original Style’s traditionally inspired laying patterns, like this beautiful Conway design, which costs £217.27 per m2.
PURE ELEGANCE Porcelain is a dense material that is highly resistant to scratches and moisture, making it perfect for the bathroom. It is tougher than traditional ceramic, although as a result can be prone to cracking, so avoid laying in high-traffic areas of the home. Inspired by Italian terrazzo designs, these Arlo light tiles cost £49.50 per m2 from Porcelain Superstore.
ARTISTIC FLAIR Encaustic tile designs are usually comprised of two or more colours in a geometric pattern. Although popular in the Victorian era, they were also traditionally seen in North African homes. Historically, these were crafted from clay, but today cement is a popular alternative due to its affordability, despite being slightly more porous. In both cases, the designs are inlaid into the clay or cement base to form part of the actual tile, meaning it won’t wear off over time. Pictured here are the Petra encaustic cement tiles, £160.80 per m2 from Otto Tiles, with a minimum order of 125 tiles.
ORIGINAL CHARACTER Consider giving reclaimed tiles a second chance to shine. With a unique patina that is impossible to reproduce, reclaimed tiles seamlessly integrate into old homes while also being a sustainable choice. These tiles, from antique specialist Maitland & Poate, are sourced from heritage Spanish properties and have been hand restored for a colourful addition to the home, £5 each. 96 Period Living
to
O
ver the last year, many of us found ourselves working from home, trading the hustle and bustle of the office commute for a gentle stroll downstairs. It is estimated that for over a quarter of us*, this is set to continue, at least for part of the week, as more companies have realised the benefits of remote working. So while the kitchen table might have just about done the job in lockdown, if you are now facing the reality of working from home long-term, then it is time to create a practical, productive space. No matter the size of your home – or your budget – there are plenty of ways to create the home office of your dreams.
Clock watching
Whether you’re looking to reinvent a spare room, add a garden building or convert a quiet corner, find out how to create the perfect home office to maximise your productivity Feature Holly Reaney
Lofty ambitions Right: One of the most costeffective ways to gain space, converting the loft creates an extra room and separates you from the distractions of daily life downstairs. A full conversion costs between £500 and £1,500 per m2, depending on location and the work involved, and you will need at least 220cm of head height. Rooflights or dormer windows are essential for bringing in natural light, while built-in furniture – such as this Neville Johnson design, from around £3,600 – will help to maximise storage in what can be an unusually shaped room. 98 Period Living
Left: Ensure you don’t miss any important meetings – or forget it is almost ‘home time’ – with a stylish wall clock. This Thomas Kent design in Sorrell, from £45 from John Lewis & Partners, brings timeless charm with its ceramic-effect matt finish and clear embossed numerals.
*finder.com/uk/working-from-home-statistics
95
K I R NG O W
Home Office Ideas
Garden hideaway Below: When working from home, it is vital to maintain a work-life separation to ensure you don’t always feel like you are ‘in the office’. Independent from the house, a garden building offers an ideal solution, providing space and calm; somewhere you can be productive during the day but switch off from when you lock the door at night. Here decorated in a vintage scheme and with a desk, stove and daybed, this shepherd’s hut, £5,538 for a kit from Tuin, beats the city-centre office block hands down.
Room with a view Above: You can’t help the view from your window, so if it is less than appealing then why not replace it with a more inspiring vista? Painted by John Constable in 1802, this picturesque view of Dedham Vale has been reimagined as a blind for the V&A Collection at Surface View, £190. Plus it will help to shield you from the late afternoon glare if your window is south facing.
Sit up straight
Image (shepherd’s hut) Brent Darby
These home office chairs are the perfect combination of style and comfort
Kachel Daphne-printed chair in dark orange, £348, Anthropologie
Hillcrest vintage office chair, £495, Scaramanga
Calla Lily Kantha work flower chair, £730, Ian Snow
Scalloped velvet chair in Rust, £350, Rose & Grey
Period Living 99
Natural beauty Left: Being surrounded by nature is known to nurture creativity while also reducing stress, so how better to embrace its benefits than on your walls? This Boråstapeter Countryside Morning wallpaper in white and grey, £59 per m2, subtly encapsulates tranquil bucolic scenes in a Toile de Jouy print.
Bright idea Above: Close work needs good illumination, and Anglepoise has been the world leader in desk lamps since it first launched in 1932. Featuring a flexible swan neck that can be adjusted easily to suit your needs, this Typo 80 design costs £119.
Fully serviced Right: Bringing a modern touch to the traditional timber lodge, Green Retreat’s Expression garden room makes a striking contrast for a period property and provides a clear distinction between home and office. Its large French or sliding doors let in lots of light and make the most of garden views, while vertical timber cladding helps it blend in with its surroundings. The building is fitted with electrics and heating, and it is highly insulated to ensure it will be a comfortable space to work in all year round. From £17,245. 100 Period Living
Home Office Ideas Restful space Right: The bedroom is already one of the most peaceful rooms of the home, so it can be a good solution as an occasional office space. Key to making this work is for your desk and chair to blend in with the room’s décor and double up as a dressing table. Handcarved from hardwood, this Gustavian desk with top, from £1,045 at Susie Watson Designs, features elegant scroll detailing and a weathered finish that is perfect for period homes. Its balcony storage top lets you keep stationery out of sight when not in use, while the central drawer can hold a laptop. Pair with Susie Watson’s small caned Arun chair, £985, for a comfy and practical workstation.
Flexible friend Right: If the best place to work is in your living room, then a compact bureau, like this Oakland design, £625 from Cotswold Company, is an ideal solution. Crafted from oak, the bureau folds out to create an ample worksurface, while drawers and shelves keep all your essentials neatly organised. Alternatively, if the best place to work is your dining room, then check out the superstylish dining desk, £2,450 at Consider 64, which transforms into a fully ergonomic work station in seconds.
Image (Office under stairs) Kasia Fiszer
Turn up the heat
Under the stairs Above: Often overlooked, the space under the stairs is brimming with conversion potential. While usually repurposed for storage or a downstairs loo, it is also the ideal size for a desk and chair. It can be a dark corner, so invest in a high-quality lamp, or have spotlights fitted to prevent eye-strain.
Left: If you are working in a garden building, then heating is a must in winter. Small but mighty, Everhot’s electric stove is the ultimate solution. Plugged into a standard 13-amp socket, the 1.5kW heater will keep you toasty, even after it has been turned off, thanks to its castiron heat-storage design. You can even cook lunch in its 20-litre oven. Prices start at £1,295. Period Living 101
Beautiful backdrop Video calls have given the accent wall a new lease of life – and a new audience. While contemplating the view from your desk, consider, too, the backdrop from your computer camera, as it is likely to now be the most seen part of your home. Embrace rustic charm with a faux plaster wallpaper, like Nina Hancock’s Cracked Plaster wallpaper in gold, £65 per roll from Go Wallpaper, then pair with minimalist wooden furniture, such as the Hebden oak dining table, from £1,075 at Neptune.
Nifty nooks Above: Period homes are graced with countless nooks and crannies, so take advantage of them. Perfectly placed between the chimneybreast and steeply sloping roof, this built-in desk and shelving by John Lewis of Hungerford makes the most of otherwise dead space. Prices start at £2,300.
Room to grow Left: If you are in need of more space, then extending offers an excellent, long-term solution. This home office, designed and built by Border Oak, has exposed oak beams that would blend seamlessly into a period home. Generous windows flood the room with light, while antique furniture and a gallery wall add plenty of personality. Extension prices on application.
Shelve it Right: Moving out of the office brings with it lots of supplies, so you’ll need somewhere to store them. Ikea’s Hemnes bookcase, £129, offers deep, adjustable shelves, giving you space to store books and boxes of paperwork, preventing your office from becoming cluttered. A desk with drawers like the Alex, £129, also helps to keep your stationery on hand but out of the way. 102 Period Living
j Be inspired by the stories behind these stunning home renovation projects
Making a splash Having discovered a leak in their pool, the Howells decided it was time for it to go. Theresa tells us how they transformed it into a stunning patio garden Tell us about the pool We inherited the swimming
pool when we bought the house 16 years ago and were told at that point that it was around 15 years old. The pool was a lovely thing to have while the grandchildren were young, as they would bring their friends round for pool parties. What prompted you to remove it? The pool took a lot
Where did you start? The first job was to dismantle the huge telescopic canopy. It was cumbersome and we were happy to see it go. We tried to take it down in one piece but it was practically impossible due to its size – so we took to it with saws, metal grinders and the like. We managed to sell the plastic sides and the roof on Ebay and got rid of the metalwork to a scrap metal dealer. A friend had recommended a landscape designer to us, so he came around and asked us what we 104 Period Living
BEFORE
Above: While the pool was enjoyed by the grandchildren when they were younger, it had lost its appeal and desperately needed an expensive overhaul Right and below: Filling in the pool and building a patio area took professional help to ensure there would be no leaks when the paving was laid Opposite: The finished patio makes the most of the sunshine and is ideal for entertaining. The minimalist spherical water feature is Theresa’s favourite detail DURING
DURING
Feature Holly Reaney
of time, money and effort to maintain. The canopy was a bit of an eyesore and needed constant cleaning, especially as it had a tendency to attract hornets and ants. Then you had to keep the water at the right level and monitor the chlorine, as well as having it drained each season. We’d been living here for about five years when we had a minor earthquake, which sprang a leak in the pool’s piping. We had that repaired at great expense as we had to replace lots of the pipework and drainage. It was then okay until we came back from a holiday in 2019 and realised we had terrible water pressure – the tap was just dribbling. We called the water board and they told us that we were losing a colossal amount of water due to a terrible leak under the pool. We looked at what needed to be repaired and realised quite quickly that it would cost an absolute fortune – too much considering the pool wasn’t really being used much anymore. We considered getting it filled in or turning it into a vegetable patch, but as it was 8ft deep this would have been expensive, so we decided to landscape it.
Renovation would like to include in the garden. We said it would be lovely to have a seating area where we could relax, perhaps surrounded by a little sunken garden so that we could plant flowers that tumble over the edge. We also wanted to keep the pool’s steps but mould them slightly differently. He went away and created the plans based on our ideas. He also had the excellent idea to fill the hole created by levelling off the deep-end with all the leftover rubble and pipework from the pool – which had to be taken up anyway. Then it was specially pounded and layered to create the patio’s base. How long did the work take? It took the builders
about two months in total. This included creating a new path leading up to our garden gate, as all the machines and diggers had left their mark. We also transformed the area where they had parked all their equipment into a beautiful rose garden. Tell us about the planting We wanted large plants
in each corner and our local nursery had some lovely yucca plants that were just perfect. We also wanted to have a garden around the patio that didn’t require too much maintenance and could just be enjoyed, so we filled the borders with succulents. My favourites are some that look like daisies; they were tiny when they arrived – the size of a matchbox – but once they bloomed they were beautiful, all different colours. We popped aubrietas in between and together they brought the space to life. For the back flowerbed, I took cuttings of plants that we already had in the garden, including sedum, mini-geraniums, clematis, elephant ears and cosmos, and our friend gave us some nasturtiums. We were very lucky that they all took so well in the new garden area and they looked stunning throughout the summer. AFTER
What was your biggest decision? We decided not to
AFTER
do the project as cheaply as possible, but instead to make an investment in the garden and the property. We saved at least £20,000 by not repairing the pool, and also no longer have the expense of the running and maintenance costs. We put this money back into the space. Of course, you can vary the cost with the materials you use; choosing old bricks to create the walls and flint shingles were options we considered, but we fell in love with the colours of Indian sandstone. We were also reassured by the fact that, once sealed, it has a really good lifespan. We chose to have a bigger outlay at the start by using materials that are going to stay looking great, rather than having to revisit it and replace parts to keep up its appearance. Have you got a lot of use out of it? We were very lucky
as the builders started in February 2020 and then were done by the beginning of April last year, which meant we could make the most of all the lovely spring weather and then throughout lockdown. It has been a great addition to the garden. We can’t wait to get out and have friends around this year. Period Living 105
The cupboard under the stairs Aisha Pilgrim shares her DIY cloakroom, only using old furniture that was destined for the charity shop What made you decide to create a cloakroom? Our
home is a Victorian townhouse, which has long but small rooms. As a family of six, we have countless shoes and coats that are always fighting for space. We needed somewhere to store them, other than putting them on the back of the door. How had the space previously been used? It was a tiny
BEFORE
DURING
Above left: Clearing out the understairs cupboard was a challenge in itself Above right: Although only a small space, it had lots of potential, which Aisha was quick to realise Left: The whole project only cost Aisha £45 for the new storage boxes and tins of sample paint. The panelling is made from slats reclaimed from her son’s old bunk bed, while the storage cubes, arranged to make the seat, used to be in the airing cupboard. The beautiful blue shade – a tester pot of Valspar’s Tolstoy paint from The Bookshelf collection – ties everything together Below: The cloakroom is one of Aisha’s favourite home improvement projects, perfect for keeping her Victorian townhouse neat and tidy
AFTER
understairs cupboard in our family room. I didn’t like the door so I took it off, but then this overfilled space was on view to everyone. So, I decided that I needed to declutter. It was only once I’d finished decluttering that I knew my idea would work. What inspired you to upcycle everything? When you are
sorting a room, you end up with bags of stuff that you think you might be able to reuse, but then you never get around to it. Space is at a premium here, so I decided to take everything to the charity shop; but then lockdown happened. As time passed, I noted that most of it was furniture and that I could make use of it in renovating the cupboard: there were shelves from the airing cupboard, slats from my son’s old bunk bed and two box units that had been bursting at the seams. Did you have a plan? I didn’t have a plan for how
everything was going to fit together but I knew what I needed from the space. I needed to be able to hang coats; I had the baby’s stuff that needed to be accessible but tidied away; and we had board games that were stored everywhere. So, I took two triple boxes and decided that if it didn’t fit in those, then it couldn’t stay. How did you go about it? It was like a jigsaw puzzle,
moving things around to get the look I wanted. I hoped that the slats would be a magic fit for the space, then I tried them on top of the box unit and it all slotted together perfectly – I didn’t even need to bring out the tools. Have you done lots of DIY in the past? I’m always doing
something in the house. I’ve re-covered chairs, used floor coverings on the wall and lots of little bits like that, but in terms of reusing things – turning old furniture into something completely different – this was the first time. This is also the biggest project that I’ve done inside the house, but the best part is that I spent just £45 on a couple of tester pots and the storage boxes. What would be your advice to others? Decorating your
house doesn’t have to be an expensive activity. You can just pull up what you have already got and might otherwise throw away, and transform it into something new. Be inspired by Aisha’s beautiful home and savvy storage ideas on Instagram @athomewith_aisha 106 Period Living
Renovation
HOME MAINTENANCE
Frontdoors Give visitors a good first impression of your home by looking after its entrance Feature Roger Hunt, author of Old House Handbook
F
ront doors say a lot about the period and status of a house. They also suffer exposure to the elements and wear and tear from frequent use. Worse still, lack of maintenance may lead to decay, while the removal or replacement of door furniture – especially locks – can leave lasting scars. These issues can be incredibly damaging, not only to the appearance of a door, but also to its structural integrity.
Illustrations Sarah Overs
Maintenance checklist O Investigate sticking, rattling
or squeaking of the door O Note if there is peeling, bubbling or cracked paintwork O Deal with rot and decay O Repair loose joints
O Check hinges are not damaged
or are binding O Consider draughtproofing
Questions and answers Alison de Roeck, managing director of Kierson Sash Window and Timber Restoration, answers some common questions about front doors and the best methods of repair and renovation.
Q
What are the key considerations to bear in mind when undertaking work to a front door?
Always try to retain as much of the door’s existing fabric as possible, including door furniture. Seek professional assistance and minimise the amount of original material lost by splicing in new timber only where
necessary. When making repairs, use like-for-like materials and techniques. If making any changes, be sure they are historically correct and check whether consent is needed.
Q
How can draughts around a door be stopped?
Draught or weather pile strips will help. A door frame is generally held rigid by the masonry around it, so it is the door leaf – or door panel – that tends to move and let in draughts. For this reason, draught stripping should be fitted to the leaf and not around the frame. This can help guard against the sticking and binding of a swollen door as it acts as a cushion and prevents timber swelling to timber. When the swelling subsides, the pile will Period Living 109
If gaps remain, fill and sand until flush. Use good quality resin fillers that stay elastic enough to move with the expansion and contraction of the two different pieces of timber.
Q
Is there anything that can be done about a sticking door?
Try to live with a door for a year to see how it alters with the seasons. Grease hinge pins, lightly sand down areas of paint where sticking occurs, and apply wax or a silicone spray to lubricate. Don’t plane down a door when it has been wet and is swollen. Let it expand and contract until it finds its natural level. Once that is established, plane it or sand it back and coat exposed wood.
Q
Some of the joints are loose; how can they be fixed?
Above: Reduce draughts by using weather pile strips, installing a door curtain, and covering letterboxes and keyholes
naturally fill the gap. You should also cover letterboxes and keyholes, while an internal door curtain is another efficient and cost-effective measure.
Q
Should paint and finishes be stripped and, if so, how?
Stripping isn’t recommended as the build-up of paint is part of the history of the door, and older paint tends to contain more protective ingredients. Damage may be caused to the timber, joints and glass by stripping off the paint; there is also the health and safety issue associated with stripping lead paint. Where there is a need to start again, a chemical peel stripper is often a good solution.
Remove the door, take the loose sections apart and clean away any paint and old glues. Refix using timber glue and then protect the door before clamping for the appropriate length of time. Be sure to protect the door where the clamps are in contact.
Q
Are there any issues to consider if the door has glass panels?
Old glass is valuable and beautiful so removing it from a door should be avoided if at all possible. Antique glass can already be under stress, so may suddenly crack if attempts are made to remove it. Glass should be protected when undertaking any work to a door, either with a film or by fixing temporary boarding over it.
Q
The bottom of the door is rotten but the rest is fine; can it be repaired?
Yes, depending on the style of the door, new sections can be spliced in to match. It is good to use a quality resin to act as an expansion gap between existing timber and a new splice. However good a splice is, the two pieces of timber will always expand and contract at different rates, which can cause the coatings to weaken, crack and fail, resulting in the risk of moisture penetration.
Q
There are small areas of rot and holes in the door left from old locks; how can these be filled?
Fill damaged areas by cutting in sections of the same species of timber. 110 Period Living
Above: Where there is a need to remove old paint, use a chemical peel stripper and take care if you are stripping lead paint
Q
What should be considered if buying a front door from a salvage yard?
Be sure that it is historically accurate for the property. Check that it is straight and flat and has been stored correctly without exposure to weather and pests, such as woodworm. Most salvage yards only sell the leaf and not the frame. Ensure the chosen door is the correct thickness to fit into the rebate of an existing frame. Alternatively, it may be necessary to have a new frame made.
Q
Are there any tips about buying new door furniture?
Buy the best you can afford and check the manufacturer’s instructions for the correct use of external lacquers and protection. Reclaimed or salvaged antique door furniture generally has the advantage of assured longevity and quality, even if it does need a polish!
Useful contacts B MULFORD HISTORIC CARPENTRY
– timber repair and conservation specialist. Tel: 07786 195098 bmulfordhistoriccarpentry.co.uk DEACON & SANDYS – bespoke joinery and oak doors. Tel: 01580 243331; deaconandsandys.co.uk KIERSON– timber door restoration. Tel: 01777 706363; kierson.co.uk LONDON DOOR COMPANY – designs, makes and installs doors. Tel: 0845 646 0690; londondoor.co.uk OLD ENGLISH DOORS – manufactures bespoke doors. Tel: 01159 588755; oldenglishdoors.co.uk SALVO – architectural salvage directory. salvo.co.uk SOLIDOR – Classic composite doors. Tel: 0808 231 6303; solidor.co.uk STRIPPERS PAINT REMOVERS – specialist paint removal. Tel: 01787 371524; stripperspaintremovers.com TOM MARSTON – specialist joiner. Tel: 01263 712182; tommarston.com VICTORIAN SOCIETY - publication on doors. Tel: 020 8994 1019; victoriansociety.org.uk
Feature Rachel Crow Illustration Sarah Overs Cartoon Bill Jones Photograph (Perch Hill) © Jonathan Buckley *Perch Hill also runs garden open days to enjoy its late spring/summer blooms on dates in May to September
WIND ENSEMBLE Enjoy the soothing jingle of bells as spring breezes blow through your garden, with this whimsical antique-finish wind chime, £10, National Trust Shop.
Scatter and sow for wild floral displays, enjoy colourful swathes of tulips, and prepare summer hanging baskets
CROP COMPANIONS WHAT: Asparagus and dill WHY: Asparagus is a slow
starter, taking two to three years to reach a full yield, but from then on you can expect to enjoy the delicious spears every spring for up to 15 years – so it is a crop worth protecting. This vegetable delicacy loves a sunny spot in the garden, and so any companion needs to be an equal sun worshipper. Dill is in season in spring and early summer, its ferny foliage topped with sprays of yellow flowers, and it helps to repel detrimental insect pests, such as aphids, from asparagus beds. PLANTING: Sow dill from mid-spring into fertile soil in full sun, and thin out seedlings when large enough to handle. Pick young leaves regularly to keep the plants productive and to delay their flowering.
GARDEN TREASURES PERCH HILL, SUSSEX
Trialling every variety and cultivar of bloom that she sells in her own flower beds, the gardens of expert plantswoman Sarah Raven are transformed by seas of tulips in spring. ‘No spring garden is complete without its tulips. They add beautiful colour to borders and in pots,’ says Sarah. Enjoy the carefully curated array of hues, from soft cream and lilacs through burnt orange to crimson and black, at one of the garden open days taking place from 14 to 16 April*. Pre-book on to one of the three, two-hour sessions taking place each day, and also enjoy coffee and cake, or lunch featuring recipes from Sarah’s cookbooks. Tickets from £15. (Tel: 0345 092 0283; sarahraven.com)
SOW PRETTY The founders of interiors brand Mini Moderns have released a collection of some of their favourite wildflower seed varieties, the packets featuring the brand’s Moordale design, which pays homage to their Yorkshire roots. From clusters of deeporange fox & cubs, to sweetly scented perennial wild marjoram, scatter some of these seeds in spring for a wonderfully wild floral display, £2.50 per pack. Period Living 113
SCREEN STARS Garden structures can often look bare in colder months when climbers die back, but these new trellis planters provide an instant, yearround decorative feature, while also supporting climbing plants and a seasonal, potted container display. Made from weathering Corten steel, they become more beautiful and rusted with age. Available in the Alhambra and Moucharabiya designs, they are priced £350 from Screen With Envy.
FIT FOR A QUEEN Many of the bees we will commonly encounter in the garden become active from spring, so extend a hand of welcome by installing a home for the more solitary species. Designed for leafcutter and red mason bees, this nest is made from FSC-certified pine, £24.99, RSPB shop.
ON THE BOOKSHELF
me gro o H w
n
Perfect for enjoying a wellearned cuppa mid sowing, planting and pruning, the Kitchen Garden mug, £12 at Sophie Allport, is from her new homeware range, inspired by her love of gardening and growing her own. 114 Period Living
Coming in a dazzling range of colours, sizes and forms, dahlias can be planted out once the last frosts have passed. These floral treasures are a joy for any garden, and in her new book, Discovering Dahlias (£18.99, Abrams & Chronicle), flower farmer and floral designer Erin Benzakein shares her expertise on growing and arranging these breathtaking beauties, with descriptions of more than 350 varieties, and step-by-step guides for stunning arrangements.
Mick Lavelle is senior lecturer in horticulture at Writtle University College* Hanging baskets add a splash of colour into the summer garden, and although April is still too early to hang these outdoors, it is the ideal time to plant them up and grow them on under cover in a greenhouse or conservatory. The commonest basket type is a wire cage. This must be lined, and while you can buy a ready-made liner, moss is much more attractive. Either buy bags of moss, or use any that you rake up from the lawn – you will need enough to evenly cover the inside of the cage with a layer about 1.5cm thick. Once the basket is lined, you need to form a water reservoir in its base. An impermeable material, such as a circle of polythene, or even an old saucer – around half the basket’s diameter – will stop water running straight out of the bottom during watering. Use a good, peat-free multipurpose compost for summer bedding plants, but only fill the basket two-thirds full for now. Nestle a small flowerpot into the centre of the basket, so that its rim is just below that of the basket, and fill the pot with shingle or gravel. This will make watering easier and help stop it splashing over the sides. To arrange the plants in the basket, start with central blooms to create a full appearance. Choose a variety with a compact and bushy growth habit. Next, position trailing plants around the edges to cover the sides of the basket. Finally, carefully fill in around the root-balls with more compost, before watering. If you have nowhere you can hang the basket under cover, use a large pot with a diameter just less than the basket rim to allow the trailing plants to develop and hang down until the basket can be moved and hung outdoors.
* Writtle University College runs a variety of short, weekend and evening horticultural courses. To find out more visit writtle.ac.uk
EXPERT TIPS... BOUNTIFUL BASKETS
showstoppers While waiting for our gardens to awaken fully, plant up some beautiful and versatile spring containers with this advice from gardening expert, Isabelle Palmer Isabelle Palmer is a city garden designer and founder of The Balcony Gardener, experts in small space gardening. She is also a garden writer and author of Modern Container Gardening (Hardie Grant) 116 Period Living
Images (Isabelle) Nassima Rothaker; (top) Pippa Blenkinsop
Spring
Gardens
Y
ellow catkins on branches, buds unfurling on trees, and snowdrops poking above ground – the spring awakening of the garden is a magical time of year. Spring marks the beginning of the growing season, and we can gain some instant gratification by planting up a showstopper container. At a time when the soil is still far too cold to grow very much, the compost in pots can absorb plenty of warmth from the sun for growing plants. Indeed, plants such as snowdrops, bergenias and Anemone pavonina positively thrive in the cool temperatures of early spring.
Images Nassima Rothaker
Find the perfect pot The container needs to suit the available space and the style of your property. From terracotta and stone to galvanised metal, the choice of container material is endless. Large-scale planters, such as dolly tubs, add maximum impact, while containers made from natural materials complement plants well – wicker planters create natural-looking displays reminiscent of a cottage garden. If you are looking for vintage or unusual pieces, local sales, antiques centres and charity shops are rich hunting grounds. When choosing, always consider the weight-bearing capacity of balconies and roof gardens, if you live in an apartment. Using a large container has distinct advantages, as it gives plants room to grow and work better
aesthetically; lots of tiny pots can make a space look smaller and more cluttered. You can still embellish the star of the show – the large container – with complementary smaller pots, in this way creating a miniature garden that will lift your spirits whenever you pop outside.
Sun or shade It is important to establish the aspect of your outdoor space as this will affect the amount of sun it enjoys, or whether it is in shade for part or all of the day. Sun-loving plants will fail to thrive in a shady area, while shade-lovers will struggle in sunny spots; once you know the aspect, you can choose plants that will flourish in the conditions. Do not despair if you have a shady or gloomy corner, as there are some wonderful plants for these conditions, including evergreen ferns, bergenias, saxifrages, drumstick primulas and fritillaries. If you are gardening on a roof or balcony garden, choose plants that can also withstand the drying effects of the wind.
What and when to plant ‘Thriller, filler, spiller’ is a useful phrase to bear in mind when choosing plants for the container. Select a strong statement variety to act as a focal point, and then complement it with filler plants – mixing upright choices at the back with compact ones arranged in the middle. Then add in spiller plants that will trail over the container sides.
Opposite: Pick a mix of spring plants, such as mascari, tulips and daffodils, to pot together in a spring showstopper Above left: This collection of mixed planters creates the impression of a small garden on a terrace area. Hydrangeas can thrive in partial shade, while saxifraga, columbine, veronicas and drumstick primulas in tones of pink and purple, present a floral harmony Above right: The bright pink and cerise flowers in this potted selection sing out against the painted blue planters
Period Living 117
Gardens a 40cm pot; seven plants in a 50cm pot; and nine plants in an 80cm pot. You can create beautiful containers using plants bought from the garden centre in spring. Alternatively, with a little forward planning, you could plant spring-flowering bulbs – such as grape hyacinths, crocus, daffodils and tulips – in the autumn, then add fillers like pansies and saxifrages once the bulbs start blooming. The key is to use an interesting selection of flowers and foliage to create striking structure, colour and texture.
Spring planting combinations Experiment with some of these suggested spring container combinations: O ACER PALMATUM ‘ASAHI-ZURU’ with Helleborus orientalis, Dicentra spectabilis and Tiarella ‘Spring Symphony’; O HEBE ‘HEARTBREAKER’ with Pulsatilla vulgaris ‘Eva Constance’, Fritillaria meleagris and Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’; O POLYSTICHUM POLYBLEPHARUM, or Japanese lace fern, with Hosta ‘Sunshine Glory’ and H. ‘So Sweet’, Heucherella ‘Brass Lantern’ and H. ‘Art Nouveau’, and Tulipa ‘Black Parrot’; O HYACINTHUS ORIENTALIS ‘DELFT BLUE’ with Muscari armeniacum, Galanthus elwesii or greater snowdrop, Tulipa ‘Purissima’, Senecio cineraria and variegated ivy; O For transitioning to summer, plant bronze fennel, Foeniculum vulgare ‘Purpureum’, pink snapdragon, Aquilegia ‘Rose Barlow’, dark pink asters, osteospermum and black petunias.
Image Nassima Rothaker
Planting in five easy steps Pick colours that complement the container and consider restricting your choice to one or two shades of complementary hues. You might, for example, go for shades of pink and purple using evergreen Skimmia japonica ‘Magic Marlot’ with its dusky pink buds opening to white flowers in spring; a purple-leaved heuchera; some cerise hyacinths and perhaps a few deep pink Saxifraga ‘Peter Pan’. You can add a few ivies around the sides if you want a trailing effect. The beauty of this approach is that you can keep the thriller plant and make a smooth transition to summer by replacing the fillers and spillers with summer-flowering annuals. Ringing in the seasonal changes in this way means you can enjoy an ever-changing display as the year unfolds. Either pot the old plants up in new displays or plant them out in the garden. We are also blessed with a wonderful choice of scented spring plants. Shrubs such as Christmas box, Sarcococca confusa, smaller species of daphne, and bulbs, including hyacinths and narcissi, add an extra dimension to any scheme, rewarding you with uplifting fragrance on passing. Creating a pot packed with flowers not only depends on the choice of plants but also on density. As a rule of thumb, odd numbers are more aesthetically pleasing, so use three plants for a pot with diameter of 30cm; five plants in
Above: Made from Corten steel, which improves with age as it slowly develops its patina, this large planter makes a truly striking statement. The curated plant selection, in shades of mauve, pink and purple, with the black foliage of a heuchera, stand out against the rusty tones. The feathery stems of grass ‘Karl Foerster’ provide the tall backbone of this potted display, and will take it from spring through to summer
If you have purchased a new container, you can start planting without any preparation. If using an old planter or upcycled container, wash this thoroughly to reduce the risk of pests and diseases infecting your new plants. STEP 1 Soak the plants for around 10–20 minutes, depending on their size, to consolidate the compost around the rootballs and make the plants easier to handle. Allow to drain. STEP 2 Cover the hole(s) in the bottom of the container with drainage crocks – broken terracotta pots, old tiles or china – to prevent them becoming blocked with compost, which will inhibit drainage. STEP 3 Fill the container with compost until it is two-thirds full, then firm down lightly with hands. STEP 4 Gently remove the thriller plant from its plastic pot and loosen the rootball to encourage the roots to spread out. Plant at the back or in the middle of the container. STEP 5 Next, remove the filler and spiller plants from their plastic pots and plant them around the focal plant. Remember to tease out the roots first and ensure all the rootballs are level. The compost should be an inch or so below the rim of the container to allow for watering, so add or remove compost as necessary. Fill in any gaps at the sides and between the plants, then firm down gently. Water well and allow to drain. Period Living 119
Avoiding common mistakes
Isabelle’s top spring plants
Even experienced gardeners make the occasional blunder, so do not be disheartened if a plant fails to flourish, or even dies. Here is how to avoid the most common errors: RIGHT PLACE Choose plants to suit the conditions, whether sunny or shady. DRAINAGE HOLES Make sure the container has a drainage hole or holes to prevent the compost becoming waterlogged, as this can lead to root rot. If necessary, turn the container over and use a hammer and heavy-duty nail to make a few holes in the bottom. You can’t make holes in stone, terracotta and ceramic, so water plants in containers made of these containers carefully and ensure the compost doesn’t become waterlogged. RIGHT COMPOST Most container plants are happy in a multi-purpose or soil-less compost, but some plants, such as acid-loving azaleas and heathers, need a specialist compost as do permanent plantings, which call for a soil-based compost. ACCURATE WATERING Plants require different amounts of water, but will need more from the start of the growing season in spring and less in autumn and winter. Where possible, use large containers because these will need less watering. Always alter the watering regime if a plant starts to look unhappy. Use Hydroleca in the bottom of the container – these clay granules absorb water and release it slowly back into the compost. FEED TO FLOURISH After about six weeks, plants will have used up the nutrients in the compost, so provide an appropriate fertiliser or plant food. This is especially important for long-term displays.
•Bergenia cordifolia* •Brunnera macrophylla* •Columbine (aquilegia) •Dicentra spectabilis* •Euonymus* • Ferns (for their wonderful texture)* •Foam flower (Tiarella ‘Spring Symphony’)* •Grape hyacinth (muscari) •Hellebore (Helleborus orientalis and H. niger)* •Heuchera •Hepatica nobilis var. japonica* •Hosta* •Hyacinth •Iris reticulata •Ivy (Hedera helix)* •Rhododendrons
* All these choices are happy to grow in partial or full shade
Sources for planters ZINC PLANTERS (aplaceinthegarden.co.uk) LARGE TERRACOTTA, STONE AND GLAZED POTS
(worldofpots.com) CRETAN TERRACOTTA POTS (potsandpithoi.com) PLANTERS, PLANT STANDS AND GARDEN IRONWORK
(homeandgardenironwork.co.uk) VINTAGE STYLE GALVANISED DOLLY PLANTERS
(bowleyandjackson.co.uk) SALVAGED AND TERRACOTTA PLANTERS
(englishsalvage.co.uk) ANTIQUE PLANTERS, URNS AND VESSELS
(decorativegardenantiques.co.uk)
Images Leigh Clapp
Right: Pretty pale tulips and delicate forget-me-nots make a lovely spring pastel combination against the aged patina of vintage copper planters Below: Rejoice the changing of the seasons in containers of spring flowers. Here, erysimum acts as the central ‘thriller’ plant, with the contrasting auriculas and pretty pansies providing the complementary filler plants. The small pots of auriculas embellish the larger container, creating a miniature garden effect
(dwarf varieties like R. ‘Wine and Roses’) •Lungwort (Pulmonaria officinalis)* •Pulsatilla vulgaris •Saxifrage* •Skimmia* •Snake’s head fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris)* •Snowdrops (galanthus)* •Solomon’s seal (Polygonatum x hybridum)* •Tulips •Viola •Winter aconite (Eranthis hyemalis)
Gardens
Floral melody
Sue Martin’s delightful cottage garden brims with the bright tones of her National Collection of dainty geums planted among a delicate medley of hues Words and photographs Leigh Clapp
Allium hollandicum ‘Purple Sensation’ spheres dance in the breeze with mixed tulips above massed forgetme-nots and Centaurea nigra, framed by the chestnut pergola. All this is accompanied by the delicate music of water tumbling from the small fountain feature
KEY FACTS Character A plantswoman’s cottage garden,
with flowing, harmonious planting that works with the natural rhythm of the seasons and contains a National Collection of geums Size Just under a quarter of an acre Aspect South and south-west facing Soil Wealden clay soil, improved by previous owners since the 1900s, with a good layer of friable fertile soil. Sue also adds grit to improve drainage Owner Sue Martin, a cellist and retired cello teacher, who has lived here since 1989 House 1850s Victorian terraced cottage Open 1 Brickwall Cottages, Frittenden, Kent TN17 2DH. Opens in aid of the National Garden Scheme by arrangement from April to June (ngs.org.uk)
O
ver the course of the past 32 years, retired cello teacher Sue Martin has gradually created an intimate, delightfully personal garden brimming with colour and life. A mature mixed hedge, only knee-high when she moved to the property, now encloses the L-shaped garden, which stretches out from behind her cottage in the little village of Frittenden. ‘When I arrived, the garden was like a goldfish bowl in the middle of the village, and looked more like an allotment, planted with well-tended vegetables, grassy paths and a central fruit cage,’ Sue recalls. But once cleared, the less than a quarter-acre garden was a blank canvas, ready to be transformed. ‘The previous owners, whose family had lived here since World War I, had improved the heavy yellow clay soil by adding farmyard manure and lime. As a result there is a good layer of friable fertile soil, and once plants have their roots down into it they grow extremely well,’ Sue explains. This is clear to see in the curvaceous flowerbeds now brimming with blooms, with grassy paths snaking between them. To give privacy and structure, Sue planted trees and shrubs, including hawthorn and holly hedges, a row of pleached Tilia platyphyllos ‘Rubra’ limes on the side and a lovely Cercis canadensis on the lawn, which is draped in pink blossom in May. A small formal pond near the house, accompanied by a coppiced chestnut pergola walk, add linear perspective. Linking the two garden areas is a pergola arch, flanked on both sides by deep curving beds planted in tones of soft blue from clumps of Iris sibirica, 124 Period Living
and silver-foliaged screening shrubs, such as the scented Elaeagnus ‘Quicksilver’. It makes a pretty entrance to the second section of the garden and allows glimpses of what lies beyond. One large area has been divided into quarters with curving, low box hedging for a touch of formality to enclose herbs and flowers, and four raised beds built and planned for crops. A lovely old gnarled ‘Beauty of Bath’ apple tree , the only tree that was on the land when Sue arrived, has remained a feature and is perfect to sit under for a bit of shade in summer, backed with clusters of cascading blooms from the beauty bush, Kolkwitzia amabilis ‘Pink Cloud’. The garden has evolved organically over the years into a pretty, informal style; full of plants, but with no set plan and simply embracing Sue’s love of gardening, which she learned from her mother and grandmother. ‘I tended to collect lots of plants and then I would gradually make beds for
Gardens
Far left: Sue grows geums for sale through mail order and at her open days (geumcollection.co.uk) Left: Pretty cottage planting with its harmonious combinations and sprinkling throughout of geums, such as here with one of Sue’s favourites ‘Prinses Juliana’, perfectly sets off the house Above: Stately Iris ‘Apollo’ sits among massed geum seedlings and the repeated presence of spontaneous, self-seeded blue forget-me-nots Right: A rustic arch links the two garden areas and is softened by a jumble of informal planting that includes irises, forget-me-nots, geums, knapweed and aquilegias
Period Living 125
them; it was a bit of hit and miss,’ Sue explains. Hardy perennials really fascinated her, and so she joined the local Hardy Plant Society in the 1980s. It was reading Beth Chatto’s Garden Notebook, however, that sparked the particular plant passion that informs this garden. ‘I was inspired to do a yellow border, and when looking around for something suitable bought a deep yellow Geum montanum. It seemed perfect, but not knowing much about geums then, I didn’t realise that it is an alpine plant and it didn’t like sitting in heavy Wealden clay, so it soon disappeared,’ Sue explains. ‘Then I saw Geum ‘Prinses Juliana’, and although I didn’t think I liked orange at first, it has been wonderful as it flowers and flowers and was much more successful. I gradually found other geums; whenever I saw one on a stall I would buy it, mostly from the Hardy Plant Society’s plant sales,’ she continues. As there aren’t many geum cultivars available in garden centres, Sue visited Alison Mallet, who held a National Collection in Devon, and when Alison decided she could no longer cope she asked 126 Period Living
Sue to take on the collection. She became a National Collection holder in 2006, and today has 119 different cultivars meticulously recorded, with some for sale in her small nursery on site. ‘I enjoy geums because most of them are all flowering at the same time, so it becomes a real high point of the year. I love the colours; they are not just one hard colour but have lots of different tones within. I like the brightness, effect and variety, as well as their evergreen leaves in winter. The different forms are just fascinating,’ says Sue. Geums fill the garden, mingling with perennials and annuals in flowerbeds, and planted en masse in a sea of forget-me-nots in the four raised beds that were once destined for vegetables, but now just one on a rotational basis is used to grow some beans, herbs and lettuces. Planting combinations are a little bit random, with a spontaneous charm that is quite enchanting as this garden is filled casually with exuberant, much cherished plants. ‘I now grow a lot of annuals, which I hadn’t before as the beds are full of perennials – with choices such as ammi,
Gardens
In the area GREAT DIXTER HOUSE AND GARDENS, Northiam,
East Sussex TN31 6PH. Famous and influential garden by Christopher Lloyd. Open April to November, Monday–Saturday. Entry adult £14.30, child £4.40. (greatdixter.co.uk) HOLE PARK GARDENS, Rolvenden, Kent TN17 4JA. Woodland garden with carpets of bluebells. Open spring to October. Entry adult £9, child £1. (Tel: 01580 241344; holepark.com) SISSINGHURST CASTLE GARDEN, Sissinghurst, Kent TN17 2AB. Iconic garden of Vita Sackville-West. Open daily. Entry from adult £8, child £4. (Tel: 01580 710700; nationaltrust.org.uk) MADRONA NURSERY, Bethersden, Kent TN26 3EG. Suppliers of unusual shrubs and perennials. (Tel: 01233 820100; madrona.co.uk)
Other nurseries supplying geums HARDY’S COTTAGE GARDEN PLANTS, Whitchurch,
Left: There is such a charmingly artless atmosphere and rhythm to the garden as you wander the paths, admiring the jostle of plants and jewel-like constancy of tiny geums, or sit awhile under the branches of the old, gnarled apple tree Below: Many of the geums are grown in raised beds that were originally intended for vegetables, their vibrant notes mingling with lime green Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii and bright blue forget-me-nots
Hamps RG28 7FA (hardysplants.co.uk) BEECHES NURSERY, Ashdon, Essex, CB10 2HB (beechesnursery.co.uk) EAST OF EDEN NURSERY, Carlisle, Cumbria CA4 9QN (east-of-eden-nursery.co.uk) NORWELL NURSERIES, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG23 6JX (norwellnurseries.co.uk)
cosmos, rudbeckias, larkspur and antirrhinum. The self-seeding can be a bit too prolific and needs thinning out to avoid congested beds. Euphorbia characias subsp. wulfenii has seeded all round the garden from one baby plant and there are ox-eye daises everywhere,’ she smiles. In mid-spring there are also tulips popping up, spires of Allium ‘Purple Sensation’, Dutch iris, promiscuous aquilegia, and centaurea, adding to the repeated visual link of sunny geums and the froth of forget-me-nots. Sue starts off with the tulips in pots then plants them out into the garden the following year with many reappearing. Later in the season, salvias, dahlias and chrysanthemums continue the show. ‘The aim is for continuous planting along the lines of the Great Dixter design,’ she adds. As the garden continues to evolve, curvaceous beds will continue to encroach further on the lawns, as new plants need to be accommodated in this floral melody. ‘I can’t resist plants and keep needing to find a home for the new arrivals,’ Sue adds. ‘They are what inspire me.’ Period Living 127
Sue’s five favourite geums to include ABOVE LEFT: GEUM ‘RED WINGS’ – double or
semi-double flowers ABOVE RIGHT: G. ‘PRINSES JULIANA’ – deep orange
semi-double flowers RIGHT: G. RIVALE ‘DEEP ROSE’
– flowers in shade from spring to mid-summer BELOW LEFT: G. ‘HILLTOP BEACON’ – very vigorous
grower with a single, soft orange flower BELOW RIGHT: G. ‘DAWN’
– flowers from April to November
128 Period Living
Pippa’s
PLOT
Budding flower grower and Period Living’s Style Editor, Pippa Blenkinsop shares tales of growing tulips on her allotment
One of the joys of April... on the allotment is seeing the first tulips bloom. Tulips make supreme cut flowers which only get better with age. The freshly cut buds are elegant and hopeful, but as the days go by they confidently flourish, taking on a life of their own; their stems drooping down and rising to support blousy petals that open to reveal an array of colours. I like to display tulips in a colourful wide-neck vase or jug, giving them room to flop freely and do their wild thing. Cut single tulips are easy to buy in spring – I love seeing buckets of them en masse at my local market – but I like to grow the more unusual types. With such a wide variety of shapes and colours, the options for creating exciting combinations are limitless, whether destined for the border or vase. Plus, with their varying heights and flowering times, tulips can bring swathes of colour across beds from March to May. Choose from dainty fringed varieties and peony-style doubles to elegant lily-flowering bulbs with their pointed petals. Besides the rainbow of colours offered by singles, viridiflora petals offer flashes of green, while the vibrant streaky Rembrandt variety, conjuring Dutch master paintings, is a guaranteed head-turner. Then, who could forget the exuberant parrots with their polychromatic laciniated petals? The ‘Apricot Parrot’ is a particular favourite; parrots flower later in the season, but are worth the wait, the apricot bringing with it spectacular tutti-frutti petals that range from yellow and green through to peach-orange and pink.
For me growing tulips... is costly because as yet I have not mastered how to get the best from them after their first year, so I treat them as annuals. Riding high on the optimism brought by late summer on the plot, I ordered hundreds of tulip bulbs in October ready to plant in November and bring hope through the winter months. This year I have decided to try a variety from different growers: Sarah Raven, Bloms Bulbs, Farmer Gracy, Burford Garden Company and Peter Nyssen. Sarah Raven is a master of colour, and if you find combinations tricky, then her collections are perfect; from elegant Apple Blossom pastels to rich jewel colours of the Venetian collection, she caters for all tastes. If you’re looking to grow lots of tulips, and create a magnificent display, it pays to buy in bulk. Peter Nyssen offers discounts the more you buy, which is tantalisingly tempting for a tulip fanatic – I ended up buying 50 of several varieties. I was also very impressed by its 100 per cent compostable packets. Offering plenty of sun and free-draining soil, the allotment is a great place to grow tulips. In my first year, my method of planting involved tossing the bulbs onto dug and raked ground, spacing out slightly and using a bulb planter to create a hole, then adding a little sand for drainage before planting point up. The instructions on the packet recommended I plant 15cm apart, but this looked too sparse for the abundant display 130 Period Living
Gardens
Tulipa ‘Blue Diamond’ and ‘Apricot Parrot’
Tulips from the plot brighten my mantelpiece
I was after, so for this year I decided to do things differently. With cut flowers you can afford to plant closer and it allows you to make the most out of limited space. In each of my long, narrow beds (pictured left) I dug 2-3 trenches the width and depth of a spade. In the hope of capturing nature’s order, I mixed together my selection of bulbs in a box and trickled them into the trench. I then went over the trench, making sure that the pointed ends were facing up, and they weren’t spaced too close. In each trench I planted around 150-200 bulbs.
Images Pippa Blenkinsop
My aim was to bring cheer... to my first three beds with a vivid display, as these are at the main entrance to our allotments, but I also wanted enough to cut without spoiling it. My approach was to theme each bed by colour, grouping different varieties in similar tones to create an ombré effect. For the front bed I chose whites - ‘White Rebel’, ‘Purissima’ and ‘Green Star’. Next, a bed of apricot through to coral tones. I made sure that the tallest – ‘Menton’ (60-65cm) and ‘Dordogne’ (65cm) – were at the back, with a trench of shorter bulbs at the front - ‘Pretty Princess’, ‘Jimmy’, ‘Apricot Parrot’, ‘Apricot Beauty’ and ‘Crème Upstar’. For the final bed I planned light to dark pinks, but sadly, a small rodent enjoyed them before I got chance to plant - a warning, do not leave bulbs in the shed! Luckily I had time to buy more, choosing ‘Mistress’, ‘Doll’s Minuet’, ‘Love Dance’ and ‘Black Parrot’. A benefit of gardening is that it’s taught me not to over-think things. Planning is useful, but it’s also daunting; it’s like painting, only the canvas is vast and three dimensional, as well as impacted by external factors such as weather, soil type and your time. I’ve found it’s best just to give things a go and learn from experience. It doesn’t matter if your blooms aren’t prizewinning; if you enjoy the journey the results will be just as sweet.
NOTES... Don’t worry if November passes you by, as December is not too late for planting tulips – they will just bloom a little later. If picking your own from a garden centre, ensure you select healthy bulbs by gently squeezing them – they should be firm. Dig up tulips once flowered to make way for sowing seeds or planting out annual flowers. April is a busy time on the allotment. Prepare your ground for sowing seeds directly by digging over and raking to a fine tilth. Succession sowing is advised for crops like salad and beans – try a few each month. April is also the time to start thinking about planting out plants grown under cover. Prepare beds by digging over and adding fertiliser. Don’t go by the books or calendars, as the weather is key – the ground should not be cold and claggy.
Peter Nyssen bulbs in compostable packets
Fringed, Rembrandt and Parrot tulips
Follow Pippa’s journey on Instagram@pippasplot
Gardens
Dazzling dahlias Now is the time to plant these showy flowers that make an invaluable addition to gardens, gracing them with their flamboyant blooms in myriad shapes and colours from June right through to December Words and photographs Leigh Clapp
A mix of open flowering single and semi-double dahlias, such as here with candy pink ‘Hartenaas’, white ‘Bishop of Dover’ and crimson ‘Bishop of Auckland’, are best for pollinators as the eye of the flower is exposed, enabling the insects to easily land and reach for the sweet nectar
Period Living 133
Above: Grow your favourite colour combinations and styles of dahlia together, staking the ones with larger blooms, but also planting them fairly close together so that they can help support each other Below left: Many dahlias grow happily in pots as long as they don’t dry out.
Look online for the shorter varieties ideal for containers, such as Sarah Raven’s pot collection and Gardenia’s best dahlias for containers Below right: Decorative Dahlia ‘Meiro’ makes a pretty combination with mauve asters for the late-season garden
I
mpressive planted en masse with a dazzling array of colours jostling for attention, or melding with other blooms as part of a mixed planting scheme, dahlias erupt on the late summer and autumn scene with great flamboyance. A member of the asteraceae family, there are around 36 species of dahlias, with thousands of various cultivars and hybrids. Skilled breeders across the world have produced a wide range of sizes and colours, practically unmatched in the world of flowers. Dahlias can be described as decorative, cactus, anemone, waterlily, pompon, balls, collarette, dwarf, peony or orchid. Sizes range from the smallest lilliput to dinnerplate-sized blooms, while there is every colour except for blue – that most elusive hue for breeders.
A potted history Dahlias originate from the mountains of Mexico, Columbia and Guatemala and were first recorded by westerners in 1615. They are named after the Swedish botanist, Dr Anders Dahl, who originally regarded them as a vegetable rather than a garden flower. Their beauty has been much admired since the development of varieties with large, double blooms were bred in Belgium in 1815. In a few short years, nearly every colour that we know today had been introduced and there were hundreds listed in catalogues for plant-obsessed gardeners of the era.
Design changes There is a sense of nostalgia with dahlias: once everyone grew them, often in rows among the 134 Period Living
Gardens vegetables or as brassy displays in gardens, before fashions changed and they began to fall out of favour. Garden designers, such as Beth Chatto in the 1970s, and Piet Oudolf in the 1990s, brought more subtle, natural-looking designs to the fore. Breeders started developing dahlia varieties for modern planting schemes, with daintier sizes that melded into planting combinations of grasses and perennials. A new wave saw great popularity of dark foliaged dahlias, such as the ‘Bishop of Llandaff’ and ‘David Howard’, while a resurgence for bright, cheering colours has also seen seas of dahlias mass-planted as a crescendo to the season.
Planting practicalities It is important that you prepare the soil well for these hungry plants. O They need a sunny spot, protected from strong winds, in rich, moist, well-drained and loamy soil but not wet, waterlogged soils. O Plant tubers once frosts have passed, allowing about eight weeks to the start of flowering. O Select varieties for your weather conditions and by the shape, size and colour. Tubers can be purchased through mail order, in packets at nurseries, or you may be able to scrounge some from a kind friend who has divided their clump of tubers. Ensure that each piece has some stem and at least one of the buds or ‘eyes’. O Dig a hole about 30cm deep, add in some compost or manure and wet with a watering can of water. Don’t divide the roots prior to planting, and position the tubers about 10 to 12cm deep with the crowns pointing up, spaced about 75cm apart, depending on the variety.
Above: The fashion for dark-leaved dahlias was started by Christopher Lloyd at Great Dixter in 1993, when he famously pulled out his rose garden and replaced it with an exotic border starring the ‘Bishop of Llandaff’. The tangerine ‘Bishop of Oxford’, here, is popular
for its abundant open flowers from June to October, loved by bees Below: A hot border allows you to play with a range of fiery colours, from yellow, through oranges and red, with dahlias layered with late Rosa moyesii ‘Geranium’ hips, salvias and towering cannas
O Tall-growing dahlias will need staking and it is
12 recommended dahlias to plant
a good idea to position the stake at planting. Unless the soil is very dry, don’t water the plants until they have grown about 15cm high, to avoid the tuber rotting. As they grow, pinch out the growing tips to promote bushy growth. O Protect them from slugs and snails and deadhead regularly to keep the plant flowering. O After the season is finished, cut back to ground level, mulch deeply if leaving in the ground in mild areas, or lift the tubers, clean them and leave to dry, then wrap them in newspaper or in wood shavings and store somewhere frost and damp free. O In very free-draining soil, leave the stems to go black from the first frost for approximately a fortnight to allow the sugars to go back down the stems to feed the tuber. Then cut the stems off just below ground level, mound up the soil or add compost to protect the tuber over winter. O In poorly drained or clay soil, at the first frost cut them down by half and then lift the tubers. O When planting dahlias in containers, choose a pot that is at least 30cm in diameter, use a good, multi-purpose compost and add a slow-release fertiliser. Be careful not to let them dry out and some will need staking. There are some diminutive varieties perfect for pots, such as dwarf colarettes, lilyputs and the low-growing Topmix series.
Top row, left to right: BISHOP OF LLANDAFF is now the stalwart of hot borders. This peony-flowered dahlia has vermilion flowers on dark foliage. It dies back in autumn, with fresh, new growth in spring. MOONFIRE is a low-growing single-flowered variety, ideal for containers or the front of beds. It lights up the garden with its distinctive bi-colour blooms contrasting with dark foliage. DAVID HOWARD is an impressive, decorative dahlia that is lovely in borders with its profuse burnished orange blooms on chocolate foliage. It has more flowers over a longer period than many dahlias, making it one of the most popular. Second row, left to right: TOTALLY TANGERINE is an anemone type, blending orange and pink tones with outer petals and inner tubular florets. It is great for containers, in borders and as a cut flower. HONKA SURPRISE is an orchid type with unique starshaped pink petals and yellow centre. Its compact size works at the front of borders and in containers. FASHION MONGER looks lovely in a vase, the border and in containers with its splash of colour on a white base. Originally introduced in 1955, this colarette variety has a charming retro feel. Third row, left to right: ENGELHARDT’S MATADOR, a decorative variety, as the name suggests, really makes a dramatic presence in the border with its double magenta flowers. Partner it with contrasting colours for a real statement. BLACKBERRY RIPPLE sounds delicious and looks delicious with splashes and drizzles of crimson and purple. Position this semi-cactus variety in the border with similar colours. CHILSON’S PRIDE, an informal decorative dahlia, has softly pretty pink petals around a pale cream centre that blends in a harmonious border scheme, and is an equally lovely cut flower. Bottom row, left to right: CHAT NOIR is loved by many for its rather sumptuous garnet to near black semi-cactus form, both in the garden and in the vase. It looks dramatic in blocks in an exotic border scheme. CROSSFIELD EBONY, a pompon variety, has a steady stream of delightful, darkly maroon spheres, ideal for the vase and in a mixed border. The small size of the flowers works attractively mingling with a cottage-styled border. BABYLON PURPLE, with its purple and red dinnerplate blooms held on long stems, is stunning planted en masse with dark leafed plants, and also makes an exceptional cutting flower.
Complementary combinations Dahlias work well mixed with other robust perennials in a bed or border, happily mingling with contrasting opulent autumnal plants or blending the tones for harmonious effects. Combine them in communities of plants that like similar conditions. Most grow to large bushes, so taller plants, such as eupatorium, agapanthus and buddleias work as a backdrop and ensure any smaller foreground plants can cope with being shaded by their leaves. Their companion plants can be the perfect accent to set them off or aid in deterring pests from their blooms. Some can do double duty of complementing and preventing pests, such as artemisia, fennel, salvias and nasturtium. Hot borders sing with red dahlias against clouds of fennel, burnished sunflowers, clumps of bright orange spires of kniphofias, and stripy cannas, cooled by splashes of blue salvias, for example. Other great border companions include ornamental grasses as a foil to their flamboyance, Verbena bonariensis, crocosmias, heleniums, agastache, rudbeckias and persicarias. Open–centred single and semi-double varieties that produce an array of simple flowers are the best choice for pollinators as they can see where to land and feed on the nectar, and look charming mingling with asters and other daisy-shaped flowers. In a cutting garden, decorative and cactus dahlias, in particular, are the ideal cut-and-comeagain blooms, flowering for months on end. Picking them regularly encourages more to flower right up to the first frosts. Recut the stems under water and they last in a vase for four to six days. 136 Period Living
Specialist growers GILBERTS NURSERY, Sherfield English, Hampshire,
SO51 6DT. Dahlia field open mid August to October (gilbertsdahlias.co.uk) AYLETT NURSERIES, St Albans, Herts, AL2 1DH (Tel: 01727 822255; aylettnurseries.co.uk) HARTS NURSERY, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 4TG (Tel: 07855 785540; hartsnursery.co.uk)
Out & About
If you go down to the woods today… Our woodlands are some of the most diverse habitats in our country, home to beautiful wildflowers, minibeasts, birds and mammals. Take a stroll and see what you can spot
Image National Trust/ Mel Peters
Feature Holly Reaney
Horner Wood, Somerset The mighty English oak is a true icon of the forest. The national symbol of strength, it is the logo for both the National Trust and Woodland Trust. Follow Horner Wood’s gravel paths and lose yourself in one of the largest ancient oak woodlands in Britain. As oak trees support more wildlife than other native tree species, be sure to look out for the host of birds and insects, including the rare orange speckled Heath Fritillary butterflies, who call this woodland home. (nationaltrust.org.uk) Period Living 139
Sherwood Forest, Nottingham
Brownsea Island, Poole Harbour This small island, located a short boat ride away from Poole, is renowned for its wildlife. Surrounded on all sides by water, its pine forests are a haven for red squirrels – one of the few areas where they are free from the invasive greys – and is home to a population of over 200. The woodland is also home to Japanese sika deer, who are sometimes spotted swimming across the harbour, as well as an impressive array of birdlife; so don’t forget your binoculars and camera. (nationaltrust.org.uk) 140 Period Living
Images (Sherwood Forest) Getty Images, (Harley) National Trust/Chris Lacey
The fabled stomping ground of Robin Hood and his band of merry men is now a haven for wildlife. Protected by the RSPB, the over 400-hectare Nature Reserve is home to more than a thousand ancient oak trees and even more birds, mammals and insects. Scaling to impressive heights, the vast majority of the grand oak trees were planted over five centuries ago, with the oldest, the majestic Major Oak, pictured above, estimated to be at least double that. (visitsherwood.co.uk)
Images (Wentwood) Mark Zytynski
Out & About
Wentwood Forest, Wales There has been a wood on this site in Monmouthshire since Roman times and today it is the largest ancient woodland in Wales. Playing its part in WWI, Wentwood was largely cleared to provide timber for the trenches, and in WWII hosted several underground bunkers that can still be seen today. The Woodland Trust took it over in the 1960s, restoring the forest and planting conifers, creating a beautifully diverse habitat for a range of rare and endangered species. (woodlandtrust.org.uk) Period Living 141
Garten Woods, Abernethy
Hatfield Forest, Essex A medieval royal hunting forest, Hatfield dates back to the time of Norman kings. While it has diminished in size over the centuries, the essence of the forest has hardly changed in the last 950 years. Fallow and Muntjac deer still frolic through the trees, having been originally introduced for hunting purposes, while over 3,500 other species of wildlife can also be spotted. The forest is also managed by coppicing and grazing cattle as it would have been under the Normans. (nationaltrust.org.uk) 142 Period Living
Image (deer in forest) Garten, (Moseley Bog) Getty Images
On the edge of the Cairngorms National Park, the ancient Garten Woods are like no other in the UK. The densely planted Scots pines line the banks of the loch, are interspersed with juniper, rowan and heather, and prove a dreamy introduction to the Highlands. Famed for its wildlife, the forest is one of the most protected nature sites in Britain. The nearby Nature Centre provides guidance on the area’s wealth of wildlife - over 5,000 species - with helpful spotting guides. (rspb.org.uk)
Out & About
Hardcastle Crags, West Yorkshire
Image (Hardcastle Crags) National Trust Images/John Millar
Nestled in a valley in the South Pennines, is the 400 acres of unspoilt woodland of Hardcastle Crags. Explore the magical banks of Hebden water and be enchanted by the forest which, at this time of year, is filled with spring bulbs exploding in colour. Approaching the heart of the forest, a small glade reveals the 19th-century Gibson Mill. Completely off-grid, it is the National Trust’s flagship sustainable building, and its Weaving Shed Café is an ideal place for a spot of lunch. (nationaltrust.org.uk)
Moseley Bog, Birmingham A ‘kind of a lost paradise… a wonderful dell with flowers’ so J.R.R Tolkien described Moseley Bog and its surrounding Joy’s Wood. Taking a stroll through this enchanting space, now a nature reserve buzzing with wildlife and ancient twisted trees, it is easy to see how it sparked the young Tolkien’s imagination, sowing the seeds of the mythical beasts and wondrous world that would later be brought to life in the pages of The Lord of the Rings. (bbcwildlife.org.uk) Period Living 143
EGG-CELLENT As an alternative to the traditional chocolate egg, enjoy a colourful Easter treat with this tin of hand-iced egg biscuits, £35 from Biscuiteers.
The latest culinary and cooking releases, and ingredient inspiration for keen home cooks
FROM THE VALLEY Increasingly we look for good provenance in the food we eat, and there is no mistaking the origins of Penbedw lamb – raised sustainably and left to roam free across 2,500 acres of land in North Wales. If you’re looking for an Easter feast, The Sunday Roast box, £59, contains a quarter of a lamb and can be delivered across the UK.
COOKING THE BOOKS: NEW RELEASE
CHEF’S CUT Morels
Feature Rachel Crow Illustration Sarah Overs
April’s seasonal ingredient suggestion is from Adam Byatt, chef patron of Michelin-starred Trinity, and Trinity Upstairs, London The first fungi of the spring season are not to be missed. Morels, found on bark in damp conditions, with their odd folded exterior and dark, musky woodland aroma, are amazing. Fresh morels just need a good wash in cold water and a gentle dry on a towel before cooking. There are few things better than a simple chicken stew with morels and thyme; a dish called chicken vin jaune calls for dry, sherry-like wine, sautéed morels and sour cream. But if it is simplicity you are after, then an easy spaghetti of morels and parmesan with the first English peas will very much hit the spot. Either drop the morels whole into foaming butter with seasoning and allow to fry for three minutes, or poach them by bringing to the boil equal
quantities of Madeira wine, butter and water, season well and add the morels to poach for ten minutes before serving. Dried morels need soaking in cold water overnight and then can be used the same way as fresh; the liquid from soaking dried morels is also wonderful to use as mushroom stock. Situated in the heart of Clapham Old Town, Trinity and Trinity Upstairs focus on seasonality and sustainability in the menus
If you were ever under the impression that it was merely casseroles and stews you could leave to gently bubble away in a slow cooker, think again. In her new book, Slow Victories (£16.99, Hardie Grant), Katrina Meynink shares a host of creative ideas of what can be conjured up – from jams and grain salads, mouthwatering soups, curries and beautiful braises, to myriad ideas for delicious batch-cook dinners or mouthwatering desserts and cakes infused with flavour.
MOST MOREISH Devon’s first whisky distillery, Dartmoor Whisky, based in the renovated old Bovey Tracey Town Hall, has released the new Ex-Sherry Cask Single Malt. All of the ingredients for this memorable tipple are sourced from the windswept moorlands, and then distilled and aged in a single Oloroso Sherry cask, resulting in a golden spirit combining notes of sweet sherry, hazelnut, coconut, marzipan, sultanas and gingerbread. £89.50 for 70cl.
Period Living 145
Recipes
P o
m u s c t r a i n c ce & p m
Create all the elegance and indulgence of a traditional afternoon tea in the comfort of your own home, with these ideas for sweet, teatime fancies from Will Torrent Photographs Matt Russell © Ryland Peters & Small
ONES; SEE NE TED SC XT P I U AG FR EF OR
RE CI
PE
FRUITED SCONES The Ritz has been serving Afternoon Tea since it opened its doors in 1906, and remains the place for the quintessentially British afternoon tea; the worldclass service and ornate settings will make you feel like royalty. John Williams, executive chef, and his team make an incredible 1,200 scones every day, and these popular versions have never left the menu. MAKES ABOUT 24 O 400g
strong bread flour caster sugar O 30g baking powder O A small pinch of salt O 60g butter O 250ml buttermilk O 100g (dark) raisins O 1 beaten egg, for glazing O 60g
TO SERVE O Good-quality jam of your choosing O Clotted cream O You
will need a 5cm round cookie cutter and a baking sheet lined with some baking parchment
1. Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a large mixing bowl. Mix together with your fingertips to the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add the buttermilk and gently stir to combine until a dough forms. Add the raisins and knead lightly to spread them throughout the dough. Don’t overwork the dough – the less you work it the more light and
fluffy the scones will be. Cover the bowl and set aside to rest for 10 minutes. This allows the dough to relax, to avoid toughness. 2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to a thickness of 1cm. Stamp out rounds using the cookie cutter, turn them over and arrange on the prepared baking sheet. Bring any scraps of dough together, re-roll and stamp out as many rounds as you can. 3. Brush the tops of each round with a little beaten egg to glaze. Cover the sheets with a clean kitchen cloth and set aside in a warm place to rise and prove for 30 minutes. 4. Preheat the oven to 160°C/140°C fan/325°F/ Gas 3. Bake the scones in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle of a scone comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. 5. Serve warm or cold with jam and clotted cream on the side.
CHERRY AND ALMOND BAKEWELL TARTS These little Bakewell tarts celebrate the wonderful combination of cherries and almond. A crisp almond pastry, cherry and amaretto jam, soft buttery frangipane, topped with almond- flavoured icing, with crystallized almonds and lastly a little slither of a glacé cherry! MAKES 12 O 3
tbsp good-quality cherry jam O 50g flaked almonds O 3–4 glacé cherries ALMOND PASTRY plain flour O 25g ground almonds O A pinch of salt O 100g butter, chilled and diced O 175g
148 Period Living
O 25g O 1
icing sugar egg, lightly beaten
FRANGIPANE butter, softened O 50g caster sugar O 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, lightly beaten O 1 tsp vanilla extract O 50g ground almonds O 20g plain flour O 50g
FROSTING icing sugar O ½ tsp almond extract O 100g
O You
will need a 10cm round cookie cutter, 12–15 x 7cm fluted tart pans or a 12-hole muffin pan, greased
1. Start by making the almond pastry. Tip the flour and ground almonds into the bowl of the food
processor, add the salt and the butter. Using the pulse button, rub the butter into the flour until it is pale and sand-like in texture. Add the icing sugar and pulse again to combine. Add the beaten egg and pulse again until the dough starts to come together. 2. Tip out onto the work surface and use your hands to bring it together into a neat ball. Flatten into a disc, cover in clingfilm and chill for at least 1 hour until firm. 3. Meanwhile, prepare the frangipane. Cream the butter with the caster sugar until pale and light. Gradually add the beaten egg and egg yolk, mixing
Recipes well between each addition. Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine. Tip the ground almonds and flour into the bowl and mix until smooth. 4. Roll out the chilled pastry on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of no more than 2mm. Stamp out as many discs as you can using the cookie cutter. Gather the scraps together, re-roll and stamp out more discs. Gently press the pastry discs into the tart pans, trying not to stretch the dough but making sure that the pans are evenly lined. 5. Arrange the pans on a baking sheet and chill for 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 170°C/ 150°C fan/350°F/Gas 3. Place another solid baking sheet on the middle shelf of the oven to heat up while it preheats. 6. Spread ½ teaspoon of jam into the bottom of each tart shell and divide the frangipane evenly between the tarts – spreading it to evenly cover the jam. Carefully transfer the individual pans to the hot baking sheet from the oven and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until the frangipane and pastry are golden and the pastry is crisp. 7. While the oven is hot, lightly toast the almonds on a baking sheet for 4 minutes until golden. Leave the tarts to cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack for them to cool completely. 8. To make the frosting, sift the icing sugar into a bowl, add a drop or two of almond extract and enough water to make a smooth liquid that will coat the back of a spoon. Neatly spoon the icing over the frangipane in each tart and press the toasted almond bits around the edge. Top each tart with a slither of glacé cherry and leave to set before serving.
EARL GREY AND LEMON TEAPOTS What’s more British than a cup of tea and a biscuit? Here the two are combined with Earl Grey-infused lemon biscuits cut in the shape of a teapot. The texture is created on the icing with a textured rolling mat. You can find really elaborately designed ones in good cake decorating shops or online. MAKES ABOUT 24 O 4
tsp loose Earl Grey tea leaves O 200g butter, softened O 175g golden caster sugar O Zest of 1 lemon O 1 tsp vanilla extract O 1 egg, lightly beaten O A few drops of food-grade bergamot oil (optional) O 425g plain flour O 1 tsp baking powder O A pinch of salt icing sugar, for rolling out O 400g coloured sugarpaste icing O Lustre dust (optional)
shaped cookie cutter to stamp out shapes from the dough and arrange on the lined baking sheets. Gather the dough off-cuts and re-roll to make more shapes. Chill the biscuits for a further 30 minutes. 5. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/ Gas 3. Bake the biscuits on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for about 12 minutes until lightly golden and firm to the touch. Leave to cool on the sheets for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack until cold. 6. Lightly dust the work surface with icing sugar
and roll out the sugarpaste in the colour of your choice to a thickness of about 2mm. Lay the textured mat, if using, on top and give another couple of turns of the rolling pin to press the indents into the icing. Using the cookie cutter, stamp out a shape from the icing, lightly brush one biscuit with water and lay the icing shape neatly on top. Gently press the two together and repeat until all of the biscuits are covered. Using a clean paint brush, decorate each biscuit with lustre, if you wish. Leave to dry out before serving.
O You
will need a teapot-shaped cookie cutter, and a textured silicon rolling mat (optional) O 2 baking sheets lined with baking parchment
1. Tip the Earl Grey tea leaves into a mortar and gently grind with the pestle; they should retain a little texture. If the leaves are too finely ground they will make the shortbreads a grey colour. 2. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and light. Add the tea leaves and lemon zest and mix again. Gradually add the egg in two or three additions and mix until thoroughly combined. 3. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl and continue mixing until combined. Bring the dough together into a ball using your hands, flatten into a disc, wrap in cling film and chill for 2 hours or until firm. 4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of around 3mm and use the teapotPeriod Living 149
JAM AND COCONUT CAKES These are often described as English madeleines and were cooked in tall dariole moulds. I like to dip my squares of cake in warmed raspberry jam because it works so well with the coconut. You could even dip them in passionfruit curd, then the coconut for a tropical twist.
MARMALADE MADEIRA CAKES WITH MACADAMIAS, HAZELNUTS AND ALMONDS The humble Madeira cake has formed the basis of many a happy afternoon tea party and sometimes you just need a simple, no-fuss cake. This version is made with three types of nuts: roasted macadamias, ground hazelnuts and ground almonds, topped off with marmalade. You could have this cake for breakfast, too, if you like! SERVES 10–12 O 250g
butter, softened golden caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling on top O 5 eggs, lightly beaten O 1 tsp vanilla extract O Zest of ½ lemon O Zest of ½ orange O 275g self-raising flour O ½ tsp baking powder O 40g ground almonds O 40g ground hazelnuts O A pinch of salt O 2 tbsp whole milk O 250g
TO DECORATE tbsp marmalade O 50g toasted macadamia nuts, chopped, to decorate O 3–4
O You
will need 2 x 450g loaf pans with the bases and ends lined with a strip of buttered baking parchment
Preheat the oven to 170°C/ 150°C fan/325°F/Gas 3. 1. Tip the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a creamer attachment. Add the golden caster sugar and beat for at least 3 minutes until the mixture 150 Period Living
is really pale and light. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula from time to time. Add the vanilla extract and the lemon and orange zest, and mix again. 2. Sift in the flour and baking powder, then add the ground almonds, ground hazelnuts, salt and milk, and fold in using a large metal spoon or rubber spatula until smooth and thoroughly combined. 3. Divide the mixture between the prepared loaf pans and spread level with either an offset palette knife or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle with extra golden caster sugar and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for about 50–55 minutes until golden brown, well risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. 4. Rest in the pan for 3–5 minutes while you gently warm the marmalade either in a small pan over a low–medium heat or in the microwave in bursts of 30 seconds. 5. Turn the cakes out of the pans and onto a wire rack, brush the tops with melted marmalade, scatter with toasted macadamia nuts and leave until cold before serving in slices.
MAKES 25 O 175g
butter, softened O 175g caster sugar O 3 large eggs, lightly beaten O 1 tsp vanilla bean paste O 150g plain flour O 30g cornflour O 1½ tsp baking powder O A pinch of salt O 2 tbsp whole milk TO DECORATE good quality raspberry jam O 350g desiccated coconut O You will need a 20cm square cake pan, greased and base-lined with buttered baking parchment O 450g
Preheat the oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/375°F/Gas 4. 1. Cream together the butter and caster sugar until really pale and fluffy – this will take about 5 minutes. Gradually add the beaten eggs, mixing well between each addition and adding a little of the plain flour if the mixture looks curdled at any stage. Sift in the plain flour, cornflour and baking powder and add
the salt and milk. Mix again until smooth. 2. Spoon the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 25–30 minutes until well risen, pale golden and a skewer inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. 3. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Cover with clingfilm and leave overnight to make cutting the squares easier. 4. Using a long serrated knife, trim the sides of the cake to neaten, then cut into 25 even 4cm squares. 5. Spoon the jam into a small pan, add 2 tablespoons of water and melt over a low heat until the jam is smooth and runny. Tip the desiccated coconut onto a large baking sheet. 6. Taking one square cake at a time, spear it onto a large fork and dip into the hot jam to completely coat. Allow any excess jam to drip back into the pan, then roll the cake in the desiccated coconut to cover in an even layer. Arrange on a clean sheet of baking parchment and repeat with the remaining cakes. Leave the cakes to set for 1 hour at room temperature before serving.
Recipes
APRICOT AND LAVENDER ALMONDINE This recipe comes from Benoit Blin MCA, who is head pastry chef at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons. For over 20 years, he has been able to source produce from the organic Le Manoir gardens, which has inspired this beautiful pâtisserie, which could be adapted to use other seasonal fruits.
O 1
tsp vanilla extract
CRUMBLE plain flour O 25g butter O 25g caster sugar O 10g demerara sugar O 40g
APRICOT & LAVENDER GLAZE O 250g homemade apricot jam O 4 fresh garden lavender flower heads FOR THE PRALINETTES nibbed almonds O 60g caster sugar O 80g
MAKES 10 O 150
g shortcrust pastry, rolled 2mm and cut into 10 x 7cm discs O 10 canned apricot halves ALMOND CREAM ground almonds O 110g icing sugar O 7g cornflour O 110g butter, softened O 2 eggs O 110g
O You
will need a large piping bag fitted with a plain 1cm nozzle, a sugar thermometer, 10 stainless-steel rings (7cm diameter, 2cm deep), greased and lined with a band of baking parchment
1. First make the almond cream. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Put
the butter in a stand mixer, beat in the dry ingredients, and slowly incorporate the eggs and the vanilla extract. Mix well and reserve in the piping bag. 2. Next, put all the crumble ingredients into a large mixing bowl and work together with fingertips to the consistency of breadcrumbs. Spread onto a baking sheet and freeze. Blitz in a food processor from frozen, then store in the freezer until needed. 3. Put the apricot jam for the glaze in a pan with the lavender and warm to about 50°C (122°F) on a sugar thermometer. Whisk well, then cover with cling film to infuse for 45 minutes. Blitz in the food processor
for 10 seconds to break up the flowers, and then reserve until needed. 4. To make the pralinettes, bring the sugar and two teaspoons of water to 115°C (240°F). Add in the nuts and stir with a spatula. Allow the sugar to crystallize around the nuts, gently stirring. Turn onto a cold baking sheet and allow them to cool completely. 5. Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/325°F/ Gas 3. To assemble, pat dry the apricot halves with paper towels. Arrange the rings on a baking sheet with a silicon mat and place a pastry disc inside each ring. Pipe about 35g of almond cream into each ring. Place an apricot half in the centre of each one, sliced-side down, and sprinkle the crumble generously around the edges. Bake in the preheated oven for 30–35 minutes. Remove the rings from around the almondines and allow them to cool. 6. Reheat the apricot and lavender glaze and brush it over the top of each apricot. Sprinkle the pralinettes all around the edge of the apricots and dust with icing sugar.
READER OFFER This is an edited extract from Afternoon Tea at Home by Will Torrent, with photographs by Matt Russell (£19.99, Ryland Peters & Small). PL readers can buy a copy for the special price of £14. To order go to rylandpeters.com and use code AFTERNOONTEAPL at the checkout. Offer valid until 30 April 2021. Period Living 151
Don’t miss the next issue of
PERIODLIVING OUT 25 MARCH
O Enter the Home & Garden of the Year Awards 2021
a glazed room O Companion planting advice O Mouldings through the eras O Antique wardrobes
Images Joe Wainwright, Brent Darby, Jeremy Phillips, Douglas Gibb, Rachael Smith, (French toast) © Ryland Peters & Small, (wood carving) © National Trust Images/Rob Matheson nationaltrust.org.uk
O Add
Period Living 153
Next Month
Avoiding the shops? Access digital back issues and specials, or subscribe from just £2 per month. Alternatively, why not complete your collection and get the last eight years of Period Living for £46.99?
Many happy returns Queen Elizabeth II turns 95 this month and we’d like to wish her a very happy birthday
B
orn to be queen on 21 April 1926? Well, not exactly. Up until the age of 10, Princess Elizabeth was only third in line to the throne. When her childless uncle Edward VIII (of Edward & Mrs Simpson fame) abdicated, and her father George VI (of The King’s Speech fame) acceded to the throne, the young princess moved up to be queen in waiting. Fans of The Crown will remember Clare Foy’s portrayal (season 1 episode 2) of the princess hearing of her father’s death while she was on a Commonwealth visit to Kenya. This picture, from 4 November 1952, shows a radiant Queen on her way to Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament. It was her first major engagement and took place
162 Period Living
before her coronation. The Queen has two birthdays, her real birthday in April, which she celebrates privately, and her official birthday in June (12 June in 2021), where she appears with members of the Royal Family at the Trooping the Colour parade, and watches the RAF flypast from the Buckingham Palace balcony. King George II started the two-birthday tradition in 1748. His real birthday in November was too cold for outdoor events, which were held in the summer instead. The Household Division’s website details the dress code for those attending Trooping the Colour: ‘Hats are optional but are recommended for paying the necessary compliments to Her Majesty…’ Hats off to you Ma’am, and happy birthday.
Words Karen Darlow Photograph © Central Press/Getty Images
In the Picture