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PERIODLIVING BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING PERIOD HOMES MAGAZINE

HOMES

JANUARY 2018

O DECORATING O GARDENS O ANTIQUES & VINTAGE O RENOVATION

Festive glamour

ENCHANTING HOMES READY FOR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR

10 OF THE BEST WOOD FLOORING DESIGNS

Be our guest

Recipes for entertaining over the party season NORDIC NOSTALGIA Decorating ideas for a rustic Scandi look SMALL GARDENS Inspiring planting and landscaping schemes

SHOP FOR SEASONAL METALLICS AND ELEGANT TABLEWARE

Colour201confidence Welcome in 8 with the latest key trends and a fresh palette of paint shades

Illustration Sarah Overs Photograph David Lloyd

Editor’s Letter

emember this time last year when you were full of good intentions for the months to come? For me, 2017 was going to be the year that I perfected just about everything in life, from my sewing skills and fitness levels to my home and garden. Of course, like most new year’s resolutions before, my imperfect life kept getting in the way of achieving them.

That’s not to say I didn’t make any headway – the garden has come on a long way and the living room is in the final stages of being completely transformed – but, by February, it was a case of best-laid plans. I feel largely relaxed in my defeat, but I do have one great disappointment in that I didn’t get to turn my ideas for the kitchen into reality.

And so, as we near the start of 2018, along with the predictable assortment of more fanciful goals, I again make this resolution to myself. Discover the rest of the PL team’s home improvement plans for the new year on page 162, and share your own with us on social media.

But before then it’s time to dust off the Champagne glasses and wrap up those presents, as Christmas is finally upon us. The homes featured in this issue are all beautifully decked out for a festive celebration, and I relished reading about how the owners are going to spend the season. My particular favourite is our stunning cover house, which is filled with quirky yet glamorous furnishings (from page 61). Owner Daphne Dunn’s description for her design is simply inspired: ‘I imagined an Italian or French person moving to London in the Victorian times and bringing their furniture and belongings with them.’ Her unique vision has resulted in the most fabulous home that’s perfect for seasonal entertaining.

Whether pre or post Christmas, if you only do one thing to your home this winter let it be to update a room with an exciting new colour. Nothing changes the atmosphere of a space – and uplifts your mood on darker days – more than a well-chosen paint shade. At least that’s what I keep telling my husband, who is exasperated by my addiction to buying tester pots and inability to settle on just the right one. To help you be more decisive, from page 93 we unveil our favourite colour trends with a carefully edited paint palette comprising every supplier you need to know about.

Elsewhere this month, style editor Pippa Blenkinsop looks at the universally popular Scandinavian-inspired decorating trend (page 22) – think tongue-and-groove panelling and natural materials softened with delicate prints and sheepskins. The hygge phenomenon, which ties together comfort and cosiness with contentment and well-being, looks set to continue strongly for 2018 – so what are you waiting for? Put on the fire, get out the blankets and snuggle up on the sofa. On behalf of the team, I wish you a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.

Melanie Griffiths Editor, Period Living

Period Living 3

PERIODLIVING EDITORIAL Editor Melanie Griffiths Content Editor Rachel Crow Chief Content Sub Editor Emily Hawkes Homes Content Editor Karen Darlow Style Editor Pippa Blenkinsop Contributions by Michelle Guy Email periodliving@futurenet.com ART Head of Art Billy Peel Senior Art Editor Emily Smith Designer Karen Lawson MARKETING AND SUBSCRIPTIONS Head of Marketing Melanie Kay 01527 834452 Group Marketing Manager Eve Mulvaney 01527 834445 Group Marketing Manager Anjuman Tariq 01527 834493 Interim Marketing Manager Helen Troth 01527 834483 Marketing Executive Vicki Lees 01527 834409 Marketing Executive Alicia Maragh 01527 834402 Marketing Executive Ricardo Douglas 01527 834481 ADVERTISING Print & Digital Sales Director Jackie Sanders 01527 834426 Print & Digital Sales Manager Rebecca Vincze 01527 834415 Key Account Manager Debra Greer 01527 834415 Key Account Manager Lucinda Clarke 01527 834404 Key Account Manager Helen Fox 01527 834491 Account Manager Elena Gill 01527 834494 Classified Sales Manager Emma Farrington 020 7970 4421 / 01527 834445 PRINT AND DIGITAL PRODUCTION Head of Production Mark Constance Advertising Production Manager Jo Crosby Digital Editions Controller Jason Hudson Production Manager Frances Twentyman Digital Production Executive Nicholas Robertson Production Assistant Aimee Bradley-Davies PERIODLIVING.CO.UK Digital Manager Tom Burbridge Email Delivery Manager Alison Nash Web Operations Manager Laura Sturgess Senior Web Editor Lindsey Davis Video Producer Matt Gibbs Social Media Editor Sarah Handley MANAGEMENT Managing Director Aaron Asadi Deputy Managing Director Nick Noble Director of Content & Product Development Michael Holmes Editorial Director Jason Orme Art and Design Director Ross Andrews Head of Art and Design Greg Whittaker Commercial Finance Director Dan Jotcham

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ISSN 0958-1987

38

CONTENTS Cover Photograph Malcom Menzies

Decorating & shopping

11 19 20 22 49 73

December journal We round up the latest interiors offerings, news and exhibitions

28 The sideboard

Antiques Roadshow expert Marc Allum charts the history of this understated piece

33 Going with the grain

Bringing a fresh approach to traditional joinery, furniture maker Hugh Miller invites us to see his craft in action

ON THE COVER

Champagne sparkle Bring seasonal splendour to holiday dining with luxe pieces January blues Use on-trend indigo hues to give your home a fresh new look Nordic decorating Be inspired to create a snug Scandinavian look this winter ON THE COVER

Coffee tables Statement designs for the perfect sitting-room centrepiece Quirky glamour Go wild with chintz and frills for a touch of English eccentricity

19

Features

129

ON THE COVER

Party perfect Tasty finger food and sweet treats for festive entertaining

136 Heritage weekend... Hexham Discover where to stay, visit and eat in this Roman gem

141 The grand tour... Innsbruck

We explore the historic highlights of this Austrian city

162 Resolutions for the home

The PL team share their new year decorating plans

129

Homes

38 61

50 61

20

74

ON THE COVER A winter’s tale Amanda Marshall and James Garrett’s listed farmhouse is the perfect setting for a cosy Christmas in the country

Home at last Molly Rowan Hamilton turned a near derelict cottage into an inviting riverside retreat Celebrating in style The Dunns’ Kensington town house is full of festive glamour and quirky antiques Let it snow Built as a barn in 1850, the Quinns’ mountain chalet is a great space for entertaining

109 111

93 103

House journal New products and expert advice for updating a period property ON THE COVER

New year, new colour Be inspired by our round up of the latest paint trends ON THE COVER 10 of the best wooden floors Embrace the timeless appeal of natural materials with our pick of timber flooring designs

Home health check Property expert Roger Hunt advises on maintaining metal gates and railings

Gardens

115 119 120

Advice & inspiration

89

The reclaimer Kevin Curtis from The Aga Exchange offers tips on buying a reconditioned range cooker

Garden journal The latest products, plus tips on caring for house plants Winter woodland Garden shopping inspired by a walk through the forest ON THE COVER Big ideas for small gardens From design to planting, Leigh Clapp shares her advice for enhancing small outdoor spaces

Regulars

85 86 145

Next month A preview of the February issue Subscribe Treat yourself and a friend with our buy one, get one free offer Stockists Where to find all the suppliers featured in this issue

73

89

33

journal JANUARY

Our pick of the latest news and interiors offerings for a new year project, from paints and papers to unique artisan homeware

FESTIVE TREATS Indulge your nostalgic sweet tooth with cakes and puds from famous tea room Bettys, first opened in Harrogate in 1919.

Choose from such delectable delights as the Vintage port fruit cake, £21.50, and Champagne Christmas pudding, £24.95.

Sip in

st y le

Feature Pippa Blenkinsop

INTO THE BLUE Feeling blue this January? Don’t banish it, use it to give your home an exciting new look. Perfect for tempering warm wood and terracotta tones, indigo blues are cool and timeless. A classic chesterfield design, the Haxton sofa from Willow & Hall comes in 130 colours, including House Ink wool, for a cosy statement piece, £1,315.

Add a pop of retro colour to after-dinner coffee with this beautiful Granma espresso set, £75 at Pad Lifestyle.

Period Living 11

Si m

s

e pleasur l e p

Founded in East Sussex by fine artists Tatiana and Sean, Softer & Wild produces gorgeous kitchen textiles with a rustic, organic feel. With a simple and stylish hand-screen-printed design inspired by foraged hedgerow finds, you won’t want to dry dishes on this beautiful Botanics teatowel, priced £15.

FLOOR ART Looking to bridge the gap between art and home textiles, The Knot Collective is a new brand that produces rugs in collaboration with artists and designers.

PL loves this design by Hey Studio from its debut Graphic collection. £375.

EYE ON DESIGN Denise Allan from online artisan store The Shop Floor Project shares her love for sourcing unique pieces

12 Period Living

What is The Shop Floor Project?

In the early years of e-commerce we wanted to create an online gallery that felt exciting and relevant, so in 2006 I co-founded The Shop Floor Project with my daughter Samantha. Working with makers from all over the world, we design, develop and source collections of the highest craftsmanship and creativity. We are both artists and curators and see the Project as a series of objects that meet our mantra – to create pieces worthy of passing down through the generations – be it a handwoven Herdwick blanket or a hand-beaten wall sconce from Sweden.

it with contemporary design and colour. We also love museums, from the tiny to the grand, and are inspired by their contents and quiet atmosphere.

Describe your style We take great influence from the past – in particular artists, interiors and films – and mix

Clockwise from above: The Bronte Haworth cushion and Beatrix Potter’s Hilltop cushion, both £49; ceramic candlestick, £325 for a pair

What’s new for 2018?

We’re excited about our ongoing collaborations with artists and makers. We’ll be launching a new collection of Historical House cushions that celebrate the former homes of people such as Jane Austen, Virginia Woolf and Wordsworth, as well as more of the popular animal candlesticks I co-designed, including elephants and tapirs.

News

SCANDI PRINTS Our obsession with Scandinavian style shows no signs of abating as we enter 2018, but where wood and white once ruled, interiors are moving in a more decorative direction as companies embrace intricate patterns.

The new BlomstermĂĽla wallpaper collection from Galerie, launched in collaboration with Scandinavian designers Midbec, explores vintage, stylised stem and leaf forms, making walls a wonderful window into the Swedish wilderness. ÂŁ54.95 per roll.

Period Living 13

News

A ne

w

p

The UK’s leading fair for woven art, The London Antique Rug & Textile Art Fair (LARTA), returns this month offering an exotic cornucopia of the finest oriental rugs, tribal textiles, fibre art, tapestries and weavings from around the world. Browse suzanis and ikats to European carpets, such as French aubussons and Swedish ryas.

23-28 January at The Decorative Fair at Battersea Park

e ett l a Introducing the

‘Alchemy of Colour’ paint collection from Zoffany, which features 19 new shades. With the intention to distil colour back to its essence, the Zoffany design team set up their ‘alchemist’ studio, extracting natural plant dyes and crushing minerals to create their own pigments inspired by the jewel-like colours from silks and documents in the Zoffany archive. Highlights include the striking ‘Tiger’s Eye’, ‘Lazuli’, and ‘Koi Carp’ hues. £45 per 2.5ltrs of flat matt emulsion.

FIRST-CLASS GIFTS With a reputation for turning out top-class designers, The University of the Arts London has launched its first retail space, Not Just a Shop, showcasing a curated selection of work by its skilled alumni.

Supporting home-grown talent, the store offers homeware, artwork and stationery at the shop in Holburn.

Large plate, £70, Miya Kurihara; Geometric teapot, £65, DesignK

FOLLOW US ON TWITTER @PeriodLivingMag for daily news and inspiration

BOOK SHELF Tantalised by tiles? Arts & Crafts: Morris to Voysey,

by Rob Higgins & Will Farmer, is a clay-focused Arts & Crafts catalogue. Whether you’re an aspiring collector looking for a handy guide or simply a design magpie in search of visual delight, this book offers a great source of information and inspiration. £14.99, Amberley Books.

LIGHT READING Disillusioned by the amount of old books thrown away, Lauren Giles launched Décor Books, offering antique and vintage books for sale by the metre.

With beautiful old cloth and leather-bound covers, which have an inimitable worn patina, Lauren saw the potential of books to bring not just literary joy, but timeless decorative charm. From £29 per m.

Period Living 15

TALENT SPOT

Large bowl with handles, £350

Born and raised in Slovakia, but now working in Brighton, Silvia Kamodyova produces beautiful ceramics, from tableware to lighting, that give a contemporary take on her home country’s heritage. At once strikingly simple, yet on closer inspection full of decorative subtleties, each piece begins as a lump of terracotta clay from which she creates a slip cast and applies a tin glaze. The pieces are then fired mid range to create a rich red ceramic with vibrant white finish, showcasing simple strokes of signature colours. ‘I love the warm glow and silkiness of terracotta,’ she says. ‘It carries colour very well and connects to my heritage.’ Passionate about the vernacular, colour and form, Silvia starts each collection with a visit to museums and galleries; her most recent features hues inspired by Slovak majolica pottery. Visit silviakceramics.co.uk.

Jug, £120, and beakers, £27 each

Pendant lamp, £390

JOURNEY IN LINEN

Fin n

Producing patterns for fabrics to accessories, design studio All the Fruits was founded by interior designer Jessica Pinotti and illustrator Stephen Cheetham on a shared love for colour and form. Influenced by prints from across the globe, their most recent linens (below) are a fresh take on traditional Indian and Japanese motifs, priced £114 per m.

16 Period Living

folklore h is Finnish design studio Klaus Haapaniemi & Co has teamed up with interior brand West Elm to create a range of decorative homeware that’s perfect for a festive scheme. Featuring woodland wanderers such as lynx and rabbits depicted in Haapaniemi’s signature Nordicfolksy style, the enchanting designs cover hand-loomed rugs, needlepoint pillows and stoneware tableware.

Clockwise from top: serving bowl, £49; salad plate, £12, and mug, £10.

Say It With Glitter Celebrate banner, £9.99, Talking Tables

Arthouse Gold Sunbeam mirror, £149.99, Very Maya chrome five-branch chandelier with black shade, £195, Alexander & Pearl

Pour over coffee drip brewer, £99.95, Audenza

Vera Wang Love Knots taper candle holders, £65, Wedgwood Carraway drinks cabinet, £599, M&S

Pastel lustre occasional table, £188, Not on the High Street

St Basil cocktail shaker, £25, John Lewis

Fitzroy Champagne flutes, £26 for a set of four, Next Home

E L K R A P S E N G A P M A CH

Mimira side plate, £16, Anthropologie

g dornin a y b n easo party s s x i h t e Champagne bucket, ant mi tyl g s e l n e i n n i ta ha r t £29.99, Homesense i e t w n , e e abl e to ics , and t Prepar metall m d o n o r a r e you ochrom of mon Feather cheese knives, £35 for a set of three, Laura Ashley

Two-tone decanter, £22, Shabby Store Beauty advent calendar, £30, Debenhams

Feature Emily Hawkes

Pineapple brass bottle opener, £17.95, Lime Lace

Ornate copper mirrored tray, £6.95, Melody Maison

Camo splatter Dhurrie rug, £22, Oliver Bonas Eichholtz Trapezium chair in Black, £1,089, Sweetpea & Willow

Period Living 19

Sorrento Peruvian rug, from £960, Jonathan Adler Petal 3.5-seat sofa in Blue Velvet, £2,990 excluding fabric, Rume

Wonderlust square tray in Blue Pagoda, £35, Wedgwood

Large bowl in Ocean Blue, £79, English Antique Glass

S E U L B Y R UA

Jan Constantine Oriental Peacock sham Beaded chandelier cover, £15, Dunelm in Royal Blue, £525, Out There Interiors

JA N

me the o c l e w balt, rful co u se of o l o c to th a do i s e w u r h o l i ter oya es your in From r o t n cessori i c r a a e e y u l lb new eautifu these b

Diptyque Phoenix candle, from £28, John Lewis

Heron trinket tray, £13.50, Joanna Wood Valsecchi 1918 Fairytale side table, £246, Amara

Venice chair in Blue Ink, £139.99, My Furniture

Imperium plinth roll-top bath in Blue, from £2,162, Albion Bath Company

Apple Tart Plate linen napkins, £32 for a pair, Jessica Russell Flint

Week to view Noto 2018 diary, from £10, Paperchase

20 Period Living

Blue rope woven basket, from £8, Sainsbury’s Home Contrast stripe cotton rug, £39, T&SHOP

Feature Emily Hawkes

Chalk paint in Royal Navy, £19.95 for 1ltr, Sarah Jayne Signature Chalk Paint

With short days and cold temperatures comes a desire to transform the home into a cosy haven for winter hibernation, and what better place to seek inspiration than Scandinavian interiors? Layering stripped-back, muted walls and white painted boards with sleek mid-century and rustic timber furniture, plus plenty of animal hides, is a guaranteed way to achieve the aesthetic. Yet the Nordic home isn’t just about creating a look, but a feeling. There is no direct translation, but the Danish art of hygge promotes an experience of cosiness, contentment and conviviality. At home the focus is on creating a mood in harmony with nature and conducive to relishing in simple pleasures, from gatherings with friends to quiet moments curled up in a chunky knit with a warming mug of Glögg. Less is more: forget fancy flourishes, and embrace log fires, scented candles, foraged branches and plenty of sumptuous textures.

22 Period Living

Feature Pippa Blenkinsop Bosky wide-width wallpaper in Blue Yonder, £63.60 per m, Lewis & Wood

NORDIC DELIGHTS

Decorating

Minimalist yet rustic, this kitchen’s myriad greys are evocative of an icy Nordic landscape. A delicate Scandinavian wallpaper combines with the weathered finishes and natural materials of vintage enamelware, earthenware, slate and timber to bring texture that lifts the monochrome mood. Einar wallpaper in Grey, £68 per roll, Sandberg

Nothing says Nordic like a cosy timber cabin fitted with a wood-burning stove and furnished with a mid-century chair and animal hides for added warmth and texture. Boards painted in Purbeck Stone, ÂŁ60 for 2.5ltrs of Estate eggshell, Farrow & Ball

Decorating From left: Nkuku Papel paper tree decorations, £23 for a set of four; silver heart hanging ornament, £12; Tibetan sheepskin cushion, £100; Aeron tableware, from £10; Christofle Jardin d’Eden white wine glass, £65 each; Aquanova Odalis tumbler and tealight, £12; Christofle Jardin d’Eden water goblet, £65; Nkuku Tabia bottle, £37; Nkuku Daleya bauble bundle, £25; Broste Copenhagen Saga marble candlesticks, £67 for three; and Nkuku Tabia vase, £37, all Amara

Set the scene for a humble hygge gathering with a muted mix of weathered wood, relaxed linen and simple stoneware. Adding in the gentle flicker of candlelight against mottled mercury glass will conjure a magical and mesmerising mood Period Living 25

Cool grey-painted boards are the perfect foil to the chestnut tones of the mid-century inspired furniture in this cosy cabin bedroom. Combine with a scattering of Nordic twinkle and wool throws for that feeling of cosy contentment. Cranbrook bedroom range, from £190; textured Jacquard bedlinen, from £55; Tweedmill throws, from £55, all Soak & Sleep

Styling Pippa Blenkinsop Photograph Kasia Fiszer

Decorating

Clockwise from top left: Gant Nordic knit throw, £160, Amara. Soft Blue textured bowl, £45, Cox & Cox. Veneer wood star, from £7.20, Broste Copenhagen. Ceramic stars, £2 each, Dorcas de Marco Ceramics. Handpainted Dala horses, £65 for three, The Swedish Wooden Horse Company.

Crochet coasters, £6 for two, Three Little Loops at Etsy. Tibetan sheepskin cushion, £95, Nordic House. For old observer books, try Oxfam. Veneer star, as before. Salt & Pepper pom pom throw, £69, M&S. For similar wood serving board,try Nkuku. Monochrome stoneware dinner plate, £95 for four, Cox & Cox. Chalky finish furniture paint in Winter Grey, £14 for 750ml, Rustoleum. Gingham Clay paint, £38 for 2.5ltrs, Earthborn. Blue Gravel Breatheasy matt emulsion paint, £13 for 1.25ltrs, Crown at Homebase. Short dinner candles, £4.99 for seven, Florence & Amelia’s. Nkuku Papel paper garland, £35, Amara. Soro stoneware side plate, £50 for four, Cox & Cox. Wooden spoon, £8,50, Baileys Home. Porcelain house set, £28, Nordic House. Handmade ceramic squiggle beaker and spoon, £38, Katherina Klug. Handmade salvaged wood house, £8, The Hay Makers.

Wooden star, £5.50 for 15; Soro stoneware dinner plate, £75 for four; Ribe side plate, £45 for four; Matte black cutlery, £75 per 16-piece set, all Cox & Cox. Reactive grey mug, £8, M&S. Knight Tile white painted oak-effect vinyl flooring, £26.89 per m2, Karndean Designflooring.

Period Living 27

Antiques Roadshow specialist Marc Allum takes a look at the not so humble history of this staple piece

M

ost homes have a sideboard. As a piece of furniture, it’s both a versatile and useful means of storage and display, which particularly over recent decades, has evolved into an important expression of personal style, too. The origins of the sideboard are simple. Sometimes referred to as a buffet - a piece of furniture that was used to serve food - the common conception is that the sideboard is strictly an article of dining room furniture. Historically, this is mainly true and I’ll return to the differences that delineate the buffet from the sideboard later on. The words ‘side’ and ‘board’ don’t require a Ph.D. in etymology (the origins of words) to work out what it means; it’s a simple descriptive word that clearly defines its role – a wooden piece of furniture that sits to one side. Yet the evolution of the sideboard from its role in, say, a Tudor home, has led to innumerable variations on a theme that are often measured in terms of both visual and culinary fashion.

The Tudor or Elizabethan versions, most commonly known as a Court cupboard, were one of the few essential pieces of furniture required by households – along with a bed and chairs. It formed an important focus within the home acting as a means of conspicuous display for plates and silver, storage for linen and for food and drink too, which was historically known as livery, hence the name livery cupboard. These pieces were characterised by small central cupboards with carved doors, often with canted sides, underneath a larger canopy supported on columns at the corners, on a base with cupboards and drawers. They were often ornately carved. These developed into dressers, with, or perhaps without, their plate racks, before evolving into surfaces centred around the serving of food, which veered towards the buffet, or serving table. In modern terms this often refers to a piece of furniture that may have a marble top and may also be on legs rather than over a selection of drawers and cupboards. On the continent, particularly in France, it was not at all uncommon for larger houses and châteaux to have their buffets built into the stonework fabric of the building, perhaps even with a combined fountain.

However, the sideboard as a separate entity really comes into its own in the 18th century, when ³

From left to right: Oak sideboard, circa 1700s, £3,450, Lorfords; late Regency mahogany sideboard with octagonal brass plate handles, circa 1825, £2,200, Thakeham Furniture Antiques; Edwardian Arts and Craft oak sideboard, circa 1903, £1,095, Pamono; Art Deco English burr walnut sideboard, circa 1920s, £450, Retro Living

28 Period Living

Photograph Douglas Gibb

The sideboard

Antiques

Left: Sideboards were once one of the most essential pieces of furniture in a household, and today serve as useful and characterful storage

From left to right: Heals Art Deco oak sideboard, circa 1930s, £6,444, Kairos; Hamilton sideboard in rosewood and mahogany

by Robert Heritage for Archie Shine, circa 1950s, £1,800, Pamono; Merrow Associates rosewood sideboard by Richard Young, circa 1970s, Retro Living; replica Mouseman in solid oak, £9,260, Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen

Period Living 29

‘No longer to be left under-utilised in the dining room, now the sideboard could be used as a focus in the living room’ we see the burgeoning middle classes dedicating their increasing prosperity to the idea of decorating separate rooms for very specific proposes – including the dining room. This explosion of style and taste led to the dining room suite, a cohesive collection of furniture made to match, and often incorporating a buffet, a sideboard, table and chairs, along with perhaps a cellaret (drinks cabinet) and cutlery holders. The sideboard then finds its main purpose as a dedicated means of displaying glassware, silver and plates and in the absence of a matching buffet, a means of fulfilling both functions as an impressive display and a surface for serving. Of course, the name Thomas Chippendale trips off the tongue, with sideboards from the great master cabinetmaker characteristically designed on short cabriole legs with ball and claw feet. Much copied in the early 20th century, such flamboyant examples regularly appear at auction but are currently unfashionable in the mass market.

Much more prevalent and extremely good value are the typically late 18th to mid-19thcentury serpentine and bow-front sideboards, usually made in mahogany, that stand on square tapering legs. They are elegant, abundant and often very cheap at auction, although a good inlaid and well-restored example might cost several thousand pounds with a specialist. Regency examples on pedestal bases are also common and generally of good solid boxy construction, often characterised by scrolled backboards, roll-front drawers and panelled doors, which sometimes echo classical and Egyptian temple forms. These are my personal favourites and are useful for tucking something underneath like a lovely old Georgian floor safe.

Such sideboards usually have built-in lead or zinc-lined cellarets and pull-out linen slides, too.

They are practical, good-looking and affordable.

Regional variations in these styles can be crucial factors in deciding the value. Irish and Scottish sideboards often carry a premium; size too is important and I’ve often heard pieces referred to as ‘monsters’ because they are so large. Modern homes tend to require smaller examples; hence compact bow-fronted and serpentine sideboards will usually be commercially favoured.

As the 19th century reaches its Victorian zenith the sideboard becomes a ubiquitous, highly visible and often less refined statement, taking on huge proportions with mirrored backs and profuse carving, often in oak and walnut. In latter years they have become the bane of many a modern-day auctioneer, mainly because they are unfashionable and cumbersome, yet the Victorian and Edwardian era also saw an absolute blossoming of different aesthetics in design with examples from the Art 30 Period Living

Nouveau and Arts and Crafts movements – for instance, being created by innovative and ground-breaking designers such as Edward William Godwin (1833-1886), Charles Rennie Mackintosh (1868-1928) and Robert (Mouseman) Thompson (1876-1955). Their work naturally filtered down to the ‘high street’ influencing the mass-produced examples that filled so many middle-class Victorian terraces. (Mouseman’s Company is still in business in Kilburn, Yorkshire.)

This applied to Art Deco designs too, which on the whole and at their purist, were mainly the domain of the wealthy. Again, these influences filtered down, producing a wide variety of midrange stylish furniture. The Deco sideboard, usually in well-figured walnut, can be a joy when nicely designed. Heals and Betty Joel spring to mind as both are highly collectable suppliers and designers of the period.

As the country recovered from the Second World War, so too did furniture production and design. Cheap plywood examples were of course very common and a hangover from the government sanctioned Utility production of the war years, but the plethora of beautiful Scandinavian post-war production and innovative British designers such as Gordon Russell, helped to bring the sideboard in from the cold. No longer was it something to be left under-utilised in the dining room but now it could be used as a focus in the living room – a statement. This idea has been fully embraced in the contemporary market and the best of vintage has seen a boom in these post-war designs being brought into the living area. As a result, prices have risen. I recently chased – in a saleroom - a very stylish rosewood and chromium Merrow Associates sideboard designed in the 1960s by Richard Young.

At almost £2,000, I had to give up. A Regency sideboard on the other hand? Perhaps just £300400 at your local auction!

Where to buy Kairos – thekairoscollective.com Lorfords Antiques – lorfordsantiques.com Pamono – pamono.co.uk Retro Living – retroliving.co.uk Robert Thompson’s Craftsmen – robertthompsons.co.uk

Made in Britain

GOING AGAINST THE GRAIN In the heart of Liverpool’s dockland, architect turned furniture maker Hugh Miller is crafting a future in design using a fusion of Eastern and Western techniques and influences Words Hazel Dolan | Photographs Jeremy Phillips

H

igh above a wharfside in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, Dining Chair no. 7 is poised in mid-air. Its maker, securely strapped in with a fall arrest lanyard and harness, stands at the door of the centuryold hoist bay leading from his second-floor warehouse studio, carefully guiding the ropes to lower it, while his assistant, streetside, braces its descent.

It’s a traffic-stopping moment of theatre in the working life of architect-designer Hugh Miller – not uncommon and surely satisfying; the finished chair is leaving, just as its raw materials arrived, by an exterior shortcut that has long been part of this working quarter.

Aerial ballet over, it’s time to take a look inside the tall, red-brick building that houses the twin practices of Hugh’s furniture design studio, and his brother Howard’s in architecture and landscape design. The two of them share a creative space that is part workshop, part drawing office and meeting room; a maple-floored expanse with high windows, heavy metal shutters and steel supporting columns.

In just eight years, Hugh has established himself as a maker to watch, quietly producing gallery-standard contemporary furniture, already exhibiting at The Saatchi Gallery and on tour with the British Council, and building up a network of serious and committed clients, drawn by his beautiful, thoughtful, and impeccably crafted functional and sculptural pieces.

He arrived at this heady point via a degree in architecture at Newcastle University, followed by a masters at Sheffield. Within a month of graduating, he’d set up on his own – which sounds brave, although he won’t allow it. ‘I’m painfully middle class,’ he jokes. ‘I was never going to go hungry.’

He comes from a family of creatives, and his parents – his father, a town planner, and mother, a teacher turned garden designer – were encouraging. ‘It seems now that it was very obvious that I would do this, but at the time that I was making those decisions it certainly didn’t,’ Hugh says. ‘I remember making a contraption to turn off the bedroom light from being in bed when I was about four – it was all sellotape and string – so I think it’s innate to make things.’

By 15 he was at a woodyard buying a ‘massive slab’ of timber to load into his mother’s Ford Fiesta.

‘I bought it because it was Welsh green oak, which I thought was a species,’ he says. ‘It’s not. It just means it’s not seasoned: it’s wet. So I made this piece of furniture, and of course it all moved and cracked and distorted. I think seeing that happen just made me fall in love with wood – this organic, living material – and since then I have been hooked.

‘I’m obsessed with wood. It’s strong and structural, but really light; it’s hard, but workable with hand tools; stable but organic and can move and distort with moisture and the seasons, and every piece is different, with unique colours and grain and working characteristics.’

He has had no formal training, so mastering techniques has come down to a determination to learn and practise, plus a perfectionist streak that rules every aspect of his work. ‘I’ve learned from trial and error, books and YouTube videos,’ he says.

‘I never design based on my existing skills. I always design things that are a little outside my comfort zone, and figure out how to make them later. It’s more fun that way.’

His warehouse shelves are stacked with individually chosen lengths of beautiful, seasoned timber. ‘I made a decision very early on to only work in hardwoods and solid timber, no laminates,’ he points out.

‘I wanted to do work without compromise, in which case I wasn’t interested in the low end of the market. I was interested in doing the best quality pieces that I could, and that meant using the best materials.’

His core values, firmly rooted in Western woodworking tradition, were already in place when two years ago he travelled to Japan on a coveted Churchill fellowship. The experience was life changing: new tools, techniques, inspiration and philosophy were all gathered, and are now at the heart of his practice.

All that he has learned is distilled in three design principles. The first, an absence of noise – stripping back extraneous details to leave only the essential intention of the idea. Second, a search for lightness, both physical and in impact on the environment.

And third, the hardest to pin down, a contribution to harmony. ‘It’s the idea that instead of demanding attention,’ he says, ‘the piece should quietly await inspection. It rewards that by revealing details as you live with it.’

His current work is a fusion of East and West, useful pieces in serene and deceptively simple ³

‘I always design things that are a little outside my comfort zone, and figure out how to make them later’

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Made in Britain

Clockwise from top left: Roped in with a fall arrest lanyard and harness, Hugh controls the operation from above; he made the metre-high cabinet to store his collection of Japanese woodworking tools and set of spade-like ryoba saws; a close up of the textured finish detail on a chair seat; Hugh in his workshop; ‘Each stroke (of the chair) is hand carved,’ says Hugh. ‘It actually makes the chair really comfortable because you don’t slide around on it. People often say they think it will be uncomfortable, but actually it has this weird hugging quality where you dip into the bucket of the seat and the stubby armrests wrap around your sides’; Hugh’s studio and workshop is housed in a brick-fronted 1916 warehouse at the heart of Liverpool’s wharfside Baltic Triangle; the studio walls are clad with sections of sterling board, cut into tile shapes and painted in white. The contrast border framing the space is made from greyed and weathered offcuts of traditional features like dado and picture rails, architraves and skirting boards; Hugh roughs out double tenons for the chairs’ cross rails with a saw, then finishes them with chisels

Above: In the spacious workshop Hugh sands the underside of an adjustable table, which is under construction, as his assistant Jordan Reynolds gets to work on preparing the base of coffee caddy boxes

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shapes. His tools are both vintage British and traditional Japanese. He will reach more readily for his Japanese saws, their fine and brittle blades designed for pulling back, rather than pushing away – ‘the same principle,’ he says, ‘just more controlled’ – yet craft an Eastern-inspired textured finish, secretly on the underside of a surface, with a classic swan-neck British gouge.

For commissions, he is keenly engaged in what is required and focussed on deadline; his own collections evolve at a more measured pace. A year might pass after noting an idea with a first rough outline. ‘Then I will come back to it and be able to work it up into a finished idea,’ he says, ‘and that will have an awful lot more richness and articulation. It will be rigorous, rather than half-baked.’

He starts by sketching and drawing, usually, architect-style, in plan section elevation, but the real exploration begins with a series of full-scale prototypes. ‘Once I have got to a stage where I think it’s a goer,’ he says, ‘I start making. I screw pieces together roughly and have them far too big, then shave them back.’

Each final piece is hand finished with Osmo oil, rubbed on and immediately buffed off. The result is tactile and striking. ‘You build it up in very thin coats and sand very lightly between each,’ he says.

‘It has taken a long time to develop the finish I want, where when you touch the timber it is very soft. It has to be perfectly prepared and then oiled and sanded between each coat. The tiny specks of sanding dust mix with the oil on each coat, filling the gaps and giving this beautiful soft sheen.’

A bigger workshop would have a spray finishing room. ‘I want to grow,’ he says, ‘so in time I would absolutely want to make my finishing more efficient, but I think there’s a value in the sort of personal connection we have with the pieces as they go through.’

His time is divided between his own collections and a growing number of collaborations with established brands. ‘Designing for industry gives me the ability to reach a wide audience and have things made that are more affordable, to be made in volume,’ he points out. ‘So hopefully that gives me the best of both worlds.’

The act of making, however, will always rule what he does. ‘By the time I have finished a piece like a chair, I will have touched every single piece of it thousands of times, so there is undoubtedly a personal connection with each one,’ he says.

‘Sometimes it’s sad to see them go.’

For more details of Hugh’s work, or to commission a bespoke piece of furniture, call 0151 709 0970, or visit hughmillerfurniture.co.uk

Clockwise from top left: The mid-century Wadkin morticer dates from a golden age of British machinery production and is designed to cut square holes efficiently and accurately, speeding up the jointing process; the communal space between design studio and workshop houses a gallery of completed pieces. Hugh and his architect brother Howard designed and built the divisions within the original open-plan floorspace; the four-metrehigh warehouse doors have been weathered and rusted by a century of service; Hugh shares office and studio space with his brother, Howard; Hugh’s assistant Jordan Reynolds stands at street level, bracing and guiding each load as it is carefully lowered to the ground; each tenon is measured and marked out on the elm surface; the communal area doubles as display space for key pieces: the elm dining table and chair, plus the caddy, tray and scoops from the Coffee Ceremony collection; the distinctive coarse-textured underside finish is achieved by using a three-eighths British pattern marble swan-neck gouge. Hugh begins each day with a session on this process, a signature feature of the collection

A WINTER’S TALE Amanda Marshall renovated a former farm building to create a welcoming home, perfect for a family celebration with partner James and their five grown-up children Words Katie Treggiden | Photography Bruce Hemming | Styling Sally Maton

Renovated Rural Home This room was Amanda’s office when she first bought the house, but has since been turned into a formal living space. The large Persian-style rug became the starting point for the eclectic scheme – for similar, try The Rug Seller. Re-caned antique chairs provide seating alongside ‘squidgy’ sofas (try Ikea’s Ektorp design for similar) topped with cushions made by Amanda’s neighbour. Family heirlooms feature throughout, including a chest inherited from James’ mother that has been painted white and now serves as a coffee table; a tapestry on the wall depicting Charles I having his last rites read to him; and a dark wood cabinet, flanked by French sconces. The curtains are made from John Lewis fabric, with the rail painted in Farrow & Ball’s Grey Blue to match the walls. The table lamps are from Oka

G

etting the family together for Christmas is important to many people, but for those with blended families and grown-up children, it’s especially important to create a space where everybody feels at home – something Amanda Marshall knows first hand. ‘I love decorating the tree and I start making the cake three months in advance,’ she says. ‘But I wait until the children are home so we can decorate it together. Then we all go for a walk in the countryside to collect foliage for a handmade garland.’ With a family that comprises her two sons, Tom and William, as well as her partner James and his three daughters Kitty, Beth and Alice, the festive season could involve 12 adults if all the children brought their partners, but they rarely all come home at the same time, which makes every year’s celebrations different.

Before she met James, 13 years ago, it was a two-hour school run that prompted Amanda to rethink her location, but the need for a home office drove the choice of property. She ended up buying her estate agent’s own house. ‘It was more than I could afford, but I felt confident I could make it work,’ she says. ‘I converted the sitting room into an office, and the dining room into a cosy lounge.

‘It worked brilliantly – I could spend time with the children in the evening, put them to bed and then go back to the office to make up lost hours.’

Although Amanda says the house felt like home as soon as they moved in, it needed a lot of work. She had to replace all the electrics, recarpet throughout and replace both bathrooms immediately. Having

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recently divorced, she had little in the way of furniture. ‘Luckily my parents had a big clear out, so we had hand-me-downs to tide us over.’

Over the years the house has evolved with the changing needs of her expanding family and business. Her office moved off site, giving them two reception rooms, and removing a wall between the entrance hall and what the family refers to as ‘the yellow room’ – a cosy sitting space – created a welcoming entrance. A vestibule between this and the kitchen provides space for shoes and coats.

Of all the work she’s had done over the years, Amanda found the kitchen most stressful. ‘It was a nightmare, and it seemed to take for ever,’ she says.

The family relied on camping stoves in the utility room for three months – and a lot of takeaways. But despite the upheaval, she did enjoy it. ‘I love having an idea and making it happen. I wish we had been able to afford to do the bigger jobs first, though, as we’ve had to undo things we’d already done, but you do what you can when you can.’ The mix of antiques and high-end finishes add a touch of casual luxury to off-the-shelf fittings and cabinetry.

When Amanda came to decorate the house, her taste had changed since her previous home. ‘Our last house was painted in bright colours, whereas this one is very neutral. I also love the juxtaposition of old and new.’ Often one object sparked a scheme for the whole room, such as the Persian-style rug in the living room, which led to the inclusion of colourful cushions and blue-grey paint for the walls. ‘It looks blue during the day, and then at night it mellows into a wonderful grown-up grey.’

An eclectic approach to sourcing furniture and accessories helped to bring the look to life. ‘I’m really not fussy about where I buy things,’ says Amanda. ‘I could spend lots of money in an antiques shop or be just as happy with something from a car boot sale.’ A dab hand with a sewing machine, she made many of the cushions and curtains herself and also did a lot of the painting and decorating, while James did much of the carpentry.

Although the major renovation work is now complete, Amanda is still tinkering with the house.

‘It is an evolving space,’ she says. ‘But every room has our mark on it. Home for us is about nice sheets, squidgy sofas, and a dog or cat at the end of the bed – it is a haven, somewhere we can recharge before heading back out into the world.’

Renovated Rural Home

THE STORY Owners Amanda Marshall, who owns The Goody Bag Company, lives here with partner James Garrett, director of The Interior Shutter Company, son William, Finn the black Labrador, and cats Biscuit and Tallis. Amanda’s son Tom and James’ daughters, Kitty, Beth and Alice, are all either at university or away travelling Property A late 19th-century Grade II-listed four-bedroom semi-detached house converted from the laundry within a model farm built for a local estate in Cranbrook, Kent What they did When Amanda first bought the house, she rewired and replaced the bathrooms. Over the years, she has opened up the entrance hall, redone the kitchen and decorated throughout

Above: In the entrance hall, an antique French mirror, found at Ardingly Antiques Fair, hangs over a console that belonged to Amanda’s mother. Vanessa Arbuthnott curtains complement the walls, in Farrow & Ball’s Pussy Paw, as does the table lamp from India Jane. Hardwearing sisal flooring adds to the homely feel Left: A painting of Hastings Old Town, by artist Anne-Catherine Phillips, hangs above the antique sideboard in the kitchen. The chair was sourced from a local pine shop

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Renovated Rural Home Neptune kitchen units, painted in Home Slate, stand out against walls in Chalk White, also by Neptune. A large Rangemaster oven is perfect for cooking family dinners. The tiles are from Headcorn Tiles, and the vintage corner cupboard and lamp are from Evernden Interiors

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Above: In the ‘yellow room’, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Pussy Paws, Amanda has created a warm and cosy focal point using a wood-burner from James’ previous home. Chairs, sourced at a local auction, have been reupholstered, and are topped off by tapestry cushions from craft fairs. A coastal painting from an unknown local artist hangs on the wall above the fireplace. Amanda used bespoke shelving to disguise alcoves of varying depths, while creating additional storage space. The coffee table, found on sellingantiques.co.uk, was, in another life, a French dining table, having since been cut down to size Right: The dining table has been with Amanda since she left home, and bears all the hallmarks of regular use by the family, and their pets, over the years.

The 1920s chairs were found by Amanda at an antiques shop in Liverpool

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Renovated Rural Home

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Above: The master bedroom features a super-king-size Sienna bed and Loire nightstands from Feather & Black. Farrow & Ball’s Borrowed Light complements the warmth of the beams. The lamps are from India Jane Left: Tabby cat Tallis sits on an antique chair that has been in the family for a long time. Amanda had it re-covered in navy blue velvet Below: Amanda has combined crisp bedlinen from The White Company and Colefax & Fowler curtains with family pieces that have been repurposed to create an inviting guest room. Mylands’ Chiswick is a similar paint colour

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Shopping

COME ON ROUND Tired of banging your knees on sharp corners en route to the sofa?

Then invest in one of these lovely circular coffee tables – just don’t forget to rest your drink on a coaster Left column, top to botttom: Floral Romance occasional table with iron top and painted fir legs, £160, Audenza; Moroccan mirrored glass-top coffee table with metal base, £515, Puji; Atlantis Art Deco-inspired oval coffee table with glass top and gilt metal frame, £208, Sweetpea & Willow

Middle column, top to bottom: Mahogany circular coffee table with glass top, £3,889, Titchmarsh & Goodwin; Aula coffee table made from brushed copper with green glass top, £299, Made. Freya mango coffee table with distressed rustic finish, £199, Marks & Spencer

Right column, top to bottom: Dutchbone walnut-veneered Arabica coffee table, £139, Houseology; Jungle by Jungle beech round coffee table in pink with copper leg cap, around £264, KSL Living; Bluestone pale oak coffee table with chalky dark limestone top, £345, Loaf Period Living 49

HOME AT LAST Waking up in her idyllic, riverside cottage on the family farm in Perthshire will be the perfect start to Molly Rowan Hamilton’s seasonal celebrations, but she had to almost rebuild it to get it to its finished state Words Alison Gibb | Photographs Douglas Gibb

Riverside Cottage Laundry Cottage is hardly recognisable from the wreck of a building Molly took on. Now warm and dry under a new roof, the light-filled living room features built-in seating, upholstered in a Scottish Linen fabric, with storage beneath.

A Riva inset wood-burning stove from Stovax brings extra warmth and cheer, and Molly chose a sofa and ottoman from Graham & Green. The coir rug is from Ikea, the table lamps and bright cushions are from Oka, the striped cushions are from Wayfair, and the bamboo lanterns are from Festive Lights

H

aving a job that can take her anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice made it difficult for Molly Rowan Hamilton to commit to buying a property, even though she knew it would make sense. Her work is based in London, but buying there seemed an unnecessary expense when she is often abroad, so instead she thought of Scotland, where she knows her heart is.

‘On my family’s farm in Perthshire there are a number of tumbledown outbuildings, which are a lot of work for my parents to keep up,’ recalls Molly. ‘So I ended up buying Laundry Cottage from them. It had been a laundry business, washing for the farm and the wider area until the 1960s. As children we had used it as a Wendy house and I used to daydream about having it as my home.

Now it is exactly as I had envisaged it.’

Turning it into Molly’s dream home, however, was quite an undertaking. The building was a wreck. Its riverside setting and its former life as a laundry made it wet and dank - the two huge vats that had been used for boiling up hot water from the river were still there. The wooden joists were completely rotten, and the house had to be practically rebuilt, but not even that would deter Molly from owning her pretty chalet-style home, and she felt it was well worth the effort.

Once the fabric of the building had been restored, Molly chose a fresh blue-green paint for the clapboard exterior and added a decorative white painted wooden balustrade to enclose the veranda, topped with obelisks for a final touch of drama. ‘I love to sit out here all year round, just drinking in the scenery,’ she says.

She laid a wooden floor throughout, originally, choosing carefully so that it would be suitable for the underfloor heating. Unfortunately, just over a year later, a flood from a burst pipe damaged the floor in the hall and living room, and it all had to be replaced. Molly chose slate this time, a more hardwearing and practical choice.

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The wooden kitchen cabinetry was handmade by local craftsman Gary Luke. ‘He made the sink unit and an open-shelved cabinet; the rest of the kitchen is freestanding, bought on Ebay,’ says Molly.

The finishing touch for the laundry’s new incarnation as a riverside sanctuary is an indulgent bathroom complete with cast-iron bath.

As for the décor, a neutral backdrop layered with the very best Scottish linens and richly patterned textiles from further afield has resulted in a rich, warm interior. Salvaged furniture mixes well with the newer pieces and a few bespoke, fitted features save space in the tiny cottage. A high, vaulted ceiling ensures that the living room has a spacious feel, despite the small scale of the home, and its pleasing proportions mean it never feels cramped.

Unsurprisingly, the beautiful Highland setting has inspired many artists, and some of the paintings on the cottage walls are by family friends, including pieces by Sassy Chalmers, who has stayed on the farm a few times as an artist in residence. ‘She has an obsession with the landscape around here,’ Molly explains. ‘It is a wonderful place to come and paint. The light is reflective and sometimes the bleak, haunting skies can have a real sense of foreboding, producing grey metallic light unlike any other.’ Molly has also hung a few prints by Royal Academician Chris Orr, who was a neighbour when the family lived in London.

When work commitments keep her away from Scotland for too long, Molly occasionally lets the property on Airbnb. ‘It’s nice to think that someone is still enjoying the beautiful views and the peace and quiet when I can’t be here,’ she says. She takes every opportunity to return to her country roots, however. ‘I find the landscape very inspiring. I wanted a retreat from travelling and my London life, and the cottage is perfect for me.’

‘Coming home for Christmas is always a special time. Mum will be seating at least 25 around the table on Christmas Day, and New Year will be just as busy,’ says Molly. ‘The fact that I can escape down here and sit on the veranda in the winter sunshine, or curl up by the fire for the evening, will give me some peaceful moments among all the fun.’

THE STORY Owner Molly Rowan Hamilton (pictured right), a freelance branding consultant, lives here. She occasionally lets Laundry Cottage on Airbnb Property A former Victorian laundry in Perthshire, now a one-bedroom chaletstyle home overlooking a river What she did The wooden building had to be almost rebuilt from scratch and reroofed. Molly had a new kitchen and bathroom fitted and added an ornate balustrade around the veranda. The clapboard exterior was repainted

Riverside Cottage

Top: Molly says it’s an idyllic place to unwind after a busy week. She chose a fresh pastel paint for the clapboard; Lakeland Paints’ Powder Blue Gloss is a similar shade Above: A smart balustrade around the veranda allows plenty of space for an outdoor dining set from TK Maxx, and wicker loungers draped with faux furs from Next and TK Maxx. The tablecloth is from Achica.

Left: A simple LED birch tree from Balsam Hill is the perfect complement to the white and blue-green scheme

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Molly rescued the glass-fronted cabinet from her mum’s kitchen and found the oak dining table in a junk shop, freshening them both up with a coat of paint. The canvas above the fireplace is Sassy Chalmers’ A Shepherd’s Life.

Molly originally chose wooden flooring for the cottage but when a burst pipe damaged it she fitted hardwearing slate tiles from Strathearn Stone & Timber

Riverside Cottage

Right: Molly sensibly chose to keep things simple in the small kitchen with wooden cabinetry, handbuilt by local craftsman Gary Luke, to house an Ikea sink and a Fisher & Paykel dishwasher. The Britannia range cooker was a bargain buy on Ebay, along with the stainless-steel catering unit. For similar tiles, try Walls & Floors.

Little Greene’s Pearl Colour Dark is a similar paint Below: The fresh garlands and wreaths in the dining area, and kitchen, are from Adelaide’s Secret Garden, a floristry business run by Molly’s friend Adelaide Knott

Riverside Cottage

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Riverside Cottage

Left: The bedroom scheme echoes the Highland shades of heathers and pine, accented with bright cushions from Joss & Main and a throw from Achica. The headboard fabric and curtains are from Scottish Linen, and the coir rugs are from Ikea. Molly bought the bedside lamps unpainted and finished them with Annie Sloan paint and lampshades from Oka Below left: Molly treasures the three botanical prints, which were her grandmother’s. She has had the armchair for years and reupholstered it in a Cath Kidston fabric. The dressing table and stool are junk shop finds Below: Molly bought the bathtub online; for similar, try The Cast Iron Bath Company. The floor tiles are from Strathearn Stone & Timber. She bought the curtains from Oka and the print from the Edinburgh College of Art degree show. The console table is from TK Maxx

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Extended Victorian Townhouse Daphne loves to collect crockery and for special occasions brings out a Havilland Limoges set with a festive gold trim, a wedding gift. She looks out for antique cutlery when browsing antique shops; this Empire pattern knife and fork set is from Buccellati. The Nutcracker tree ornament is from Fortnum & Mason and the Lingonberry Champagne coupes, crackers, and pink glass tumblers, used as tealights, are from Sophie Conran. The glass cakestand, cream bauble and silver pinecone are all Daphne’s vintage pieces.

The pink berries are from Bloom & Wild

CELEBR ATING IN STYLE A love of European design and a penchant for antiques markets inspired Daphne and Gordon Dunn on their journey to create their home Words Jane Crittenden | Styling Pippa Blenkinsop | Photographs Malcolm Menzies Styling assistants Karen Darlow and Emily Hawkes

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Left: A pair of ornate antique carved panels from M Charpentier Antiques have been repurposed as doors for the cupboards in the dining room where Daphne (pictured above) stores china and tablelinen. The simpler doors were made by Linden-Bauer in MDF, with an aged finish by artisan decorator Chris McClure that echoes the antique panels. The French reproduction Louis XIV table and cane chairs were made in the 1920s and came from the USA. Daphne made the slip covers from a fabric embroidered with regal emblems, which she bought from 1stdibs Above: The dining room is Daphne’s most indulgent room. She reinstated the dividing wall between here and the kitchen, then papered it with Ananbo Chestnut wallpaper to create a trompe l’oeil effect. The pricket candlesticks on the table came from fleamarkets in France and Amsterdam but would originally have been used in churches. The 19th-century Staffordshire relief-moulded stone jug – one of many dotted around the house – came from Ardingly Antiques & Collectors Fair. In the corner is a Balsam Hill candlelit European silver fir Christmas tree, its decorations and the rose gold tealight holders from The Contemporary Home; other accessories, as before

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D

aphne and Gordon Dunn’s 1840s west London home is an emporium of antiques and curiosities that stimulate the imagination and infuse rooms with drama. Period elegance unfolds on all four floors, heightened at Christmas and New Year when sparkling fairy lights, and sprigs of eucalyptus and fresh greenery turn the Victorian townhouse into the quintessential festive home.

The setting is a world away from Daphne and Gordon’s American roots, yet is exactly where Daphne dreamed she might live one day.

‘I’ve yearned to live in England since I was seven as I loved all the classic English stories like The Secret Garden and A Little Princess,’ she explains.

‘Then I came to London as a student, and being where my favourite writers had lived was magical.’

Daphne and Gordon made the move to London in the 1990s and bought this house in 1999. They immediately extended the basement kitchen, and turned a tiny bathroom and spare bedroom on the first floor into a master bedroom en suite and dressing room. They also added reproduction Victorian cornicing – using original moulds – to the living room and bedrooms, and tongue and groove panelling up the stairs and along the hallways.

‘Back then I thought dark, dramatic walls looked very grown-up, but as time went on I wanted a younger, lighter touch,’ says Daphne. ‘Nine years ago this became the catalyst for how the house looks today. I’m still drawn towards the theatrical in my interiors, but my ornaments and antiques carry the drama rather than the wall colours.’

Daphne scours antiques fairs here and abroad for quirky and unusual pieces. A pair of 19th-century church shutters are now cupboard doors, expertly replicated in MDF for the cupboard opposite, by artisan decorator Chris McClure. His work is on show in other rooms, too: a faux limestone ‘column’ masks the downpipe in the kitchen, and an Italian ‘armoire’ conceals the TV. He also copied the carved wood panelling in the dining room after Daphne closed the room off from the kitchen. The new wall is covered with a trompe l’oeil landscape wallpaper.

‘This room transports me to a different time and place,’ she says. ‘I love that the Baroque pricket candlesticks are displayed haphazardly as if they’ve

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been found in an undiscovered attic in a shabby French château. The neutral greige tones on the walls work well in here too, because I can have fun changing the table settings to suit the time of year.’

Back on the ground floor, the rich colours in the interconnecting reception rooms showcase Daphne’s passion for vibrant decoration. Inspired by a trip to Venice, she’s used a palette of greens, yellows and pinks, playing with jewelled and muted tones to complement and define the two spaces.

‘This is Venice by day and Venice by night,’ she explains. ‘Rich burgundy and mustard yellows in the rear living room warm to gold, emeralds and fuschia pink in the front living room.’ Venetian elegance is evoked with blown glass lamps, angels poised among Baroque sculptures, and Italian Colony and Fortuny fabrics for upholstery and cushions. The furniture in both rooms – and elsewhere – is largely antique, but Continental rather than traditional English Victorian.

‘I imagined an Italian or French person moving to London in the Victorian times and bringing their furniture and belongings with them,’ says Daphne.

‘Most of what I own is from the same era but is a much lighter and more feminine Continental style.’

One constant throughout the years is the Smallbone of Devizes kitchen, unchanged except for a recent repaint from cream to grey. Even here, Daphne’s sense of fun is very much in evidence.

The urn on the wall and a huge key in the window – once a shop sign for a 19th-century key-cutter – are great conversation points. None of Daphne’s idiosyncratic pieces are taken too seriously, though.

She hung a portrait of an 18th-century German frau in her bedroom ‘because her voluminous hair amuses me’, and a crown sits rather regally atop an antique plinth instead of an ordinary shelf.

It has taken Daphne years to get her home to a point of satisfaction, and it’s a quest that never ceases. She holidays in Europe around antiques fairs and seeks out at least one antique shop wherever she goes. ‘Just like I’m always evolving, the house is as well,’ she says. ‘Home is like another skin, and if your house reflects you and things that delight you, then it can truly enhance your everyday life.’

THE STORY Owners Daphne Dunn, who runs an interior design business (daphnedunninteriors.com), her husband, Gordon, a corporate executive, and their two children, Chloe, 21 and Finn, 17 Property A four-bedroom Victorian terrace in west London, built in 1848, with a small rear extension that the couple added in 1999 What they did The couple demolished an old conservatory, built a wrap-around brick kitchen-diner extension, turned a bedroom into a dressing room and en suite, and reinstated the wall between the kitchen and dining room

Extended Victorian Townhouse

Mustard and faded pink tones contrast with the jewelled gold and fuchsia in the double-ended living room that spans the length of the house. The TV is hidden in a cupboard that replicates the Italian armoire doors above it. To the left, above a 19th-century French chest of drawers from Seventeen-Twenty One, are two panels of a painted silk chinoiserie room screen that Daphne bought from Bonhams Auctions.

The George Smith chair was reupholstered by Ian Sargent in Mulberry’s mohair velvet, and the antique crowns are part of a collection Daphne has amassed over the years. ‘I love poetry and symbolism, and many of my objects, like the keys, crowns and cherubs, are my equivalent of literary symbols,’ she says. ‘I think they inspire a kind of whimsical fantasy in the same way that artwork feeds the imagination’ Period Living 65

The glamorous living room emulates the colours and ambience of Venice. Italian silk velvet cushions are from Colony Fabrics, and modern glass lamps, from Porta Romana, are in jewel colours that nod to the Venetian art of glassmaking. There’s a structural formality to the room with a gondola-inspired sofa from George Smith and antique armchairs. A pair of coffee tables, one at each end of the room, came from 1Hundred and were made from reclaimed French iron balconies topped with glass

Above: In the kitchen, even the goose – an antique working decoy – gets a touch of glamour with its own tiny crown. With a rustic 19th-century table from M Charpentier, the room has a Provençal feel. The ‘painting’ is a French armoire door from one of the many antique shops on Lillie Road, the sconce was from Spencer Swaffer Antiques and the chandelier from a French antiques shop. On top of the larder are more reliefmoulded jugs: ‘The best were made by the Ridgway brothers and are date-stamped,’ says Daphne. The Nordic Star is from The White Company Opposite: The Smallbone of Devizes Shaker kitchen, topped with dark green granite, was fitted 18 years ago but looks just as fresh today after a repaint in Slate II from Paint & Paper Library. The riven slate tiles are equally timeless; for similar, try Rust Multicolour Slate Riven from Tile & Stone Online. A faux limestone column, another of decorator Chris McClure’s paint effects, cleverly disguises an ugly downpipe 68 Period Living

Extended Victorian Townhouse

Extended Victorian Townhouse

Above: The opulent wood and mirror bed frame was made by Linden-Bauer, with painted motifs by Chris McClure. The French look continues with a 19th-century dressing table from Paris’s Clignancourt fleamarket and a chair in a Jane Churchill stripe; for similar, try Ian Mankin’s Candy Stripe in Peony. Daphne found the oil paintings in a charity shop and had them restored. She since discovered they are by an artist that has sold at Christie’s. The red fabrics complement the Farrow & Ball shades chosen for the walls – Mizzle – and woodwork – Pigeon.

For a similar fabric to that on the headboard, try Paris Rose from Cabbages & Roses. The bouquet on the dressing table is by Bloom & Wild Opposite: The antique urn in the fireplace was from Bonhams Auctions and creates a striking focal point in the room, along with the 18thcentury German portrait of Frau Fifi, which Daphne bought at Christie’s. The wall sconces are from Lots Road Auctions, and the French 1920s chair, from Marchand Antiques, is a copy of a Louis XVI chair. The chaise longue is from Pierre Frey Period Living 71

Shopping Belladonna Dark wallpaper, £240 per roll, Witch & Watchman Anna Hayman Designs DecoFabulous pendant shade in Blue Dianne, £295, Rockett St George

Faux coral-handled magnifier, £36, Oka

Hachi Palm table lamp, £102, Där Lighting Odin brass drinks trolley, £422, Rowen & Wren

Velvet fringed chair, £378, Sweetpea & Willow Jonathan Adler Eve salad servers, £128, Amara

K R I QU

R U O M A L YG

s ric form t n e c c ith e lvets w e wist v d n rious t u ics a c l l a a t h e t wi ne m us look Combi o i r u x for a lu

Vintage Chinese five-panel lacquered screen c.1900, £1,495, Shimu

Blue peacock fringed cushion, £22, Dunelm

Serpentis candelabra, £195, House of Hackney

Delphine French Harlequin design chest, £740, Out There Interiors

Feature Pippa Blenkinsop

Brass piano lamp with original glass shell shade, £780, Fritz Fryer

Magpie Spoonbill oval platter, £32, John Lewis

Velvet Peony candle, £30, Urban Apothecary

Chesterfield footstool in Purple Velvet, £312, Portobello

Period Living 73

Mountain Chalet

Perfect for entertaining, the dining table was made by Hugh from old floorboards. The chairs are from an antiques shop in Lyon, topped with sheepskins from Ikea for a luxurious feel.

They sourced the chandeliers from a château in Lyon, along with the brass lamps, while the antler candleholders are from Australia. The stag painting is from Marmorino in Bourg Saint Maurice; for similar, try Collective in Leamington Spa

LET IT SNOW Using upcycled materials and vintage finds, Nikki and Hugh Quinn have turned a derelict barn into a magical alpine retreat Words and styling Mairi MacDonald | Photographs Douglas Gibb

T

THE STORY Owners Nikki Quinn and her husband Hugh live here with their cairn terrier Milo. The couple run a cookery school, Chalet Savoie Faire, and a bed and breakfast Property A six-bedroom chalet home in a hamlet in the French Alps, 15 minutes up the mountain from the town of Moutiers. The property was originally built in around 1850 as a barn with a two-bedroom living area underneath What they did The couple have converted and renovated the building, doing much of the work themselves, including replacing the roof

he Alps have a way of luring you in, settling you down in a warm cosy sofa while the snow falls outside, a fire burns in the grate and a glass of home-brewed genepi is at hand to warm you through. That is exactly how it felt to Nikki Quinn when she moved to the Alps from Australia 30 years ago. She came as a chalet girl, fell in love with the region and never left. Now she and Hugh, her Irish husband of 18 years, are part of the local community, running a bed and breakfast and a cookery school from their lovely alpine home.

‘We bought it 14 years ago as a derelict barn and it has taken us as many years to complete the renovation,’ says Nikki. She and Hugh had wanted a project for their retirement and decided to look for a property in the Alps. ‘The estate agents just shook their heads when we said we wanted something big and rural. We couldn’t afford anything they showed us until one day we saw this,’ she adds.

Nikki instantly knew the chalet had potential.

‘It has views right down the valley, and is only 30 minutes from Méribel and Courchevel, with endless summer walks and cycling routes, which suited Hugh, who was a pro-mountain biker.’

The building had not been lived in for 30 years and the barn above was still being used by the local farmer to store his hay and tractor. Despite this, Nikki and Hugh moved into two ground-floor rooms as soon as they received the keys. ‘There was no kitchen, heating or hot water,’ explains Nikki. ‘But luckily for me, the week we moved in I was called away to oversee a hotel refurbishment in Greece, leaving Hugh to tackle the house!’

Hugh concentrated his efforts on making the downstairs warm and comfortable, creating a bedroom, installing a new boiler and turning the makeshift kitchen into something a bit more useful.

It took Hugh and Nikki five years to finish the ground floor, but taking things slowly gave them chance to think about the upstairs design and layout. ‘We both love the old materials and methods that were used when the chalet was built 150 years ago, so we were keen to salvage and reuse as much as we could for the renovation,’ adds Nikki. The

76 Period Living

couple even found the burnt rafters of the barn after it was torched by the Nazis during a raid on the French Resistance in 1944. ‘The barns were all rebuilt the following year as the locals needed them but the old rafters were left in a corner, waiting for us to discover them,’ says Nikki.

When things didn’t go to plan Nikki and Hugh were able to call on their neighbours for help. ‘We received an enormous quote to rebuild the roof, so Hugh decided to do it himself, but without our friends and our next-door farmer and his cherry picker, we would never have managed,’ says Nikki.

To reroof the building Hugh used as much of the old wood as possible, or scrubbed it down and reused it inside. Doors, frames, walls and floors were all made by Hugh out of the discarded wood.

Meanwhile Hugh also took time to design the layout. Nikki’s main requirement was a kitchen big enough for her cookery school and an openplan living-diner, and the rest was down to Hugh, who used his love of treehouses as inspiration.

‘Every room is wood-lined and has floor-to-ceiling windows,’ says Nikki. ‘Our views are incredible and it does sometimes feel like we are high up in the branches looking down on the world.’

She has spent many happy hours scouring the local brocantes and vintage shops for furniture and accessories to complete the look. Anything Nikki was unable to source, Hugh has made, turning his hand to welding staircases, creating headboards and even making a dining table from floorboards. The end result is a home that feels like it has been in the family for years. Upstairs Nikki has her dream kitchen, for her cookery school, two large bedrooms and bathrooms, an open-plan living and dining area and a separate living room and bar on the top floor. Downstairs are four guest bedrooms and three bathrooms, a living room, a vaulted dining room and a separate kitchen.

‘We designed the upstairs space for us and the downstairs as a bed and breakfast, but we use every inch of the two houses,’ says Nikki. ‘Guests do cookery lessons in the kitchen and we all eat together at our dining table, or enjoy a glass of wine on the balcony watching the sunset. No one comes here without being blown away by it all. Even us.’

Mountain Chalet

Right: The entrance hall leads straight through to the large kitchen and on towards the dining and living areas. Hugh welded the steel staircase himself. The coat pegs are old nails found in the barn. The tiles are from Comptoir Toulousain; for similar, try Topps Tiles

‘Horny’ the stag sets the chalet style in the cosy living room, above a Thermorossi wood-burning stove. From the large windows you can see the village and the valley below. Walls are painted in Little Greene’s Blue Verditer, and the clock came from the weekly Lyon Antique Fair. The grey sofas are by Roche Bobois for Delux Décor and the leather sofa is from local brocante, Troc de L’ile, as are the two armchairs. The rug is from Ikea and the occasional table is from Cocktail Scandinave

Mountain Chalet

80 Period Living

Mountain Chalet

Left: The flexible cooking space was created to be equally practical for one person as for eight. Hugh fitted the kitchen units and painted them in Bordeaux from Little Greene and built the stainless steel and oak island. Eight induction hobs are fitted within the worktops. Four ovens, two dishwashers and two fridges line the walls, all by De Dietrich. Nikki chose the wall tiles from Comptoir Toulousain to match the rock face climbing the mountain roads to their village, Naves. She collects dishes, pots, bottles, baskets and jars from local markets, grouping them together to create a welcoming, busy look Below: The red console table, positioned between the kitchen and dining area, was found at a local brocante, as was the mirror with shelves. The brass candelabra came from an old château near Lyon.

A breakfast bar separates the kitchen from the living room, with bar stools from Cocktail Scandinave; for similar, try Maisons du Monde

Period Living 81

Top: An old manor gate found in a market in the Ardèche has been welded together by Hugh to make the headboard in the master bedroom. A mezzanine creates an extra space above the bed for Nikki’s dressing room.

The chaise longue, antique bedcover and chandelier are from Troc de L’ile. Hugh made the bedside tables. The rug is from Ikea and the lamps and button-backed chair are from L’Arnaud in nearby Moutiers Left: The en-suite bathroom, with a window onto the Alps Above: Hugh made an extended headboard from old roofing boards. Bedside lamps sit on antique boxes found at Cocktail Scandinave; the linen is by Sylvie Thiriez. For a similar throw, try Not on the High Street

Don’t miss the next issue of

PERIODLIVING OUT 28 DECEMBER

Stunning real period homes O Plant a wildlife-friendly garden O The latest wallpapers O Upholstery designs O Luxury bathroom ideas

Photographs Andrea Papini/House of Pictures; Leigh Clapp; Colin Poole; Marc Allum;

Unique Home Stays

O

PERIODLIVING

W

ith the New Year comes new ideas and projects for your home, so Christmas is the perfect time to treat both yourself and a friend to a Period Living magazine subscription for just £52.20. Here’s your chance to buy one 12-month subscription and get another free, and receive access to plenty of home interiors inspiration for your period property, antiques and vintage finds, plus much more. Hurry!

Offer ends 31 December 2017.

As a subscriber you’ll receive the following benefits every month:

O 12

issues delivered free to your door

O Expert

advice and practical solutions for your renovation project O Shopping

ideas and inspiring decorating features

It’s easy to subscribe!

Go online at:

myfavouritemagazines.co.uk/PLJan18

Or call 0344 848 2852

86 Period Living

EXCLUSIVE OFFER

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Period Living 87

HOUSE journal Discover the latest products to improve your period home and pick up top tips from leading industry experts

Best of British ceramics

LIGHT INDUSTRY

Feature Karen Bray

Add a fabulous retro feel to your home with this industrial-style Stocksmoor wall light, priced £188.50 from independent forge Nigel Tyas. The wrought-iron pendant hangs from a hand-forged wall plate, with adjustable brass fittings that allow the light to be suspended from vertical and sloping walls. Black with a smooth lacquered finish, choose from a choice of five silk braided cable colours, and pair with an attractive LED T30 baton bulb (E27 fitting, £16.50), which gives off a warm white glow.

Discover a wealth of period design at The Winter Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea Park, London, 23-28 January. Unlike traditional antiques fairs, dealers style their stands as room sets so you can imagine how items might work in your own home.

Visit decorativefair.com to register for a free ticket

Artisans of Devizes has launched a new collection of handmade tiles by talented British ceramicists. These tiles by Guy Mitchell are crafted using hardwearing, nonporous stoneware clay.

Vibrant colours and glazes are hand-mixed from raw materials and oxides and then applied by brush or dipping.

From £594 per m2.

From top: Maraus Hexagon in Cobalt Aqua; Garcia Diamonds in Aqua Blue; Centro Triangles; Brera Penny

LUXURY UNDERFOOT Cormar Carpets has added ten new on-trend shades to its popular easy-clean Sensation collection, including this lovely soft shade of blue, Cape Diamond. Made from Luxelle, a super-soft polypropylene fibre, the carpet is both dirt and stain resistant, making it a practical choice underfoot, while not scrimping on comfort. Available in two options – the heavy weight ‘Original’ and lighter weight ‘Feeling’ – the range comes in both four- and five-metre widths, from around £24 per m2, with a 10-year stain and wear resistance warranty.

Period Living 89

DECO DELIGHT

ASK THE EXPERT Douglas Kent, technical and research director at the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings, answers your renovation queries

Drawing inspiration from architects and craftsmen of the 1930s, the New Deco kitchen by Martin Moore has clean lines and uses decorative materials.

The collection features floating freestanding pieces and clever shadow lines in all the cabinetry, with no traditional cornicing or beading.

Finishes include marble, limestones, metallics and veneered timbers, which can be used to give a glamorous look. Martin Moore kitchens are made to order from £35,000.

SWITCH ON TO STYLE French brand Meljac produces elegant light switches to blend with any décor.

Its Limoge range has a glazed porcelain surface hand-painted in a blue and white design. From £203 at SM Contracts.

Log cabin chic Create a cosy, rustic look with the new Reclaimed range of easy-to-apply solid timber wall and ceiling cladding planks from Plaank.

Rocky Mountain Grey, shown here, is one of four naturally weathered timber finishes. The FSC certified planks measure W12.7cm and come in variable lengths, with each box containing 1.86m², priced from £199.

CLASSIC UPDATE

Jøtul has redesigned its most popular woodburning stove, the F 500.

Maintaining excellent functionality, the stove’s intricate gothic face has been stripped back and replaced with a plain door allowing for a larger view of the fire and a cleaner aesthetic. From £2,375.

90 Period Living

Q DOUBLE TAKE Twin sinks are a great addition to a shared bathroom, and this Radcliffe Westbury vanity in walnut, £1,695 from Imperial Bathrooms, is a classic design with a contemporary edge. Made from solid wood it has a built-in glass shelf, LED interior lighting and soft-close doors. The Belgium Blue stone top, £1,495, adds to the authentic character.

I was given a weather vane as a gift and would like to install it on the gable of our Grade II-listed barn. Will I need listed building consent?

Yes, although your application will be free. As long as the weathervane is of a sympathetic design, I think there is a good chance you’ll receive approval.

Essentially, a listed building application must be submitted for all work that alters the character of your barn. Any unauthorised work will cause issues when you come to sell.

* If you have a renovation question for Douglas Kent, email it to periodliving@futurenet.com. We do our best to answer all queries, but cannot guarantee a response

Q

My cottage has become damp inside and I suspect that the problem is to do with condensation. Any advice?

A few simple lifestyle changes can yield dramatic improvements.

Place lids on pans while cooking, close the doors to the kitchen and bathroom when in use, dry clothes outdoors, and vent any tumble drier to the outside.

Improving ventilation to the exterior helps, too. Even when it feels damp outside in winter, the lower vapour pressure draws out moisture. Open windows and avoid draught-proofing those in kitchens and bathrooms.

Check that the loft, floor voids and any disused chimneys are well ventilated and avoid foam treatments underneath the roof, as they can cause timber decay.

Increased heating can keep surfaces above dew point, particularly if run constantly at a low level. Lagging cold pipes may stop surface condensation, as can improving insulation levels.

Use breathable products. The use of ‘hygroscopic’ materials that temporarily store excess moisture, such as sheep’s wool, can help avert condensation.

Next Month

New year, new colour

Whether you crave a bold hue, an atmospheric shade or a classic neutral, set the mood for a stylish 2018 with our pick of the best paint trends for a fresh look

TRUE BLUE Calm and sophisticated, blue can sometimes be perceived as a cold colour so choose richer shades for a more inviting feel. In days gone by, the blue pigment was very expensive, so it definitely adds a feeling of luxury. This kitchen in Annie Sloan’s Napoleonic Blue (left) and Provence, both £39.95 for 2.5ltrs of wall paint, shows how a two-tone effect can be used to add depth. ³

Boy Blue, £43 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Sanderson

Delft Tile, £44 for 2.5ltrs of Perfect matt emulsion, Designers Guild

Discovery Cove, £13.99 for 2.5ltrs of vinyl matt emulsion, Wickes

Flanders Blue, £32.98 for 2.5ltrs of chalky emulsion, Craig & Rose Period Living 93

NOT QUITE WHITE

There’s so many fabulous bold colours around, but finding just the right off-white paint can be a challenge. Valspar can scan and match any colour the eye can see to make over 2.2million shades, so if you spot the perfect neutral you can easily recreate it. Its Premium Blend range is scrubbable and has great stain-resistance. Shown is Innocent Ivory, £28 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion from B&Q.

Butter Pecan, from £20.50 for 0.94ltrs of Regal Select flat, Benjamin Moore

Fountain, £47 for 2.5ltrs of chalky interior matt, Marston & Langinger

Seaford, £29.77 for 2.5ltrs of flat matt emulsion, Albany

Ivory Spray, £10 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Johnstone’s

94 Period Living

Colour Trends

SUNSHINE YELLOW

There’s no better way to brighten up dark winter days than with a palette inspired by summer. Choose from pretty lemon and buttercup to sophisticated mustard, and team with white and natural materials to prevent the look from cloying. This dining area is painted in Farrow & Ball’s India Yellow, £43.50 for 2.5ltrs of Estate emulsion. ³

Daisy Chain, £38 for 2.5ltrs of Claypaint, Earthborn

Cha Cha, £32 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Graham & Brown

Sunningdale, £45 for 5ltrs of chalk emulsion, The Traditional Paint Company

Micasa, £61.99 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Sputnik

Period Living 95

DARK FOREST

Intense leafy hues make for a dramatic yet relaxing space, and are ideal for enhancing creativity in a study area. Deep green works beautifully with dark woods and metallic touches for a luxe finish. This room is painted in Pleat, £42 for 2.5ltrs of Absolute matt emulsion at Little Greene.

Heathland, £25.72 for 2.5ltrs of paint mixing matt, Dulux

Mercer Green, £33 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Abigail Ahern

Verdigris, £45.75 for 5ltrs of organic matt paint, Lakeland Paints

Sherwood, £9 for 2.5ltrs of Colours matt emulsion, B&Q

96 Period Living

NextTrends Month Colour

CHOCOLATE ESPRESSO Not the most obvious choice for a bedroom, but rich brown can create the most sumptuous, restful feel.

Choose from dark chocolate to mid earth and milky latte shades, depending on whether you want the room to feel cosy and enclosed or calm and open. Zoffany’s Tabac costs £45 for 2.5ltrs of flat emulsion. ³

Fetish, £32 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Graham & Brown

Bitter Chocolate, £30 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Mini Moderns

Millbank, £44 for 2.5ltrs of marble matt emulsion, Mylands

Moleskin, £39.95 for 2.5ltrs of wall paint, Frenchic

Period Living 97

MOODY TE AL

Evoking the sea at dusk, this atmospheric shade is perfect for a cosy living room. It works especially well with plush velvet fabrics, setting the tone for the ultimate snug retreat. In this scheme, walls in Teal, £38 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, are teamed with the Olivia grand sofa in Isla Kingfisher cotton velvet, £2,680, both Neptune.

Dance Hall, £18.50 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Crown

Maritime, £44 for 2.5ltrs of marble matt emulsion, Mylands

Polkadot, £38 for 2.5ltrs of Claypaint, Earthborn

Canton, £42 for 2.5ltrs of Absolute matt emulsion, Little Greene 98 Period Living

NextTrends Month Colour

MERRY BERRY Nothing feels more inviting in the depths of winter than being immersed in a room decorated with warm berry shades. The robust intensity of these colours means they are not for the faint-hearted.

Avoid harsher reds and brighter pinks to create a beautiful, sensual scheme that still has a classic feel.

This living room is painted in Rhubarb, £46.50 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion at Paint & Paper Library.

Nicaragua, £45 for 2.5ltrs of emulsion, Edward Bulmer

Burnt Juniper, £39.50 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Fired Earth

Cottage Garden Fallen Fruit, £38.50 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Paint by Conran

Jazzberry, £10 for 2.5ltrs of Home of Colour matt emulsion, Homebase Period Living 99

Advertorial

EXPERIMENT WITH COLOUR To give your home a refresh, try painting with the season’s most inspiring shades from Crown’s latest trends

PROVOCATIVE Left: Quick Kiss Feature Wall matt emulsion; Mustard Jar matt and silk emulsion; Splashing Around Bathroom mid sheen emulsion; and Soft Steel Bathroom mid sheen emulsion BLOOM Above: Fuchsia Fizz Bathroom mid sheen emulsion; Scrumptious Feature Wall matt emulsion; Lavender Cupcake matt and silk emulsion; Pier View Period Collection flat matt emulsion; Feeling Fresh Bathroom mid sheen emulsion; and Splash of Pepper Kitchen matt emulsion LINEAR Below: Duck Egg matt and silk emulsion; Rebel Feature Wall matt emulsion; Attingham Blue Period Collection flat matt emulsion; and May Queen Period Collection flat matt emulsion

W

e love inspiring homeowners to get creative and nothing puts personality into a space more than the colours that you select. With Crown’s latest trend palettes, there are plenty of colours to choose from to update your home with just one shade or bring together several to achieve a look that suits your sense of style.

Provoke a reaction with big blocks of colour for maximum impact with Crown’s Provocative trend – a strong set of bold primary colours used with chalky pastels. Or consider a greyed palette of watery blues and muted pinks from the Linear trend for a clean-lined and ultra-modern elegance in the home. As we look to the new year, try bringing the fresh flowers of an English garden into the home with an energetic and Springlike palette of colours from the Bloom trend.

Whichever colours you choose, you can be sure Crown’s paint comes with 200 years of expertise and our unique Breatheasy formulation, which is 99 per cent solvent free and therefore ideal for most rooms in the home.

For more information, visit crownpaints.co.uk to explore the latest colour trends, get help and advice, samples or to find your nearest stockist.

Wood Flooring Add grandeur and impact with a classic geometric wood floor design, like in this French Weave woven laying pattern from Amtico’s Signature luxury vinyl tile range. Shown here in Brushed Oak, the traditional honey tones create a timeless style that’s perfect for large open spaces. Prices start from around £70 per m2

10 OF THE BEST WOODEN FLOORS Whether solid, engineered or timber effect, enhance the warmth and character of your period home while providing hardwearing practicality with our pick of the latest wood flooring designs

Left: With an abundance of knots and grain markings for authentic character, this Home Choice solid European oak flooring breaks away from the traditional tongue and groove, featuring a click-together joint for fast and easy installation.

Shown here in a Pure UV oiled finish, it costs £46 per m2 from UK Flooring Direct Below: This Boulevarde engineered oak flooring from Indigenous is perfect for creating a Scandi look, retaining paler tones while revealing the natural graining within the oak.

White oiled, with a bevelled edge and lacquered finish, it costs from £70.80 per m2

Above: For the warm look of timber but with greater durability and water-resistance, look to wood-effect porcelain tiles.

Blended with realistic and natural colours, this KOS panel design from Stone & Ceramic Warehouse, shown in white and grey, costs from £57.60 per m2 Right: For a floor with a true sense of history, reclaimed wood is the ideal choice to enhance a period home’s character. This Relik Organic painted pine flooring is finished in a rustic grade with bevelled edges, priced £139.14 per m2 from Havwoods

Wood Flooring Right: Bring a rustic feel to your space with Fired Earth’s Woodland collection of solid European oak flooring, which takes its inspiration from nature.

Sanded and oiled in glorious warm tones, this Wild Mushroom design is priced £74.95 per m2 Below: The graphic look and clean lines of the new Hexparket flooring

by Carpenter & Hartmann is perfectly counterbalanced by the natural beauty and texture of the 100 per cent solid hardwood oak. This parquet design, featuring hexagonal staves laid to form an intricate design while offering a warm and golden glow, is delivered with an untreated surface to be finished on site with lacquer or oil. £270 per m2 from Junckers ³

Left: For a lowmaintenance and durable alternative to a real wood floor, luxury vinyl tiles are both detailed and textured to mimic an authentic wood effect. Harvey Maria’s new Church Pine design from its Signature Collection is a versatile combination of warm and cool grey tones, perfect for adding an industrial edge to your bathroom, priced £33.53 per m2 Below left: This rustic Berkeley Cottage engineered oak design is beautifully timeworn, with each board adorned with the rich textures of a floor that’s been laid fresh from the saw, and smoothed over decades. £82.95 per m² from Woodpecker Below: For an authentically distressed floor that is easy to fit, this Vintage worn oak parquet by Broadleaf creates an elegant yet instantly lived-in feel.

Available in two sizes, the solid flooring is available in over 20 unique shades; this design costs £71.82 per m2

The Reclaimer

Cast-iron promise Kevin Curtis from The Aga Exchange explains why a reclaimed and reconditioned cooker is a great option for both style and longevity Cooking heritage…

What to consider

A classic Aga is more than just a cooker – it is an outstandingly efficient energy store that steadily transfers heat from its core into its ovens and hotplates. Thermostatic controls maintain consistent temperatures while high levels of insulation within the outer casing and beneath the hotplate covers ensure that every Aga uses fuel economically. It slowly releases a unique source of gentle, friendly warmth into your kitchen – the secret to its success being in its heavy iron castings, which absorb and retain the heat. This means food is cooked by radiant heat, not heated air as in most ovens and, as a result, the food retains more moisture and flavour.

When buying a reclaimed and reconditioned Aga, it is important to use a reputable company.

Always check the quality of the cooker’s enamelling and, if possible, find out where the cooker originally came from and whether it has been previously converted. Aga cookers are available in electric, gas, solid fuel or oil versions, so consider what the best fuel option is for you and your property.

Feature Karen Bray The Aga Exchange is a subsidiary of Dorset Reclamation

Original quality…

The Aga is known for its longevity, with many cookers still operating after more than half a century. It is available in a range of designs – for example, we stock two- and four-oven versions, and all three models ranging from the Aga standard circa 1950, the Aga deluxe pre 1974, and the post-1974 current models. Buying a reconditioned original Aga cooker is a great option as I believe the choice of models and casting were better quality in the older versions.

What to pay…

Depending on the model, size and type of fuel required, reconditioned and re-enamelled Aga cookers start from £3,750 up to £6,350 – this includes installation to a prepared site and a two-year guarantee.

From top left: Four-oven pre-1974 Aga before restoration; the range cooker following its restoration by The Aga Exchange, installed in a farmhouse in Dorset; Kevin Curtis in the showroom

Conversion queries…

You should always check to make sure that the Aga you are interested in has not been cobbled together from different models or suffered a bad previous conversion from oil to electric, for example. Converting a solid-fuel, oil or gas Aga to electric is a specialist job that should only be carried out by a reputable company. We sell a range of fully reconditioned Aga cookers that have been converted to run on 13amp electric.

Restoration process Because Agas are made from solid cast iron, they are built to last and therefore there is not much that can go wrong. Occasionally some of the castings will break, but these can either be repaired or replaced with new ones.

When we take delivery of a reclaimed Aga that may have seen better days, all of the enamel parts are professionally re-enamelled, which can be done in a range of colours by a specialist. The internal castings are sandblasted prior to installation and the side and back panels are replaced with new, along with all chrome and aluminium parts. New burners and controls are also fitted along with new insulation to perfectly finish off the cooker.

RECLAIMED AGA SOURCEBOOK The Aga Exchange – 01929 472121; theagaexchange.co.uk Avec Cookers – 01565 830885; aveccookers.co.uk John Wray Country Stoves – 01748 811030; johnwraycountry stoves.co.uk Twyford Cookers – 01568 611124; twyford-cookers.com West Country Cookers – 01548 830089; westcountrycookers.com Period Living 109

Maintenance HOME HEALTH CHECK:

Gates and railings This often fragile metalwork needs care and attention to prevent it from decaying so spot the signs of wear and tear before it occurs with this practical, step-by-step advice Words Roger Hunt

M

etalwork defines the exterior space around many buildings, with gates and railings often prominent architectural features. Wrought iron was used to create highly decorative items, including gates and screens, in the 17th and 18th centuries. The first significant architectural use of cast iron was the erection of the railings around St Paul’s Cathedral in 1714.

Both cast and wrought iron were employed extensively during the Georgian and Victorian periods and technological advancements allowed for mass production, with pattern books offering a choice of decorative ironwork.

The metal used in this work can be fragile and will quickly deteriorate, so identifying and dealing with problems before they occur or get worse prevents damage and saves the expense of repairs.

Warning signs

The ferrous metals – those containing iron – that are used in buildings are not always easy to tell apart, especially as they are often concealed under thick coats of paint and different metals are used in combination. For example, the decorative heads on wrought-iron railings are sometimes cast iron.

WROUGHT IRON: A traditional material and relatively durable, wrought iron is easily worked while hot and has high tensile strength because of its fibrous structure.

CAST IRON: Items are formed in moulds and, although relatively corrosion-resistant, cast iron is brittle with little tensile strength so impact tends to cause it to crack or shatter. The metal is not easy to work. Cast iron often has a slight surface roughness and visible seams or ‘flash lines’ left by the mould.

STEEL: Used from the second half of the 19th century, steel is a versatile material that can be worked when hot or cold and is often employed today instead of wrought iron but, although strong, it has poor resistance to corrosion.

Illustration Sarah Overs

Exposure to water and air is hugely damaging and will quickly result in rusting and decay. When iron corrodes it expands, causing distortion and sections to be forced apart, and any metal fixed into masonry may fracture the surrounding materials. ³

Material facts

Period Living 111

What to look for: O Damaged paintwork

O Hot air guns are ineffective because the metal quickly conducts the heat away.

O Blistering, discoloured paint or ‘pitted’ surfaces O Corrosion and failing joints

Hinges

O Damaged or missing sections

Over time the hinges of iron gates may stick, squeak or wear if not properly maintained.

Action: O Identify the source of any problem.

O Keep hinges and moving parts well greased.

O If stuck, ease with a little oil or WD-40.

O Contact a blacksmith if parts are worn and new parts or repairs are needed.

O Moisture or dirt like moss or plant growth O Rust staining to renders, masonry and other surfaces in contact with ironwork O Cracking to masonry where ironwork is attached O Squeaking, binding or sagging gates

Railing construction Most railings consist of uprights or balusters topped by decorative heads and held together by rails.

They are either assembled on site or prefabricated as panels.

Some railings are full height and fixed to posts. Others are set into the top of a low wall with the ends of the uprights bedded into lead plugs that allow some movement without fracturing the stone and also adding some protection against corrosion.

Painting Maintenance is essential with all ironwork and regular and thorough painting is vital. Look for areas where moisture is trapped by damaged or flaking paint, which prevents the metal’s surface from drying out.

Any paint work carried out will only be as good as the surface underneath so this must be well prepared, clean, dry and rust free.

Action: O Remove loose paint and rust with wire brushes, wire wool and abrasive paper.

O Wash down sound paint and sand to provide a rough surface (a key) for new paint.

O Clean away dust, grease and grime with a rag soaked in white spirit.

O Apply a rust inhibitor to get rid of all traces.

O Recoat promptly to avoid rust reoccurring.

O Use a high quality paint designed for metalwork.

O Brushes are the best means of application.

O Pay particular attention to joints, corners and the underside of surfaces.

O Avoid painting in damp, cold conditions and beware of wind-blown dirt and dust.

Removing paint layers Sound paint does not necessarily need to be removed, but paint build up over the years will obscure fine surface detailing.

Action: O Apply chemical paint removers and scrape paint.

O Use peel away poultice systems to remove multiple layers of paint.

O Shot blasting or flash flame cleaning can be used where necessary but should be carried out by a professional used to conservation work.

112 Period Living

Damaged railings Repairing railings is a skilled job requiring considerable craftsmanship. Badly decayed sections may have to be replaced.

Action: O Contact a blacksmith.

O Repair rather than replace.

O Carry out new work on a like-for-like basis.

O Use undamaged pieces of cast iron to provide patterns for new castings.

O Contact foundries as some still hold traditional patterns in stock.

O Search architectural salvage yards for replacement items.

Useful contacts British Artist Blacksmiths Association directory of members. baba.org.uk David Cooper Blacksmiths - architectural ironwork and artist blacksmiths. Tel: 01262 401498; dcblacksmiths.co.uk Hammerite - metal paints. Tel: 03332 227171: hammerite.co.uk Newton Forge - restoration and bespoke ironwork. Tel: 01258 472407; newtonforge.co.uk PeelAway - paint remover. Tel: 0117 960 0060; peelaway.co.uk Peter Weldon Iron Designs - period ironwork.

Tel: 01267 307037; peterweldon.co.uk Topp & Co - architectural metalwork.

Tel: 01347 833173; toppandco.com Victorian Society - booklet on cast iron.

Tel: 020 8994 1019; victorian-society.org.uk Wrought Iron Sussex - metalwork design, build and restoration. Tel: 01243 771752; wroughtironsussex.co.uk

F tarter es ir

Don’t let the cold snap keep you indoors.

Turn up the heat and enjoy your garden with this dual-function BBQ/ outdoor heater from Chesneys. The HEAT 400 costs £1,495 and has the same clean-burn technology as the brand’s indoor wood-burning stoves.

EASY PLANNING This wonderfully illustrated 2018 planner from Emma Bridgewater is inspired by typically British garden birds. The perfect Christmas gift for any garden lover, it costs £8.95.

GARDEN journal Bi rd

Smart storage, beautiful organisers and cosy buys to help you get set for 2018

Feature Michelle Guy

Snuggle up Grab a hot toddy and a woolly blanket and cosy up outdoors on a crisp winter’s day on this Hampstead Jewel daybed, £4,999 from Bridgman.

ters t o sp

This classic new textiles range from The Contemporary Home is inspired by birds and berries. The Spring Garden & Birds bag is £15, the gloves are £15 and the kneeler is £18.

Period Living 115

EXPERT TIPS… HOW TO CARE FOR YOUR HOUSEPLANTS

Houseplants do a great job of brighteningup your home. But their benefits don’t stop there. They can do wonders for your physical and mental health, increase oxygen levels, filter out harmful chemicals, and help you connect with nature, even when you’re inside. With most plants, care comes down to water, humidity, light and temperature.

If the leaves are turning yellow and wilting, you’re probably overwatering.

If in doubt, wait until the top layer of soil is fairly dry before watering.

Many houseplants originate from tropical regions and will dry out with central-heating in the home.

Increase humidity with a water spritzer or pebble tray.

A lot of houseplants enjoy the same temperatures as our homes, but watch out for draughts and cold snaps, which may stress some plants.

Plants need light to survive, but direct sunlight is too much for most houseplants.

A few points about food, soil and potting: feed plants during their main growing phase, but never when flowering;

soil should be well-draining – always check the type of soil a plant likes before buying more; and repot your plants once a year just before their main growth period, choosing a pot that is a few centimetres wider than the current pot.

CARING FOR POPULAR HOUSEPLANTS Orchids Sit this plant on an east-facing windowsill. During the summer, water weekly. Let the water flow through the pot and into the gravel tray below. Never let it get water-logged. Mist the plant’s leaves and roots regularly. Feed it weekly, with a general fertiliser at roughly quarter strength. In the colder winter months, keep it in a warmer place. Reduce the amount of water to just once a month or so, and stop fertilising it completely.

After it’s flowered, using a pair of sterile snippers, cut off the dead flower spike. With care and patience it will flower again and again.

Jade plant These need regular watering; not too little, or too much. Check the top soil once a week - if it’s completely dry, give it some water.

They’re suited to typical indoor temperatures: 18-24°C during the day and 10-13°C at night.

For more smart plant advice, visit smartplantapp.com

3 simple storage ideas

STORE IT ALL Ensure you always have a ready supply of logs for your fire or wood-burning stove by stacking them in this classic hessian-lined wicker basket. It has wheels for easy transportation, £89.99, Dobbies.

116 Period Living

TIDY TOOLS This beautiful Elderflower-themed tool box, made from powder-coated steel with a handy hinged handle, is perfect for storing smaller pieces like trowels, scissors and garden string. It costs £25 from Magpie.

BOOKSHELF Plan and record your garden activities for the year ahead with this handy garden journal. Featuring beautiful illustrations, A Year in the Garden: A Guided Journal, by sisters Nina and Sonya Montenegro, allows you to track what you’re growing, make notes on essential tasks and sketch out favourite flowers from your garden (£14.99, Timber Press).

IT’S A WRAP Made from pure 100 per cent lambswool, this Windowpane check throw

by Tweedmill Woven will certainly keep you warm and cosy inside or out. £49.99 from Black

By Design.

PACK IT UP Keep garden tools, accessories and toys dry and safe during the winter months in this Northcote spruce weatherproof storage box from Garden Trading. From £250 for the H64xW104xD60cm design.

Illustrations Sarah Overs Photographs (orchids) Istock

George Williams, CEO of SmartPlant - an app that helps plant lovers care for their plants – shares his advice on how to keep houseplants looking their best

Shopping Oatmeal wool throw, £59.99, Dobbies Robins teatowel, £6.99, RSPB

Canvas log carrier, from £30, The Emporium Somerset

Bewick stag trinket tray, £12, Magpie Vintage wooden candle lantern, £23.95, Melody Maison

Winter Twilight Leaves and Berries mug, £8, National Trust

WINTER WOODLAND

Pantone Berry gardening gloves, £12.99, Briers

Soft fabric tree sculpture ornament, £35, Astrid Weigel at Etsy

There’s no better way to work off all that Christmas over-indulgence than with a bracing countryside walk. Take in the natural beauty of frost-covered branches and berry-filled hedgerows and look out for the wildlife that still comes out to play during the short, chilly days. Let these woodland-themed buys for indoors and out inspire you to pull on your wellies, grab your warmest winter hat and head outside to explore the natural beauty of the winter landscape.

Sophie Conran dibber, £14.95, Annabel James

Hedgerow Berries botanical candle, £25, Sophie Allport

Woodland Walk woven rack, £16, Sainsbury’s

Mary Kuper Robin framed print, £70, Athena

Garden Trading Aldsworth wooden plant stand, £90, Cuckooland

Feature Beth Murton

Parisian Dove Grey wooden wellington boot rack, £35, The Farthing

Dew Drop bird box, £38, Peter Lanyon at Made by Hand Online Marimekko Korpi canvas bag, £26, Abode Living

Period Living 119

BIG IDEAS FOR SMALL GARDENS Whether you have a small garden or some unused corners and areas you would like to improve, there is no shortage of ideas to make the most of the space and create your dream outdoor retreat Words and photographs Leigh Clapp

Every inch of this garden is filled with spring colour; in fact, the canopy of the silver pear tree has been lifted in order to give extra light and breathing space to the underplanting. The palette of receding colours – pale blues, mauve and whites – all add to the sense of space, even though the ground is smothered with forget-me-nots and tulips. Gently step over to sit on the bench and be surrounded by the medley of pretty hues

O

utdoor space of any kind – whether it’s a balcony, courtyard or a pocketsize plot – is an opportunity to enhance the architecture of your home and connect it to nature.

Time spent planning and designing will help you realise the full potential of your garden. Consider how you would like to use the space. Is it for alfresco dining and relaxing in, or purely for flowers and foliage? Give some thought to the practicalities, such as areas for storage or to hide bins, and take careful note of the microclimates, sun and light, wind protection and your boundaries. It’s a good idea to allow yourself a year to observe the garden in each season before you make big changes.

Next, consider how to link the inside of your home to the outside. For a period home, the outside might continue the theme with period features such as a stone bench or a traditional water feature, or you may prefer to create a complete contrast with a more contemporary tropical, leafy look outside.

GARDEN ASSESSMENT Thinking of your small garden as an outdoor room makes it easier to plan using similar principles to interior design. Look at the plot’s size and shape, and its surroundings, and consider whether it is overlooked by neighbours, or if there are any eyesores to camouflage. Perhaps you would like to showcase your love of plants and create a living picture to be viewed from inside, or a private retreat complete with the soothing sounds of water to block out the noise of the outside world.

List your preferences in order of priority – a moodboard of ideas can be a great help. Decide what is practical and doable, and mark out the space on a plan or in situ with string to help you to visualise the end result. It’s best to keep it simple.

ELEMENTS Even the smallest garden needs a style, and where everything can be seen at once, attention to detail is important. Relating all your pieces – the walls, ground surfaces, pots, planting and furniture – as a part of a single design will help to give a coherent result. Decide on the separate zones you’d like to include and how much hardscape is needed for dining or sitting versus softscape for planting. Do keep in mind that hard surfaces are labour saving, whereas lawns are time consuming and need to be immaculate in a small garden. Try to ensure all the elements in your garden are in harmony and don’t attempt to include too many different styles.

If you are starting from scratch you may need to call in a professional to do the hard landscaping to ensure drainage is in place and paving is done expertly. But whether you do it yourself or not, planning is key. Decide on shapes and patterns, curves or straight lines and the types of materials

122 Period Living

that are sympathetic to the period feel. It is helpful to draw up a grid to scale and then cut out the items you want to include, such as raised beds, seating, a feature tree, garden beds, focal point, pergola, dining area, and paving or decking. Experiment with them until you are happy with the design.

Planting, containers and furnishings will soften the design and, again, select colours, textures and shapes to complement your chosen look. Aim for a harmonious blend of plants that doesn’t look bitsy, and includes feature plants, structural evergreens, and decorative infill, from vines to groundcovers.

DESIGN TRICKS O As with interior design, the fewer the objects and simpler the colours and combinations the larger it will feel. Don’t be afraid to scale them up as a lot of small objects will make the space appear smaller.

O Mark out different areas by changing the material underfoot, with areas of decking, gravel or paving.

O Blur the boundaries with planting that blends into the ‘borrowed’ landscape beyond.

O Mirrors deceive the eye, expand the garden and increase the light. Surrounded by an archway or pergola or wrapped in greenery they give an impression of more garden beyond.

O One good medium-size focal point sculpture or water feature has more impact than lots of pieces that look too busy. Place it centrally at eye level to draw the observer’s eye away from the boundaries.

O If the garden is long and thin, run paths and planting across the site to make it look wider.

O Light-coloured simple paving, such as limestone or sandstone, makes the space look larger.

O Repeated planting gives harmony and continuity.

CREATING PRIVACY O Lattice, bamboo blinds, slats and retractable awnings on a pergola will screen you from above.

O If there is enough room, divide areas with planted barriers to create a journey through the garden to hidden areas.

O Use a fence or wall as a backdrop for decorative detailing and add vines to soften it.

O Buy fewer, but larger, plants to screen, such as a row of pleached trees.

PLANTING TIPS O Right plant, right place is particularly relevant in small gardens.

O Use evergreens for structure, filling in the gaps with seasonal plants.

O Strong-leafed plants can be used to filter winds.

O With a small space it is best to have a pared down palette of six or seven plants to give unity.

O Include variations in height with espaliered plants down to groundcovers.

O A pergola or trellis covered with deciduous vines will provide winter sun and summer shade. ³

Gardens

Above: In a sheltered spot in a small paved garden, colourful container plants have been grouped together with pots, and plant heights arranged in order of size for extra impact. It’s possible to create a wonderful effect with containers on a fairly modest budget Left: In this enclosed garden, plants have even been squeezed into gaps in the paving, creating a small-scale, cottage-style haven.

One big advantage of smaller gardens is that they are easy to maintain – just a regular walk round with secateurs and a trug – and, of course, they require less water and fewer fertilisers

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PLANTS FOR SMALL GARDENS FEATURE TREES (top row, l-r) Even where space is limited, it’s still possible to enjoy the shade and height provided by a small tree

CLIMBERS (third row, l-r) Invaluable to cover structures and fences while not using up ground space

PRUNUS offer a delightful choice of smaller varieties of Japanese flowering cherries with prolific white or pink blossom and many also have autumn foliage colour. Makes an ideal specimen tree with weeping, columnar or spreading shape, and some are ideal for containers. Plant in an sunny sheltered spot in well-drained enriched soil.

TRACHELOSPERMUM JASMINOIDES or STAR JASMINE has glossy foliage and masses of scented tiny white flowers through summer. Versatile as can be trained on a trellis, an arch, fence, arbour, espaliered or grown in containers. Prefers a loamy soil with good drainage in full sun or dappled shade.

ACER PALMATUM are small deciduous trees with wonderful autumn colouring. Select a small, slow-growing variety for large containers or in the garden. Hardy if sheltered from late frosts and cold winds. Plant red and purple varieties in sun or part shade for green and variegated, in slightly acidic well-drained soil.

CERCIS CANADENSIS has clusters of pink flowers in spring and the lovely heart-shaped leaves turn a myriad of colours in autumn. Plant in sun or dappled shade in moist well-drained soil that has been enriched with well-rotted compost.

Frost resistant.

WISTERIA is a deciduous climber that is ideal for training against a wall or over structures and has racemes of beautifully scented blooms in spring.

They prefer a sunny position but can tolerate some shade. Keep well watered and prune in August and again in February.

CLEMATIS is a popular choice for its sheer range of varieties and showy flowers that can be tiny and dainty or bold and bright. They need well-drained but moisture retentive soil and there are choices for sun or shady spots. They can be trained on trellises and fences, grown in containers or left to ramble.

GROUNDCOVER PLANTS (bottom row, l-r) Mass together for impact to soften hard landscaping PRETTY INFILL PLANTS (second row, l-r) Choose a few hero plants for lasting colour PENSTEMON are easy to grow, have a range of colours - mainly rich pinks - and are a great value perennial for colour right into autumn. They like a sunny aspect in fertile, well-drained soil. Remove spent flowers to continue the show and plant alongside mauve colours, such as nepeta and asters.

HYDRANGEAS are a versatile choice for borders or pots, with an array of options to match your colour scheme. While cream varieties stay true in any soil, acidic soil yields blue to purple and alkaline promotes pink. They prefer sun in the morning with some shade in the afternoon.

ERYSIMUM adds vibrancy from late winter through summer. Low-maintenance wallflowers come in a range of colours from orange to purple and are great for sunny beds in fertile soil or in containers.

Give them a good trim back in midsummer to prevent them getting leggy.

124 Period Living

ALCHEMILLA MOLLIS is a very useful fast-growing herbaceous perennial for sun or part shade, with scalloped leaves and frothy lime green summer flowers. Ideal for edging borders and paths.

Prefers humus-rich soil and once established is drought tolerant.

HAKONECHLOA MACRA is an eye-catching ornamental grass that grows in moist slightly acid soil in sun or part-shade conditions. Fully hardy and noninvasive, it builds to cascading hummocks that look stunning to edge paths and steps, especially in formal courtyards.

GERANIUMS are low-growing and form carpets of dainty blooms in white, pink, purple or magenta through summer. Fully hardy, prefer fertile well-drained soil and grow in sun or part shade.

Cut back after first flowering for a second flush. Âł

Gardens

Left: Even a tiny passageway can be beautified with repeated identical pots and an eye-catching paving design Below: Aged containers of matching hostas and repeated white hydrangeas make a pretty vignette with a curved bench

GARDENS TO VISIT AMBROSE PLACE BACK GARDENS - a series of tiny gardens along a Regency terrace. Opens with the National Garden Scheme in June. Worthing, Sussex BN11 1PZ; ngs.org.uk ROOFTOPVEGPLOT - a tiny, new London roof garden, opening on 14 and 15 July with pre-booked, timed tickets. 122 Gt Titchfield St, London W1W 6ST. Tel: 01483 213910; ngs.org.uk HIDCOTE MANOR GARDEN - an Arts and Crafts garden of rooms with much to inspire for small gardens. Chipping Campden GL55 6LR; nationaltrust.org.uk/hidcote THE LASKETT GARDENS - a very personal expression

by Sir Roy Strong with a series of garden rooms packed with decorative ideas, in particular formal statements and topiary. Much Birch, Hereford HR2 8HZ; thelaskettgardens.co.uk HERTERTON HOUSE GARDENS - a walled garden divided into five compartments. Morpeth NE61 4BN; gardenvisit.com/gardens/herterton_house_gardens TINTINHULL GARDEN - One of the most harmonious small gardens of Britain with colourful borders and a kitchen garden. Yeovil, Somerset BA22 8PZ; nationaltrust.org.uk/tintinhull-garden 126 Period Living

EXPERT TIPS Award-winning garden designer Kate Gould offers her tips on maximising space O Most small gardens have to be practical as well as visually appealing. They often serve as a room outside as well as a garden.

O The hard landscaping really needs to be designed with a material that can tolerate the aspect (although it is asking a lot of a stone or wood not to naturally turn green with algae in areas of low light).

O Think low maintenance, rather than no maintenance to achieve a happy balance.

O Choosing furniture and creating attractive storage outside can contribute hugely towards making your garden a truly unique space and one that lends itself to use all year round.

O The best small spaces are those that are bold and strong, so large furniture is a bonus. But it has to be worked into the scheme and not just plonked in the middle with a few pots around it.

O Super-sizing most things is a trick employed to avoid a scheme appearing bitty.

O Trying to achieve too much in a tiny area can result in a dilution of the overall effect; pare down the design, assess the absolute minimum that you need and work from there.

O Terraces with outdoor sofas and generous dining tables look fabulous when they are dressed with cushions, lit with candles and filled with friends and family.

P ar

Recipes

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From small bites to show-stopper puds, celebrate fussfree entertaining with our selection of delicious recipes

by Kathy Kordalis, all fit for a fabulous festive gathering

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Sweet potato, pea and mint fritters These fritters are also brilliant served at brunch, as a side dish for dinner or in a wrap with salad for lunch.

MAKES 10–12 2 eggs 1 sweet potato, peeled, grated and squeezed of moisture Q 80g of petit pois Q 2 spring onions, chopped Q 3 tbsps of plain flour Q Q

4 sprigs of mint, leaves removed and chopped Q 1 tbsp of olive oil Q Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Q Coconut oil, for frying Q

1 Whisk the eggs well in a small bowl. Combine with the grated sweet potato, peas, spring onions, flour, mint, olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, mixing well.

2 In a large pan, melt the coconut oil over a medium heat. Spoon in the potato mixture, one heaped tablespoon at a time, and pat down into a flat patty with a spatula. Cook for four minutes on each side until golden and crispy.

3 Remove from the pan with a spatula, drain on paper towels and serve.

Baked mini courgettes with goat’s curd

Avocado whip

This very fresh, light and simple side is perfect served at room temperature.

This avo whip has a smoothness to it and works nicely as a dip. For a much creamier and fluffier consistency, use a Nutribullet-type blender, but if you are in the more chunky avo brigade, coarsely chop all the ingredients instead.

SERVES 6 8 mini courgettes, halved Q 2 tbsps of olive oil Q Pinch of chilli flakes Q 100g of goat’s curd or Q

crumbled goat’s cheese Grated zest of 1 lemon Q Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Q

SERVES 6 2 avocados, peeled and pitted Q Handful of spinach Q Handful of parsley Q

Juice of 1 lemon Q 2 tbsps of olive oil Q Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Q

1 In a food processor, blitz the avocado, spinach, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and salt and pepper into a smooth, light and fluffy paste. Transfer to a bowl to serve.

130 Period Living

Preheat the oven to 180˚C/350˚F/gas mark 4.

1 Place the courgette halves on a baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil, season with salt, pepper and chilli flakes, and bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.

2 Top the courgettes with the goat’s curd and lemon zest and bake for a further five minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipes

Olive, parmesan and thyme breadsticks These breadsticks are so versatile, flavour wise – try spreading them with pesto or harissa paste for some spicy heat.

500g of strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting Q 2 tsps of salt Q 1 tbsp of dried active yeast Q 350ml of tepid water (plus extra if needed) Q 2 tbsps of olive oil, plus extra for oiling Q

200g of mixed black and green pitted olives in brine, drained Q 30g of Parmesan, grated finely, plus extra for sprinkling Q 9 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked Q Fine semolina, for dusting Q

MAKES 12

Preheat the oven to 200˚C/400˚F/gas mark 6.

1 Put the flour into the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add three-quarters of the water and begin mixing on a slow speed. As the dough starts to come together, add the remaining water gradually, approximately three tablespoons of water at a time. Mix for a further 5–8 minutes on a medium speed. The dough should now be wet and stretch easily when pulled.

2 Add the olive oil and mix for a further two minutes. Add the olives, half the Parmesan and the thyme leaves and mix until well distributed. If freezing, place the dough in a lightly oiled freezable container or bag and put straight into the freezer.

To defrost, leave the dough overnight in the fridge.

When defrosted, remove from the container, place in a bowl and continue as below.

3 Cover the bowl with greased clingfilm and allow to rise for one hour. Dust the work surface heavily with flour and semolina and carefully tip out the dough. Do not knock back/punch down the dough – handle gently to keep as much air in the dough as possible. Dust the top of the dough with flour and stretch it out gently to a rough rectangle and top with the remaining Parmesan.

4 Starting at one long edge, cut the dough into 12 strips (or six if using half the dough). Stretch each piece out until 20cm long, gently fold in half and twist evenly. Divide the breadsticks between three baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing them apart.

5 Bake for 10–20 minutes until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle with extra Parmesan. ³ Period Living 131

Lime, cucumber and lychee gin & tonic The combination of lime, cucumber and lychee is just magical – light, fresh, floral and with a gentle sweetness. A perfect pre-dinner drink.

SERVES 6 200ml of lychee juice 200ml of gin Q 1/2 cucumber, cut into thick slices Q 1 tin of lychees in syrup, drained Q Q

3 sprigs of mint, leaves picked Q 2 limes, sliced Q Ice cubes Q Cocktail sticks Q

1 Mix the lychee juice and gin in a jug and add some ice. Take the cocktail sticks and thread on a piece of cucumber and a lychee and set aside.

2 Place some ice into the glasses, pour over the gin mixture, garnish with lime slices and mint leaves and top with a lychee and cucumber cocktail stick.

Griddled shrimp and baby leek skewers with tamari lime glaze Sweet, sour and sticky shrimp skewers, these make a tasty and easy appetiser.

SERVES 6 12 prawns, cleaned and deveined Q 4 baby leeks or spring onions, cut into 2.5cm pieces Q 3 tbsps of tamari Q 1 thumb-sized piece of Q

ginger, grated 2 limes, 1 halved and 1 juiced Q 1 fennel bulb, sliced lengthways Q 2 tbsps of olive oil Q 6 skewers Q

1 Place the prawns, leeks or spring onions, tamari, ginger and the juice from one lime into a bowl and allow to marinate overnight (or for a minimum of 30 minutes).

2 Thread two prawns and leeks or spring onions alternately on skewers. Heat the griddle and cook the prawns for approximately three minutes on each side, basting with the tamari, ginger and lime glaze from the bowl. Arrange on a platter.

3 Griddle the halved lime or serve fresh on the side of the platter. Brush the fennel slices with the olive oil and griddle, turning once, until tender (approximately two minutes on each side). Add to the platter and serve.

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Recipes

Coconut pavlova with chocolate swirl cream and cherries This cherry ripe-inspired pavlova, with the combination of cherries, chocolate and coconut, is always a crowd pleaser! It can be made in advance but always add the toppings just before you serve.

It also works well with strawberries if cherries are not in season.

SERVES 8–10 FOR THE MERINGUE Q 4 egg whites Q 250g of golden caster sugar Q 1 tsp of lemon juice Q 1 tsp of cornflour Q 1 tsp of vanilla paste Q 100g of desiccated unsweetened shredded coconut

FOR THE TOPPING Q 400ml of double cream Q 1/4 tsp of vanilla paste Q 2 tbsps of icing sugar Q 100g of dark chocolate, melted Q 1 punnet of cherries Q 1 tbsp of coconut chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 150˚C/300˚F/gas mark 2.

1 Whisk the egg whites in a mixer until they form stiff peaks, then whisk in the sugar, one tablespoon at a time, until the meringue mixture looks glossy.

Whisk in the lemon juice, cornflour and vanilla paste. Using a spoon, fold in the coconut.

2 Spread the meringue in the centre of a baking sheet lined with parchment paper into a circle approximately 23cm in diameter, creating a crater in the middle. Bake in the preheated oven for one hour, then turn off the heat and let the pavlova cool completely inside the oven.

3 When the meringue is cool, whip the cream with the vanilla paste and icing sugar. Swirl in the melted chocolate but do not incorporate completely – two to three turns with the spoon is enough. Spread it over the meringue, drizzle over any remaining chocolate and top with cherries. Finish with the coconut chips, if using. ³

FOR CHOCOLATE GANACHE ICING Q 150g of dark chocolate, chopped Q 1–2 tsps of golden syrup, or to taste Q 125ml of double cream FOR WHISKY AND BLOOD ORANGE CREAM 200ml of double cream Q 4 tsps of whisky or brandy Q Juice of 1 blood orange Q 2–3 tbsps of caster sugar, or to taste Q

Preheat the oven to 150˚C/300˚F/gas mark 2.

1 Place the butter, chocolate, milk, whisky, sugar, vanilla and coffee in a large saucepan over a medium heat and stir occasionally for six minutes or until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool slightly.

2 Add the eggs and whisk to combine. Pour into a large bowl, add the flours and cocoa and whisk until smooth. Pour into a lightly greased 28x20cm baking pan, and bake in the preheated oven for 40 minutes, or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool completely in the baking pan, then remove.

3 To make the chocolate ganache icing, heat the chocolate, syrup and cream in a small saucepan over a low heat, stirring, until melted and smooth.

Set aside to cool completely.

4 Meanwhile, for the blood orange cream, whisk the cream, whisky, blood orange juice and sugar until light and fluffy and set aside. When the cake has cooled, spread the chocolate ganache icing over the top and allow to set. Either top with the blood orange cream or serve it on the side, along with the crispy blood oranges.

CRISPY BLOOD ORANGES Q 1–2 blood oranges

Chocolate mud cake with whisky and blood orange cream This is my favourite cake of all time. It’s dense, deep, moist, decadent, rich but not very sweet.

Serving it with the whisky and blood orange cream makes it very grown up.

SERVES 10

134 Period Living

Preheat the oven to 70˚C/160˚F or lowest gas setting.

1 Thinly slice the oranges (with the peel on), place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkle with sugar.

2 Place in the oven, keep the oven door slightly ajar and dehydrate them in the oven until crispy and dry – this usually takes a few hours. Serve as a garnish.

Reader offer 3 eggs 200g of plain flour, sifted Q 60g of self-raising flour, sifted Q 2 tbsps of cocoa powder, sifted, plus extra for dusting Q Crispy blood oranges (see recipe, to serve) Q Q

This is an edited extract from Party Food to Share by Kathy Kordalis, photography by Mowie Kay (£16.99, Ryland Peters & Small). PL readers can buy it for the special price of £11.99, including postage and packaging.

To order, call Macmillan Direct on 01256 302699 and quote reference LD7.

Photographs Mowie Kay

FOR CAKE Q 250g of unsalted butter, chopped Q 200g of dark chocolate, chopped Q 250ml of full-fat milk Q 80ml of whisky or brandy Q 330g plus 2 tbsps of caster sugar Q 1 tsp of vanilla extract Q 1 tsp of instant coffee

1 tbsp of caster sugar

Q

Heritage weekend...

HEXHAM This historic Roman gem is the perfect base to explore Hadrian’s Wall and welcome in the New Year in traditional Northumbrian style

Above: Over 1,300 years old, Hexham Abbey by day dominates the market square, and is a magnificent sight by night

136 Period Living

A

t the heart of the unspoilt Tyne Valley, just south of Britain’s greatest Roman monument, Hadrian’s Wall, lies the picturesque town of Hexham. With its stunning backdrop – a World Heritage Site stretching 73 miles – and characterised by its stone architecture and cobbled streets, Hexham holds the title of England’s favourite market town.

It boasts the medieval Hexham Old Gaol - the oldest purpose-built prison in England, but the jewel in its crown is Hexham Abbey, founded in 674 AD by St Wilfrid. Still the heart of the community, it’s a majestic place of worship full of unique historical treasures including an original 7th-century crypt.

Hexham is the ideal place from which to take in the captivating rugged landscape in these parts, from archaeological sites and museums such as Housesteads Roman Fort; the pretty towns of Haltwhistle and Corbridge, home to the secluded Aydon Castle; to Northumberland National Park.

Indeed, a visit to the most sparsely populated county in England offers the kind of peace,

tranquillity and unrivalled scenery that’s a world away from the big cities in full seasonal swing. Yet Allendale, 10 miles south, has its own New Year’s Eve celebrations – namely the Tar Bar’l, one of the most spectacular fire festivals still practised today.

Dating back to 1858, it features 45 local men – or ‘guisers’ – carrying lighted whiskey barrels filled with hot tar in a procession through the town.

For more contemporary pursuits, Hexham enjoys a buzzing cultural scene, centred around the Queen’s Hall Arts Centre, which attracts the best international drama, music and dance. If you fancy a film, The Forum retains all the charm of an old-fashioned cinema from within its Art Deco frontage, or for a sporting day out with grandstand views, visit Northumberland’s only racecourse.

From family ambles to more challenging hill trails, with tearooms and picnic spots along the way, some of the best walking routes in the UK can be found, as well as the darkest skies at nightfall from which to galaxy gaze. For unique beauty and quaint traditions, there’s no place like here.

Photographs (Hexham Abbey at night, cobbled street) © iStock (Aydon Castle) © English +HULWDJH 6\FDPRUH *DS * -RKQVRQ 7DU %DU·O 0DOFROP :KLWÀHOG ,OOXVWUDWLRQ 6DUDK 2YHUV

Feature Emily Hawkes

Out and About Where to stay For a relaxed, contemporary hotel that hasn’t forgotten the pub at its heart, stay at The County just outside the centre of town. Featuring seven en-suite rooms with plush quilted headboards, you’ll find plaid and leather furnishings in the bar, and a hearty Northumbrian breakfast to set you up for the day. From £110 for per night, bed & breakfast. 01434 608444; countyhotelhexham.co.uk Hexham Town B&B offers duck-down duvets with Egyptian cotton linen and antiques of the period from within its elegant Victorian stone façade. Owner Julie’s chic, personal touches will make you feel right at home, from £80 per night.

Hexhamtownbedandbreakfast.co.uk Grade II-listed Walwick Hall is the quintessential countryside hideaway, a luxurious boutique hotel within a Georgian estate that also offers a spa, pool and fireside lounge to relax in. Its 10 individual rooms complement the Hall’s original character, featuring Cole & Son wallpaper and marbled bathrooms, as well as beautiful rolling countryside views. From £125 per night, bed & breakfast.

01434 620156; walwickhall.com

Where to eat From homemade cakes and coffee at the family-run Small World Café, to a pint of real ale and the best hand-cut chips at The Heart of Northumberland, you’ll find much to make the mouth water around Hexham. Battlesteads, in the village of Wark, prides itself on serving locally sourced produce, including from its own kitchen garden, to create modern British cuisine from this inviting setting. Enjoy a seasonal taster menu before heading out to its Dark Sky Observatory to look at the stars. 01434 230209; battlesteads.com. Set in the shadows of Steel Rigg – one of the most dramatic parts of Hadrian’s Wall – the bustling Twice Brewed Inn is a favourite with walkers, offering regional fare next to a roaring fire with a choice of home-brewed ale. 01434 344534; twicebrewedinn.co.uk. And receive the warmest of welcomes from owners Sarah and Dave to the Grade II-listed The King’s Head in Allendale. Set on the market square, soak up the atmosphere before bringing in the New Year at the Tar Bar’l festivities.

01434 683681; thekingsheadallendale.com. ³

Clockwise, from top: Hexham’s cobbled streets; The King’s Head; Walwick Hall is the perfect country retreat; stop for a pint at The Heart of Northumberland; the guisers of Allendale’s New Year Tar Bar’l; enjoy a stay at The County Hotel; marvel at Battlesteads Sky Observatory; fine local food at the Twice Brewed Inn; the famous tree at Sycamore Gap; Corbridge’s Aydon Castle

Period Living 137

Where to shop

From top: Visit quaint independent store Cogito Books; pick up an unusual piece of homeware from RE’s quirky space in Corbridge; find classic, beautifully made clothing for kids at Ralph & Mimi

In this charming market town, you’ll find an eclectic array of independent shops, galleries featuring original artwork and crafts by North East artists, and market stalls in The Shambles – including a farmers’ market full of fine local organic produce every second and fourth Saturday. A must for book lovers, curl up on a cosy sofa at Cogito Books with a recommendation from its excellent selection by its friendly and knowledgeable staff.

01434 602555; cogitobooksonline.tbpcontrol.co.uk For beautiful, traditionally styled childrenswear, boutique clothing store Ralph & Mimi also offers a bespoke tailoring service. Owner Roya Manouchehri took inspiration from her own upbringing in the North East countryside, studying Fashion Design at Northumbria University before launching her eponymous brand. Stop in to shop her ready-to-wear pieces and a lovely collection of children’s gifts. 01434 602215; ralphandmimi.com Further afield in Corbridge, RE is home to rare, recycled, rescued and restored furniture, and unique pieces all housed in a colourful and characterful converted workshop. With its unusual stock divided between different departments, from garden, kitchen and toiletries to textiles and haberdashery, a china room and ‘the shed’, Jenny and Simon’s lovingly curated and ever-changing space is a magpie’s paradise, where you can also buy their own brand of exclusive products designed in-house. 01434 634567; re-foundobjects.com For more information, go to visitnorthumberland.com

Not all of the sites on Hadrian’s Wall were heavily guarded fortresses; Corbridge Roman Town was a supply base and bustling town in itself, and is a true time-capsule of Roman life, as curator of Roman collections Dr Frances McIntosh explains.

Can you give a brief history?

The remains of a Roman garrison town, Corbridge Roman Town provides a superb insight into life in Roman Britain. The only place where you can walk along the original surface of a Roman ‘high street’, flanked by remains of granaries, a fountain, markets and workshops, Corbridge was a fort that developed into a prosperous town supporting the soldiers on Hadrian’s Wall. The site museum displays the renowned Corbridge Hoard, one of the most significant finds from Roman Britain.

How is it presented today?

Corbridge, as an archaeological site, has revealed a staggering amount about town life on the Roman frontier, and today you can still walk through the town’s streets and step back in time to Roman life.

The site’s collection is rich, unique and wideranging: from the finest gold rings to traces of an industrial heartland, the objects suggest that the people of Roman Britain were industrious and very well connected. Set back a little from the line of Hadrian’s Wall, Corbridge Roman Town will benefit from new exhibition space in 2018,

138 Period Living

showcasing some of the treasures of the town, both the everyday and the extraordinary.

What’s new for this year?

April will see new site interpretation of Corbridge Roman Town as well as the opening of the new museum, which will be completely renewed, providing the opportunity for the most up-to-date research to tell the story of this fascinating site, and display never-before-seen objects.

Corbridge Roman Fort reopens in January until 30 March on weekends, 10am-4pm, and 10-18 February (half term); the museum reopens 1 April 2018. Admission: adult £5, concession £4.50, child £3, family £13. Tel: 01434 632349; english-heritage.org.uk

Photographs (Cogito Books) © Visit Northumberland (Corbridge Roman Town) © English Heritage

Corbridge Roman Town, Hadrian’s Wall

Travel

The grand tour…

INNSBRUCK Glistening just as brightly as the snow-capped mountains that surround it, Austria’s Tyrolean capital takes on a special magic in winter and has plenty to delight visitors, on and off the pistes Feature compiled by Karen Darlow

Photographs (Top and centre) © TVB Innsbruck/Christof Lackner (Bottom) © Österreich Werbung /Ascher Illustration Sarah Overs

T

he hidden gem of Europe’s great cities, Innsbruck is known as the capital of the Alps for a reason. Historic buildings and the most regal heritage stand proudly in the shadows of the mountains all around. Today famed as a double Winter Olympic Games host city and mecca to winter sports, its bold imperial past gives it a unique place on the European historic roadmap.

The influence of Austria, and Europe’s most prominent ruling dynasty, the Habsburgs, is present at the turn of every Gothic street corner and in every tale of the meteoric rise of this charming city. When the Habsburgs moved their residence from Meran to Innsbruck in the early 15th century, the city’s social ascent was unstoppable, and under the reign of Emperor Maximilian I, from 1490, the dynasty’s ‘secret capital’ took shape as one of Europe’s great cultural seats of power.

Maximilian changed the face of Innsbruck with public shows of opulence to reflect the growing power of his family, and his legacy remains. The Golden Roof in the heart of the old town is possibly the most famous – and expensive – canopy ever created. It forms the roof of a balcony that was Emperor Maximilian’s vantage point over the bustling town below and the distant mountains. It is sumptuously decorated with 2,657 fire-gilded copper tiles, all still originals from 1500, which in itself is remarkable and magical. In 2007 a single tile was taken and swapped with a plain wooden tile from a farm 20 miles away – it glittered for a while on the hay barn roof before the two tiles were mysteriously exchanged again. Five years later, eight more tiles went missing, only to reappear days later in various spots around the city, ³

Top and above: Innsbruck’s main shopping street, Maria Theresen Strasse Left: A wintry scene on the banks of the river; the city takes its name from the River Inn and its bridge, Brücke in German

Period Living 141

much to the relief of the locals. The Gothic old town stretches out unchanged in front of the Golden Roof with late Gothic façades and arcades that still fulfil their initial purpose to this day – keeping shoppers dry. Visitors to the city can still enjoy Maximilian’s imperial view at the Golden Roof Museum, and learn more about Innsbruck’s colourful history. This was a place where guilds and estates ruled, where townsfolk and aristocrats shaped the cityscape and where lively celebrations were held by the light of flaming torches. But the Late Middle Ages brought the city its fair share of public burnings and violent confrontations, too – all in the shadow of the Golden Roof.

Just a short stroll through the perfectly preserved Gothic streets is another of Maximilian’s opulent statements of power - the Imperial Palace, also completed in 1500. By 1750 the original Gothic building was deemed behind the times when Empress Maria Theresa, who ruled the Tyrol from Vienna, visited and had it rebuilt in the late-Baroque style.

Emperor Maximilian’s final masterpiece was to create a monument to seal and glorify his place as a central player in European history – a cenotaph within the Hofkirche (court church), next door to the Imperial Palace. Here, 28 larger-than-life bronze statues depict figures such as King Ferdinand of Portugal and the legendary King Arthur alongside other historical giants, including Maximilian’s two wives. Such was the magnitude of the artistic task that the cenotaph was only completed 30 years after Maximilian’s death and he was never buried there.

The splendour of Renaissance architecture also abounds on the outskirts of the city at Schloss (Castle) Ambras, which flourished when Archduke Ferdinand II chose it as his family home, creating a lavish palace with stunning gardens and fishponds that remain intact today.

The archduke was an avid collector of curiosities, which it is said he delighted in showing his stream of regal visitors – from natural curios made of ivory, alabaster, coral and coconut, to human attractions of the day such as giants and dwarves, as well as adults and children covered in hair, a condition that is still known as Ambras Syndrome.

Ambras is also home to the opulent Spanish Hall, the earliest Renaissance banqueting hall north of the Alps, which is lined with Tyrolean rulers’ portraits beneath a magnificent coffered ceiling of intarsia work by Conrad Gottlieb. The castle also houses a portrait gallery, a kitchen garden in the Renaissance style and a spectacular painted interior courtyard. The region’s struggle for independence

Photographs (Left, top and centre) © TVB Innsbruck/Christof Lackner (Bottom) © TVB Innsbruck/Christian Vorhofer (Opposite, clockwise from top) © TVB Innsbruck/Christof Lackner, © Österreich Werbung/Trumler, ©TVB Innsbruck, ©TVB Innsbruck/Christof Lackner

Left, from top: The colourful St Nikolaus district, on the left bank of the river Inn, dates back to the city’s medieval heyday; the Nordkette mountain makes a stunning winter backdrop to the Dom St Jakob and the Imperial Palace, completed in 1500, but rebuilt in 1750 to suit Empress Maria Theresa’s Viennese late-Baroque tastes; Maximilian planned a showy self-tribute with a cenotaph in the Hofkirche, watched over by 28 late greats from history in bronze form – including his own wives – though he was never buried there

Travel from European rule in the 19th century is also chronicled on the outskirts of the city in the modern Museum Tirol Panorama. A giant panoramic painting here depicts the third battle of Bergisel in which Andreas Hofer led the Tyroleans to victory over Napoleon’s troops.

The 10-metre-high 360-degree painting, dating back to 1894, is one of only 24 surviving panoramic paintings worldwide.

For a further glimpse into the city’s unusual history, visit the Grassmayr Bell Museum and Foundry. Dating back to 1599, it remains in the ownership of the 14th generation of the Grassmayr family and is Europe’s only remaining bell foundry. Grassmayr bells still ring out in cathedrals and historic buildings in almost 100 countries around the world, and visitors can witness the casting process on site as well as tour the sound studio and gardens filled with bells to ring.

If you visit in the run-up to Christmas there are Advent concerts, Krampus parades (when characters from Alpine folklore parade through the streets in elaborate costumes), nativity scene displays, and regular visits from St Nicholas. Innsbruck is a shopper’s paradise and there is no better place to sample a traditional Christmas market, with no fewer than six dotted round the town throughout December providing entertainment for all. The medieval streets are filled with the romantic glow of twinkling lights, the sounds of traditional brass bands, and the aromas of festive punch and freshly baked local specialities, such as Kiachl (doughnuts), fruitbreads and stollen.

For shoppers who are looking for longerlasting treats, there is no shortage of antique buying opportunities in Innsbruck. Höpperger Antiquitäten & Kunsthandel at Burggraben 31 is an Aladdin’s cave of old books, pictures, maps and traditional curiosities. Galerie Wagner in Salurner Straße 15 specialises in antiques and art, including Tyrolean artists. Or if you prefer to chance your luck – and your Euros – in the saleroom, call in at one of Innsbruck’s Kunst und Auktionshaus’s regular furniture, glass, ceramics, jewellery and art sales at Breaker Innrain 40.

Sightseeing and shopping is hungry work. Restaurant Ottoburg serves up authentic Tyrolean fare and contemporary dishes in its six different dining rooms, with great views of the Golden Roof. A former medieval defence tower, it’s also the oldest building in the city – the perfect place to reflect on its many attractions and charms.

There is entertainment for all at no fewer than six Christmas markets dotted round the city throughout December

Left: Innsbruck’s famous golden roof takes on extra sparkle in December, with the seasonal lights and scents of one of the city’s six Christmas markets below Right, from top: Schloss Ambras, a Renaissance castle and palace on the edge of the city; the castle’s decorative Spanish Hall; bells from the ancient Grassmayr foundry will ring out the New Year in churches all over the world

Contact details GOLDEN ROOF MUSEUM - open May to Sept, Mon to Sat, 10am–5pm; Oct to April, Tues to Sun, 10am–5 pm.

Closed in November. innsbruck.info/ en/facilities/details/infrastruktur/ golden-roof-innsbruck HOFBURG IMPERIAL PALACE – open daily, Jan to Dec, 9am-5pm. Closed for maintenance 8 Jan to 4 Feb 2018. hofburg-innsbruck.at COURT CHURCH (HOFKIRCHE) – open Mon to Sat, 9am–5pm; Sundays and holidays, 12.30–5pm. tiroler-landesmuseen.at AMBRAS CASTLE - open daily 10am–5pm. Closed in November. schlossambras-innsbruck.at TIROL PANORAMA MUSEUM - open Weds to Mon, 9am–5pm. Closed Tuesdays. tiroler-landesmuseen.at GRASSMAYR BELL MUSEUM AND FOUNDRY – open Mon to Fri (all year) 10am –4pm, and Sat (May to Oct).

Closed Sundays and holidays. grassmayr.at

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Scottish Linen 01592 651901 scottishlinen.com Selling Antiques sellingantiques.co.uk Seventeen-Twenty One 01423 339371 17-21.com Shabby Store 01509 323102 shabbystore.co.uk Shimu 0800 088 6800 shimu.co.uk The Shop Floor Project 01229 584537 theshopfloorproject.com SmartPlant smartplantapp.com Soak & Sleep 01483 437762 soakandsleep.com Softer & Wild softerandwild.co.uk Sophie Allport 01778 560256 sophieallport.com Sophie Conran 020 7603 1522 sophieconran.com Spencer Swaffer Antiques 01903 882132 spencerswaffer.co.uk Smallbone of Devizes 020 7589 5998 smallbone.co.uk Sputnik 020 3198 0473 sputnikpaints.co.uk Stone & Ceramic Warehouse 020 8993 5545 stoneandceramicwarehouse.co.uk Stovax 01392 474000 stovax.com Strathearn Stone and Timber 01764 684836 stoneandtimber.co.uk Sweetpea & Willow 0345 257 2627 sweetpeaandwillow.com The Swedish Wooden Horse Company theswedishwoodenhorse.com Sylvie Thiriez sylviethiriezcreations.com

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Oka 0333 004 2042 oka.com Oliver Bonas 020 8974 0110 oliverbonas.com Out There Interiors 020 8099 7443 outthereinteriors.com

T&SHOP tandshop.com Thermorossi 01302 742 520 thermorossi.co.uk Three Little Loops at Etsy etsy.com/uk/shop/ ThreeLittleLoops Tile & Stone Online 01539 741155 tileandstoneonline.co.uk Timber Press timberpress.com Titchmarsh & Goodwin 01473 252158 titchmarsh-goodwin TK Maxx 01923 473 561 tkmaxx.com Topps Tiles 0800 783 6262 toppstiles.co.uk The Traditional Paint Company 01462 421 333 traditionalpaint.co.uk Troc d’Ile troc.com

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Pad Lifestyle 0131 225 9012 padlifestyle.com Paint & Paper Library 020 7823 7755, paintandpaperlibrary.com Paint by Conran 01789 415523 paintbyconran.com Paperchase 0844 800 3715 paperchase.co.uk Peter Lanyon at Made by Hand Online madebyhandonline.com Pierre Frey 0207 7376 5599 pierrefrey.com Plaank 01525 218900 plaank.com Porta Romana 020 7352 0440 portaromana.com Portobello Interiors 01254 457866 portobellointeriors.com Puji 0208 886 3000 puji.com

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Rangemaster rangemaster.co.uk Roche Bobois roche-bobois.com Rockett St George 01444 253391 rockettstgeorge.co.uk Rowen & Wren 01276 451077 rowenandwren.co.uk RSPB rspb.org.uk The Rug Seller 0161 876 4566 therugseller.co.uk Rume 01273 777810 rume.co.uk Rustoleum rustoleum.com

UAL shop notjustashop.arts.ac.uk UK Flooring Direct 024 7601 2840 ukflooringdirect.co.uk

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Vanessa Arbuthnott 01285 831437 vanessaarbuthnott.co.uk Very 0800 092 3355 very.co.uk

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Walls and Floors 01536 314730 wallsandfloors.co.uk Wayfair 0800 169 0423 wayfair.co.uk Wedgwood 01782 28265 wedgwood.co.uk West Elm 0800 404 9780 westelm.co.uk The White Company 020 375 89 222 thewhitecompany.com Wickes 0330 123 4123 wickes.co.uk Willow & Hall 020 8939 3800 willowandhall.co.uk Witch & Watchman witchandwatchman.com Woodpecker Flooring 029 2088 8223 woodpeckerflooring.co.uk

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Zoffany Paint 020 3457 5862 stylelibrary.com

Period Living 145

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OUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS FOR THE HOME There is no shortage of good intentions on the Period Living team when it comes to decorating and home improvements. Here’s what’s on the cards for 2018…

2 I’ve been planning the redesign of my kitchen for the past 18 months, and the designs have gone through several incarnations. Delays in work to the living room and bedroom have set things back, but hopefully 2018 will be the year where it will finally come to fruition.

I’m dreaming of solid wood 162 Period Living

Shaker-style cabinetry and a classic butler’s sink, but before I get down to the finer finishes I need to sort out bigger issues with insulation and electrics.

Every day I envision myself cooking up a storm in my new space, and I can’t wait to get started!

Melanie Griffiths, editor 3 My little terraced cottage has been in need of some TLC for a while now, but apart from giving it all a lick of paint, I’m determined to finally replace the pine chest of drawers I’ve had since I was a child. I’d love to upcycle it, but the old drawers are now sticking, so it’s time to part ways and find a dressing table-style chest that I can paint or

decoupage, to turn into more of a statement piece.

Emily Hawkes, chief content sub-editor

a reader’s home. It looks so homely with a kettle or a casserole bubbling away.

Stovax’s Stockton cook stove is a similar one.

Karen Darlow , homes content editor

4 I need to replace the rather worn dark grey/ black carpet in my dining room with a more attractive and hardwearing alternative.

I’m planning to go for a lovely natural coir or seagrass, which should make the room feel lighter.

Sarah Handley, social media editor

6 I’d like to introduce a bit of drama into my living room scheme, with richer colours and some antique pieces to suggest a Victorian gentlemen’s club style… I’m thinking Sherlock Holmes!

Billy Peel, head of art

5 I’d like to add a woodburning stove and a railway sleeper to the emptylooking fireplace in our kitchen-diner. I’m hankering after an Esse Ironheart stove that you can cook on, after seeing one in

7 I want to dare to go dark and paint my bedroom a dark charcoal grey, although I think it will probably take me until August to muster up the courage!

Pippa Blenkinsop, style editor

Stove photograph: Colin Poole; all other images © Period Living

1 I’ve recently moved into a Victorian terrace, and although I’m working my way through the house, decorating as I go, the bathroom is in serious need of an update. I’m planning to turn it into a shower room with a frameless glass screen and luxurious marble tiles.

Rebecca Vincze, print and digital sales manager

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