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PERIODLIVING BRITAIN’S BEST-SELLING PERIOD HOMES MAGAZINE

HOMES

MAY 2018

O DECORATING O GARDENS O ANTIQUES & VINTAGE O RENOVATION

Rustic revival Characterful homes, from a listed stone cottage to a renovated Victorian terrace

SHOP FOR...

LIGHTING COCKTAIL CHAIRS GARDEN BUILDINGS ANTIQUE TILES BROOCHES

ENTER THE 2018 READERS’ HOMES

AWARDS

tones Decorate with soft pinks for a romantic look

Sweet treats Perfect cake and pastry recipes for afternoon tea

HOW TO RESTORE AND REPAIR ORIGINAL STONE FLOORING

Illustration Sarah Overs Photograph David Lloyd

Editor’s Letter

ere at Period Living HQ, one of our favourite parts of the job is combing through the homes that we are considering for inclusion in the magazine. We rarely make snap judgements, and thoughtfully weigh up the editorial value of each project. In pursuit of success, we’ve had more than a few disagreements and heated debates – style editor Pippa will spot the potential in a few dark, grainy ‘recce’ shots and fight to convince the rest of us that it could work; head of art Billy might be so wowed with a stunning photo shoot that he thinks we should run the story as all pictures and no copy – much to chief sub-editor Emily’s dismay! – while homes editor Karen has to organise the whole thing. As editor, it’s my job to make sure we get the right balance in the magazine. It’s important to me that we not only do each story justice, but represent the vast array of inspiring period properties in the UK and beyond – of varying styles and scales.

One thing the whole team do wholeheartedly agree on is that launching and judging the Readers’ Homes Awards is the highlight of our calendar. This year, we have reshaped our categories, and are excited to be introducing a new gardening award. One overall winner will receive a grand prize totalling over £2,300, while four other category winners will each be presented with a £150 gift voucher to spend with Vanessa Arbuthnott, who I’m delighted to report is returning as guest judge. I really do encourage you to enter your home or garden – readers often tell me that they don’t think their house is of an award-winning standard, but we’re not just looking for the dazzlingly aspirational projects – we also want to see how owners of more conventional period properties employ original solutions to make them special. So, what are you waiting for? Turn to page 42 for entry details.

Elsewhere this month, we’re getting busy in the garden. If you have grand plans for your plot this year, turn to page 114 for an inspiring selection of outdoor rooms – from a posh shed to a characterful shepherd’s hut. Or, if your ambitions are limited by space or budget, you can still make a big impact using pots and planters. From page 119 we offer expert advice and creative ideas for container gardening, including the best plants to choose.

Finally, for a limited time, we have two brilliant subscription offers running at the same time, so you can take your pick. You can either get five issues for the lowestever price of £5 (see page 107), or you can pay £18 for six months and receive a stylish Harlequin travel wallet worth £21 (see page 90). If you have been thinking of subscribing, there’s really no better time. You need never miss an issue again!

Melanie Griffiths Editor, Period Living Period Living 3

PERIODLIVING

Future PLC, Units 1 & 2, Sugarbrook Court, Aston Road, Bromsgrove B60 3EX 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 ADVERTISING Media packs are available on request Print & Digital Sales Director Jackie Sanders 01527 834426 jackie.sanders@futurenet.com Print & Digital Sales Manager Rebecca Vincze 01527 834415 rebecca.vincze@futurenet.com Classified Sales Manager Emma Farrington 01527 834445 emma.farrington@futurenet.com INTERNATIONAL Period Living is available for licensing. Contact the International department to discuss partnership opportunities International Licensing Director Matt Ellis matt.ellis@futurenet.com SUBSCRIPTIONS Email enquiries contact@myfavouritemagazines.co.uk Orderline and enquiries +44 (0)344 848 2852 Online orders and enquiries www.myfavouritemagazines.co.uk Head of Subscriptions Sharon Todd CIRCULATION Head of Newstrade Tim Mathers PRODUCTION Head of Production Mark Constance Production Manager Frances Twentyman Advertising Production Manager Jo Crosby Digital Editions Controller Jason Hudson Digital Production Executive Nicholas Robertson Production Assistant Aimee Bradley Davies DIGITAL Digital Manager Tom Burbridge Senior Web Editor Lindsey Davis Video Producer Matt Gibbs Email Delivery Manager Alison Nash Web Operations Manager Laura Sturgess MANAGEMENT Chief Operations Officer Aaron Asadi Commercial & Events Director Nick Noble Director of Content & Product Development Michael Holmes Editorial Director Jason Orme Art and Design Director Ross Andrews Commercial Finance Director Dan Jotcham

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61

CONTENTS Cover

Photograph Colin Poole

Decorating & shopping

11 19 21 23 24 26 59

May journal We round up the latest interiors offerings, news and exhibitions Modern Moroccan Embrace souk inspired style with patterned artisan pieces

Features

32 36

ON THE COVER Cocktail chairs Our pick of the latest designs for this mid century icon

Brooches The latest and most beautiful pieces to jazz up your lapel ON THE COVER

ON THE COVER Teacups From floral to geometric, sip in style with this dainty china

Pretty in pink Decorating with fabrics and paints in old rose and blush hues

133 140

ON THE COVER

Bijou bohème Mix feminine antiques and jewel tones for a quirky opulent look

162

Royal memorabilia With the big day on the horizon, BBC Antiques Roadshow expert Marc Allum looks at collectibles with monarchical connections Made in Britain Creativity and spring are in the air on our visit to the vibrant rural studio of wallpaper and fabric designer Belynda Sharples Time for tea MasterChef ’s Mat Follas shares classic cakes and sweet treats fit for a splendid afternoon tea Heritage weekend... Windsor We shine a spotlight on this historic town that will play host to the royal wedding this month, for the perfect trip away Victorian novels A selection of our favourite literary classics, from works by Charles Dickens to George Eliot

23 72

105

Homes

42 46 61

46 36

72 82

Period Living awards Does your home deserve a prize?

Here’s your chance to enter our annual Readers’ Homes Awards

Gardens Box of delights Filled with beautifully restored furniture, lavish antique fittings and sumptuous fabrics, this maisonette is a feast for the eyes

109 113

Real character Kate Glanville couldn’t help but fall for this cottage full of fairytale charm in rural Wales

114

A sense of history The owners of this North Yorkshire cottage have captured the essence of new country style

119

Raising the roof Renovated from top to bottom, this Victorian end terrace offers a playful mix of colourful art and mid century furniture

124

Advice & inspiration

93 19

97 103

Home health check Property expert Roger Hunt advises on the care and repair of original stone floors

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

Little critters Garden shopping inspired by bees, bugs and butterflies Garden retreats From home offices to tranquil hideaways, outdoor rooms are a great way to maximise space Container gardening Perfect for adding pops of colour and drawing the eye, potted plants have many advantages, explains Leigh Clapp in her expert guide Sleeping beauties Rhododendrons, azaleas and a hidden woodland make this garden a spring delight

Regulars

90

Lighting design Mix task, accent and ambient lighting for the perfect scheme ON THE COVER

ON THE COVER The reclaimer Andy Triplow from the Vintage Floor Tile Company offers tips on buying salavaged designs

Garden journal A round up of the latest products for your garden

145

Subscribe Subscribe to Period Living and get a free Harlequin travel wallet worth £21. Alternatively, you can try five issues for £5 see page 107 Stockists Where to find all the suppliers featured in this issue

21 124

MAY The latest interiors offerings for a period home, from refreshed mid-century designs to decorative ceramics old and new

P

tty Poll e r y

Feature Pippa Blenkinsop Image (bottom left) Phyllis, 1883, oil on canvas, by Louise Jopling (1843–1933), The Russell-Cotes Collection

Renowned Portugese porcelain studio Vista Alegre and fashion house Christian Lacroix Maison have teamed up to launch the Primavera collection, which includes these exotic bird candlesticks.

The designs are classically beautiful but given a fresh twist with handpainted plumage and gold accents. Starting at £875, the birds are real investment pieces that will lend a quirky touch to a mantelpiece.

CURATED COLLECTION To mark 250 years of the Royal Academy (RA), Bournemouth’s Russell-Cotes Art Gallery and Museum is opening Making and Breaking the Rules: The Royal Academy 250 at the Russell-Cotes, from 4 May – 14 October.

Bringing together pieces from the art collection of hotelier Sir Merton Russell-Cotes, the exhibition seeks to highlight the contribution of the RA to British culture, but also its limitations. While Merton bought works by celebrated Academicians of his day, including Edwin Landseer, William Powell Frith and Lord Leighton, he also invested in artworks rejected by the Academy, such as Pre-Raphaelite paintings and those by women artists.

BIRD WATCHING Waders, oystercatchers, curlews and dunlins basking in the sun can all be spotted in Sanderson’s Estuary Birds wallpaper, just one of the delightful designs from its new Embleton Bay collection, which is inspired by the Northumberland coastline. ‘I relish the ever-changing yet calm and timeless nature of the surroundings, and wanted to interpret them in a collection that would infuse interiors with a sense of tranquillity and escapism,’ says design manager Rebecca Craig. Priced £56 per roll, the papers sit alongside a range of co ordinating fabrics, from prints to embroideries.

Period Living 11

News

This month, The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair returns to West Sussex, with over 50 exhibitors in everything from traditional furniture, lighting, glass and clocks to silverware, ceramics and jewellery including these brooches from Precious Flora. From 11 13 May, tickets cost £10 (or free entry for National Trust members). Get 2 for 1 entry to the fair, house and grounds when you show this page at the door.

S p

TICKET OFFER

shades g n ri The iconic PH 5 pendant light,

designed by Danish designer Poul Henningsen, is now 60 years old, and to mark the anniversary a range of eight new colours has been introduced by its manufacturer Louis Poulsen.

Made up of five spun aluminium shades, the design classic is now available in tonal combinations of orange, rose, red, green, blue and grey, £624 each from Aram.

EYE ON DESIGN Caroline Downing Nadel, founder of interiors brand Wicklewood, shares her passion for artisan textiles

What’s special about Wicklewood?

Wicklewood designs colourful rugs, cushions, quilts and throws for the modern nomad. The brand takes inspiration from three generations of women passionate about textiles who believe in the principle that your home is a reflection of you – so you should make it great. Our designs are influenced by the archives of my great, great-grandmother, the renowned Guatemalan textile collector Lilly de Jongh Osborne; Blithfield, the iconic fabric and wallpaper company founded by my mother Elizabeth Downing with Anne Dubbs; and my own experiences travelling and moving between New York and London. Our products are ethically sourced and crafted by artisans to create bold and beautiful pieces that will move easily with you from home to home.

Double layer Dot bud vase, £75

What inspires your designs?

Ashcombe cushion, £85

Saltaire oblong cushion, £85

Our designs are created in our London studio and inspired by the colours of the world. We work with artisans across the globe, from the UK to Guatemala and India, who use classic techniques such as backstrap loom weaving and hand-block-printing to bring our designs to life.

With the finished products we then carefully curate themed room sets. Each collection is anchored with a rug and we build up the look with cushions, throws and accessories in a variety of bold and colourful designs that will work together to spruce up any room.

Keya the Nandi Cow, £85

What’s your best piece of interior design advice?

Don’t shy away from colour – colour is power, so the more the merrier! Soft furnishings are an easy way to introduce it – try mixing and matching in unconventional ways to bring personality to your home. (wicklewood.com)

Palopo throw, £265

FRENCH CHIC Introducing La Maison Bahya, a Parisian tile company specialising in colourful cement floor and wall tiles.

Recently launched in the UK, the brand offers a core collection of 20 simple graphic designs in contemporary colourways. Handmade in Morocco, each tile can be customised with Bahya’s 72 house shades for a unique touch. Alternatively, opt for tiles from a designer collection, such as these featuring artwork by French design studio Mini Labo, from £200 per m2.

ANTIQUE OF THE MONTH

From top: George III burrwood tea caddy, stamped with ‘Gillows Lancaster’ and ‘J Bower 1800’, £2,000–£2,500; porcelain tea caddy with marsh birds, 1768–1775, Fulda, Germany; lateVictorian mounted tortoiseshell caddy, with silver by Samuel Walton Smith, 1896, £1,500–£2,000 14 Period Living

Tea first reached Europe during the first half of the 17th century – an exotic luxury imported from China. Despite its enormous expense, this fragrant leaf came to play an important role in fashionable circles during the 18th century, and led to the inauguration of new social rituals, particularly for women. The tea ceremony, with its emphasis on elegance of presentation, furnished the host with the opportunity to make not only an elaborate display of wealth, but also to demonstrate a command of etiquette, conversation, and refined behaviour while at the same time extending hospitality to guests. Because tea was imported in large chests and sold loose, a tea canister was necessary for storage.

In early examples, made of Chinese or European porcelain, the lid of the canister was used as a measure. Bottle-shaped canisters based on oriental jars in porcelain, glass, silver and enamel gave way from the 1730s to box, bombé or vase forms with Rococo or chinoiserie decoration. In the 1770s and 1780s, drum and oval shapes were popular, although by this time the tea caddy had found favour.

By the late 18th century, tea had become more widely available, and caddies were now frequently much larger in size. Porcelain factories from Meissen to Worcester produced examples featuring delicate painted decoration of birds, cherubs or chinoiserie scenes in soft and bold hues. The Chinese maintained a robust trade in porcelain until the early 20th century.

Emulating a small chest, the tea caddy was a small ornamental box in mahogany or walnut, or decorated with exotic veneers such as shagreen, tortoiseshell, lacquer, leather or mother-of-pearl. Most were quite small and frequently fitted with a lock to prevent servants from pilfering. Caddies contained lead-lined compartments to hold ‘Green’ and ‘Bohea’ tea as well as a small glass bowl for blending the tea or holding sugar. The term ‘caddy’ derives from the Malaysian word kati – a unit of weight equal to about 3/5 of a kilogram – that was used from the 1770s when tea began to be imported via Malaya and Java.

From top: Porcelain tea caddy with chinoiserie decoration, 1730; tea caddy with courtly scenes inspired by the works of French painter Antoine Watteau, 1750, both Meissen in Saxony, Germany; a late-18th- to early-19th-century pear design made from fruitwood, which retains much of its foil lining, £3,000–£3,500

Reader offer PL readers can purchase Judith Miller’s Antique’s Encyclopedia (£45, Octopus Books) for the special price of £30, plus free UK P&P. To order, your copy please call 01903 828503 quoting Encyclopedia MB688.*

*Offer subject to availablity, please allow seven days for delivery. Images (pear tea caddy) Dreweatts; (George III tea caddy) Tring Market Auctions; (tortoiseshell caddy) Tennants; remainder Getty images

In our new column celebrating collectibles, antiques expert Judith Miller focuses on the tea caddy, a relic of British tradition

ser delig s re Pretty up your

s ht

D

News

shelves this spring with new interior accessories from A by Amara. Inspired by the English countryside, its Greenhouse look brings together birds, botanicals and burnished finishes for a relaxed feminine look. Add decorative touches with a Northe birds cushion, £30, and Longcross Parrot ornament, £25, or display wild flowers and seasonal scented candles in the latest vases and votives, from £20.

Period Living 15

MUST-SEE EXHIBITION

Retro revi

l va

Start looking forward to summer with Rose & Grey’s range of 366 Easy chairs, which have been given a fresh new look. Based on a classic Józef Chierowski design from 1962, the chair is now available upholstered in a banana leaf print to bring a tropical twist to this mid-century icon, priced £595.

TALENT SPOT Introducing Eluned Glyn, a Cardiff based ceramicist who creates contemporary ceramics that tell a story. Taking inspiration from pottery heritage, her latest collection, Minimus Maximus, combines broken and unwanted fragments across design styles and transforms them into beautiful contemporary pieces. Her creative process starts by carefully selecting broken and cracked pots, cups and vases, which she arranges around a block of solid clay to create a desired ceramic form. ‘The pieces I use vary from the simple and modern to the extravagant Victorian, depending on what catches my eye; I find contrasting shapes work well together,’ she says.

Once happy, Eluned then creates a mould of the piece using pottery plaster, and once dry fires to bisque and glaze temperature. Eluned is particularly fascinated by the revolutionary 20th century art form Cubism and it’s clear to see traces of this in her work. Just as the Cubists sought to push the boundaries of how form, shape and dimension was represented, so too Eluned attempts to break the mould of traditional ceramics. (eluned glyn.com)

Slip-cast earthenware ceramic flower vase, £160, and tea cup, £28

16 Period Living

Images (top left) Edward Bawden, Untitled watercolour (‘Landscape with Sunset’), 1927, Watercolour, Private Collection, © Estate of Edward Bawden

Opening this month at Dulwich picture gallery is a major retrospective of master printmaker, illustrator, watercolourist and designer Edward Bawden (1903-89). Bringing together 170 works, highlights will include a series of Bawden’s moving war portraits, as well as prints and watercolours never before exhibited publicly. Although he’s probably best known for his commercial work for companies such as Twinings and Fortnum & Mason, and his linocuts of everyday England, the show seeks to reposition Bawden as a hugely versatile artist who pushed the boundaries of fine art. From 23 May – 9 September, entry £16.50.

Shopping Ellen DeGeneres Charcoal Grey side plates, £40 for a set of four, Royal Doulton

Patterned cotton rug in Grey, £19.99, H&M Home

Dickins & Jones Reggie vase, £25, House of Fraser

Jarra vase, £24, Oliver Bonas

Mudhut Sahara pot, £40, Yonder Living Hanging rattan chair in Natural, £625, Out There Interiors

Bohemian Zen Mandala clock, £30, Art Wow

Silver fretwork mirror, £129, JD Williams

Embroidered Havana cushion, £45, French Connection Aubusson Blue, £18.95 for 1ltr of Chalk Paint, Annie Sloan

MODERN MOROCCAN

Oval mosaic hanging lantern, £15.99, Ian Snow

Maasai Beetle wallcovering, £320 per roll, Andrew Martin

Granny’s dangler, £595, Jonathan Adler

Maroc grey and bone bedside table, £748, Artisanti

Throw a folk fiesta by teaming vibrant mosaic and geometric prints with embroidered and rattan pieces for the latest take on souk-inspired style

Decorative Babouche slippers in Indigo, £36, Bohemia Design Barcelona Orange, £18.95 for 1ltr of Chalk Paint, Annie Sloan

Global printed bag, £55, Rockett St George

Uzbek pure wool antique Kelim cushion, £65, Raj Tent Club Grey Moroccan pouf, £90, Oh What’s This

Feature Emily Hawkes

Lyssa rattan ceiling shade in Natural, £60, John Lewis

Kayala bamboo stool, £45, Kalinko Hiram table lamp, £132, Där Lighting

Large Knoll lantern, £40, A by Amara Atlas Beni rug, £295, Olli Ella

Period Living 19

Shopping

HAPPY HOUR

With its seductive mid-century silhouette, the cocktail chair is enjoying a renaissance. So pour yourself a drink, sit back and relax in one of these tempting designs

Top row: Le Cocktail chair in Designers Guild Zeno fabric in Fuchsia, £425, Oliver Bonas; Waverley chair in Sahara brushed cotton in Cadet, £940, Darlings of Chelsea; Lula velvet chair in Light Mint, £289, Fern & Grey; Cocktail chair in Terrain Green, £595, Florrie & Bill. Middle row: Bartholomew cocktail chair in Rainforest Rabble velvet, £625, Galapagos Designs; Charley chair in Yolk Yellow, £149, Made; Retro 1950s chair in Kelp Green, £99, I Love Retro; Betty chair in Tamasyn Gambell Textured Stripe Guava, £590, Sofa.com. Bottom row: 1950s cocktail chair in Timorous Beasties for Bute fabric in Ramshead, £499, Perch Upholstery; Vesper chair in Jenson Stripe linen-mix fabric in Cardinal velvet, £495, Arlo & Jacob; Duke cocktail chair in Currant deep velvet, £349, Swoon Editions; Alpana cocktail chair in Suzani cotton, £395, Graham & Green Period Living 21

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Period Living 23

Shopping

TEA DANCE

However you take your brew, pop the kettle on and serve it the old-fashioned way with our pick of dainty and decorative teacups and saucers

Feature Sophie Warren-Smith

Top row: Mister Berwyn Fox and Rabbit cup and saucer, £35, Handpicked by Kate; Soho Home Hibiscus teacup and saucer, £29, Liberty London; Purple Pansy teacup and saucer, £34.95, Emma Bridgewater. Second row: Blue Regal peacock teacup and saucer, £26, Burleigh; Richard Ginori Oriente Italiano Azalea teacup and saucer, £122, Amara; Balloons teacup and saucer, £65, Rory Dobner. Third row: Swallow fine bone china teacup and saucer, £17, Sophie Allport; Portmeirion Water Garden breakfast cup and saucer, £44.99 for a set of four, Very; Hazlemere floral teacup and saucer, £8, John Lewis. Fourth row: Gold Exotic porcelain teacup and saucer, £45, Vista Alegre; Brookland Orange teacup and saucer, £6, Habitat; Insect Mandala fine bone china teacup and saucer, £35, The Curious Department

24 Period Living

Historically, rose pink was a pigment prepared from chalk coloured with brazilwood, but modern formulas have brought about every dye and paint shade imaginable. Within interiors, pastel tones gained popularity during the 18th-century Rococo era, used in combination with elaborate stuccowork. Inherently romantic and feminine, sugary pinks also conjure up summery scenes of English rose gardens through to rural Suffolk villages with their picturesque pink-washed cottages. This spring, such nostalgia has captured the imaginations of wallpaper, paint and interior brands, who have introduced soft colourways to paint cards, and paper and fabric libraries, from blue-tinged blushes through to coral and peachy pinks. Beautifully versatile, pink can be combined with mustards, olives and charcoals for an edgy look suited to a city townhouse, or teamed with classic cream and floral fabrics from the likes of Cabbages & Roses, Kate Forman and Sanderson, for a timeless English country look.

26 Period Living

Feature Pippa Blenkinsop Woodblock mono wallpaper in Dresser, ÂŁ64 per roll, the Archive Trails II collection, Little Greene

PRETTY IN PINK

Decorating The scumbled walls of this lofty living room have a translucence and textured quality that perfectly combine with blush tones to create a feeling of faded elegance.

For a modern twist, furnish with angular mid-century pieces covered in Brera Moda linen in Petal, ÂŁ75 per m from Designers Guild

Pink in the kitchen – why not? Team ice cream parlour-pink walls with off-white cabinetry, tiles and crockery for a calm and bright space filled with spring vitality all year round. Finish the look with pastel enamelware and accessories. Moss Phlox, £43 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Sanderson

Decorating Make doing the chores a more pleasurable affair, and practical spaces that little bit prettier, by painting country furniture in playful pastel tones. This Real Shaker upright cupboard is handmade in Devol’s Leicestershire workshop and painted in its Old Rose shade, from £1,650

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Feminine and gentle, sugary pink shades are perfect for country bedrooms.

Covering a headboard in a soft textured pink fabric and layering up a variety of cushions and throws in English rose and powdery hues, is a brilliant way to temper rustic old beams and aged walls. From textural weaves and herringbones to mix-and-match florals, Clarke & Clarke’s Heritage fabrics in Blush offer the ideal mix of plains and prints, from £42 per m

Photograph Kasia Fiszer

Decorating

Clockwise from top left: Emilie linen tablecloth in Pink Peppercorn, £84, Neptune. Mr & Mrs ceramic tapas bowl, £15, and teaspoon, £10, both Sue Pryke.

Vintage fabric lavender heart, £2.50, Rosablue. Emma linen in Old Rose, £73 per m, Neptune. Wonki Ware plate, £18, and pink dish, £12, both Burford Garden Company. Vintage sylko cotton reels, pencil and vintage buttons, both stylist’s own. Bella Rosa linen, £64 per m, Peony & Sage. Squirl Aged linen in Old Rose, £82 per m, Inchyra. For a similar vintage botanical book, try Oxfam bookshop. Mr & Mrs tapas bowl, £15, and pinch pot, £10, both Sue Pryke.

Emily Bond Pineapple dinner plate, £17, Unique & Unity. Wonki Ware plate, as before. Faux apple blossom stem, £19, Neptune. Find similar vintage cigarette cards at fleamarkets. Old Rose paint, £38 for 2.5ltrs of matt emulsion, Neptune. Antoinette paint, £39.95 for 2.5ltrs of Chalk paint, Annie Sloan. Paint lid, Old Rose as before. Fabrics, from bottom: Charlotte Grande linen in Soft Pinks Vintage on Cream, £64 per m, Peony and Sage; Chiltern faux silk in Tickled Pink, £24 per m, James Hare; Xanthe linen in Soft Pink, £54 per m, Peony & Sage; Dedalo linen in Raspberry, £78 per m, Inchyra; Melton wool in Earth/ Coral, Moon; brushed cotton/linen fabric in Candyfloss, Sofa.com. For similar vintage buttons, try Cloth House. Candles bound in vintage fabric, stylist’s own.

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yal

With excitement building for Harry and Meghan’s wedding in May, Antiques Roadshow specialist Marc Allum talks about the lure of collecting royal memorabilia and recounts some of the more unusual examples he has encountered over the years

Above: Memento from 1897 celebrating Queen Victoria’s 60th year on the throne Below: Gold locket with the portraits of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and two locks of hair, said to have been given by Queen Victoria to her servant John Brown, 19th century

othing boosts the country’s morale like a big royal event, and in these times of political and economic uncertainty the marriage of HRH Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will no doubt prove to be a welcome tonic for the nation. Being a royalist is not a prerequisite for being interested, and whatever your views on the monarchy there’s no denying the global popularity of our nation’s regal heritage and the associated popularity of collecting royal memorabilia.

As the Chinese kilns roar into action to produce the usual selection of cheap mugs, it’s important to remember that people are keen to buy into the nostalgia of the event and mark this piece of history with a souvenir – we are still, after all, a very patriotic nation. This sense of patriotism

N

was very prevalent in our forebears and as many families know, people were particularly good at stockpiling huge quantities of ephemera and commemorative biscuit tins, much of which has accrued very little in value. Working as an auctioneer I’ve encountered the predictable and the bizarre, and when opportunity permits have purchased the odd piece of memorabilia myself.

As in any collecting field, there are always the highly sought after items, such as a rare 1838 Queen Victoria Swansea Coronation mug or an exceedingly scarce George III 1809 Jubilee mug at around £500 and £1,000 respectively. These traditional objects set the standard. Given my eclectic knowledge I’m often asked what the next ‘big thing’ will be; my answer is generally to aim for unusual objects – here are a few royal souvenirs that might surprise the would-be collector.

VICTORIANA Many an Antiques Roadshow has been perked up by the appearance of a piece of jewellery with a connection to Queen Victoria, more often than not given as a thank you to a valued person in service. I’ve held handkerchiefs and even stockings embroidered with the famous VR cipher; these are the types of objects that bring you as close as you are likely to get to historic royal figures. In 2008, Hanson’s Auctioneers in Derbyshire sold a pair of Queen Victoria’s 50-inch bloomers for a staggering £5,000 and in the same sale a pair of stockings for £8,000! Although this is much higher than would normally be expected, it illustrates the strong demand for personally related royal objects.

ROYAL DOGS My own collecting habits are often governed by fate and I tend to become the owner of an object more by circumstance than by design. I once owned a piece of Bonny Prince Charlie’s tartan trews and then seriously regretted selling it to an American collector. I have a card signed by the ³ 32 Period Living

Images Getty Images; William Edwards

bilia

Antiques

Clockwise from top left: Postcard marking the coronation of George V, 1911; engraved goblet marking the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II; a plate from the dinner service made for the coronation of King William IV in 1831; William Edwards royal wedding collection marking the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, prices from £15; Picture Post magazine’s ‘Special Coronation Souvenir Number’, published in 1953; set of coronation mugs; Souvenir Book of King Edward VIII, 1937; stamps commemorating the marriage of Prince Charles and Lady Diana

Period Living 33

MACABRE CONNECTIONS My personal favourites tend to be a little bit more macabre and I was rather taken with a royal handkerchief that came up for sale at Rosebery’s auctioneers in 2005. However, far from being used to blow a royal nose, it was employed to cover the face of the corpse of King William IV. Sold with a similar handkerchief and ‘some sweet herbs taken out of the King’s coffin’ this might have been just a little bit too unusual for most collectors and sold for a very reasonable £450. On another occasion I had the oddly significant and emotive experience of holding a lock of Charles I’s hair, cut from his head by the direction of the Prince Regent who had the King’s tomb in Westminster Abbey opened especially in order to take a couple of souvenirs.

It was sold recently for several thousand pounds.

DRESSING UP In 2010, the famous ‘take the plunge’ black taffeta dress worn by Princess Diana on her first official engagement with Prince Charles in 1981, was sold by Kerry Taylor Auctions for £192,000. Another dress worn by Kate Middleton at the St Andrew’s University charity fashion show in 2002 was also sold by Kerry

Taylor Auctions for £78,000. Diana’s legacy will ensure that personally related items will always be of great appeal to collectors and as Kate becomes an intrinsic and well-loved part of our royal family, we will certainly see a similar effect.

ROYAL DISPERSALS Such items came to sale in 1998 as part of the famous dispersal of the Duke and Duchess’ possessions from Villa Windsor, owned by Mohamed Al-Fayed, and some objects have revisited the salerooms in subsequent years. Prices at the original sale were high and included a pair of the Duke’s Dior velvet slippers that realised $13,800.

Other objects reach the salerooms through uncertain paths and it’s symptomatic of the market to find that personal letters, cards and photographs are sometimes offered for sale when perhaps they really should not. I once met William Tallon, the Queen Mother’s butler. Despite the adverse way in which the tabloid press portrayed him, he was adamant and principled in his resolve not to release material associated with the royal family. It was only after his death that his letters and personal correspondence came to sale through another channel. A missive from the Queen Mother saying: ‘I think I shall take two bottles of Dubonnet and gin with me this morning, in case it is needed’, subsequently made a hefty £16,000. The sale of Princess Margaret’s items at Christie’s in 2006 raised a staggering £14 million and ranged from objects such as a humble umbrella to the tiara she wore at her wedding.

Collecting royal memorabilia is a diverse and buoyant market. Much of the merchandise is purchased as fun mementos, is of low value and unlikely to appreciate; some will be purchased with an eye to future investment and tends to encompass limited-edition items by quality manufacturers. However, it’s sometimes the most unlikely of items decades on - that turn out to be valuable. My tip is to invest in the more humble £19.95 Emma Bridgewater handmade ‘Harry & Meghan’ mug.

WHERE TO LOOK

Above: A letter from Diana to William Tallon Right: the black taffeta dress worn by Princess Diana in 1981, auctioned by Kerry Taylor Auctions 34 Period Living

EMMA BRIDGEWATER 0844 243 9266; emmabridgewater.co.uk WILLIAM EDWARDS 01782 838000; williamedwardshome.co.uk KERRY TAYLOR AUCTIONS 020 8676 4600; kerrytaylorauctions.com COMMEMORABILIA 01752 700795; commemorabilia.co.uk COMMEMORATIVE CERAMICS 01582 715555; comm emorativeceramics.co.uk

Letters Getty Images; Diana Dress Kerry Taylor Auctions; ‘Harry and Meghan’ mug Emma Bridgewater

Above: ‘Harry and Meghan’ mug, £19.95 from Emma Bridgewater, released to celebrate this year’s royal wedding

Duke of Windsor (Edward VIII) together with a photograph of him in his polo gear, and another photograph signed by George V. I value these for their tangible connection to these historic figures and it’s a passion that drives most collectors to own objects with concrete connections. I once joked about bidding on a group of five dog collars that came up for sale in 2008 at Bonham’s in New York. Our monarchy have always had a strong association with their animals; just as our present Queen has her Corgis, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor had their Pugs - as many as 11 at a time.

They all apparently ate out of silver bowls and were perfumed with Miss Dior. At $1,680 the collars seemed like good value, particularly the one with the tag engraved: ‘I belong to the Duke of Windsor’. I should have bid!

ARTOF

THE

36 Period Living

Made in Britain

DESIGN In the quiet Norfolk countryside, designer Belynda Sharples uses traditional printing methods to create a beautiful collection of wallpaper and fabrics inspired by British landscapes Words Michelle Guy | Photographs Jeremy Phillips

Period Living 37

n unassuming former Methodist chapel nestled in a small village in the Norfolk countryside hides something rather surprising behinds its rustic brick façade.

You’d be forgiven for thinking that what lies on the other side of its neatly spaced windows is an empty, echoey hall waiting for the next Scout group or village community get together to fill it with life. But, peep behind the doors and you’re met with a beautiful light filled art studio that’s full of charm and personality. This is the workplace of wallpaper designer and painter Belynda Sharples.

Belynda and her now husband and business partner Robert bought the property 17 years ago and have transformed the 35ft by 16ft space into a bright and airy artist’s studio complete with a small kitchen and bathroom, wood burning stove and French doors that flood the south facing room with sunlight. Easels and painting tables stand proud

‘Sketching and observing is something I love to do. The domestic and everyday are key elements in my work’ against a backdrop of vintage chairs and tables.

There’s an air of quintessentially British tearoom about it. Look closely and you’ll see Belynda’s ceramics, fabrics and paintings making themselves at home. Clearly, subtle details matter.

‘To be inspired I need to see things,’ says Belynda. ‘Sketching and observing is something I love to do. The domestic and everyday are key elements in my work. A vintage tablecloth and bunch of flowers are very often my starting point.

I am drawn to space, colour, pattern and objects.’

So, where did this fascination for detail begin?

First from a love of fabrics. ‘I loved dressing up as a child,’ she reminisces. ‘My mother made me a bag out of printed linen furnishing fabric to keep my dressing-up clothes in.’ And as an art student at 16, Belynda would scour the charity shops for patterned prints to bring home. She still has the bag her mother made, which is full of vintage fabrics bought over the years. A three-year interior design course followed, which helped establish a discipline to go outside and take in the detail. ‘A lot stems from that interior design course,’ recalls 38 Period Living

Belynda. ‘It was run by architects so we did a lot of technical drawings and were encouraged to go out and sketch interiors and buildings.’

This experience cultivated Belynda’s love of patterns and objects, interiors and the great outdoors, a combination of interests that inspired her varied career. It started with a bold move to London working for interior designers and then a move back home to Norfolk, where she opened her own interiors shop. After the financial crash in the 1990s, she shut up shop and took a job at the National Trust. Things changed there and she took redundancy. Then she met Robert, a printer of wallpaper and fabrics – ‘and I guess that’s when it all fell into place’, says Belynda.

In the early 2000s, a desire to sketch, design and create saw Belynda take an MA in textile culture at Norwich University of the Arts. For her finals she came up with some wallpaper designs that were well received. ‘I started to think maybe I could work on something commercially and that Robert could print my designs,’ she says. And in 2005 that’s exactly what happened – she launched her wallpapers at 100% Design, an international trade fair in London.

It was an exciting time. ‘There was a whole resurgence in wallpaper, a lot of young start-ups were getting involved and exciting things were going on,’ says Belynda. ‘I hadn’t really been trained as a textile designer so I was basically using my sketches and making them work into repeats. The illustrative bit was quite new. It was the beginning of 1950s illustrative design being in vogue and I was fortunate that my work fitted in with the trend.’

Fast forward 13 years and illustration is still at the heart of her work. Her paintings are often a prelude to her designs, but the farms and fields around the studio are a big influence in her collection. All designs start as a series of sketches. A recent trip to Gunton Park in Norfolk inspired Belynda to sketch the deer and trees. A motif idea clicked so she drew each element - the deer, the trees and Gunton Hall - individually, observing each in detail. The sketches were then brought back to the studio. And this is where the motif ideas start to come to life. ‘I have a grid – a board that’s the size of the motif that will be repeated – where I place lots of photocopies to understand how the repeating pattern will look.

I then play around with it, it’s like a puzzle really.’

For Belynda, this way of working is a very reactionary process. ‘I can become very absorbed in it when I’m working out the patterns. It’s really exciting. I prefer to do things physically, to see the scale of the pattern in front of me, so I move things around. Once I’ve got my papers all cut out and I’ve put them on my board, I’ll often put the designs up on the wall and walk away. I need to give it some space and come at it with fresh eyes. I’ll then come back into the room and think, no, this needs to move. The creative process can take time but the design has got to sing to me before I’m satisfied.’ ³

Made in Britain

Clockwise from top: Wallpaper designs adorn the factory walls; a mark of the building’s history; sketching budgie designs for a motif; a moodboard of Budgie fabric and wallpaper colourways; Belynda; a colourful still-life painting in progress; a well-used paint palette; paint swatches and sketches mark the beginnings of a design; new French doors flood the studio with natural light

Period Living 39

Belynda’s wallpaper and fabric designs aren’t digitally printed. They are either screen-printed or made using the flexographic printing method.

Flexographic printing, also known as flexography, is a more up-to-date version of a letterpress. It uses rubber engraved rollers to transfer ink onto paper. The only time a computer gets involved in the process is to scan Belynda’s designs. Then laser technology is used to put the designs onto rubber engraved rollers.

The number of rollers you need depends on the pattern. ‘My cow design is a single colour so only needs one roller. My chicken design uses three colours so each area of colour needs its own engraved roller. Colours are put into troughs and as the rollers turn they kiss-touch the colour on the raised part – the chicken motif for example and print it onto the paper.’ It’s a complex machine that Robert uses to print designs for many clients and it takes expertise and skill to work it.

Belynda also uses hand silk-screen printing for her fabrics. ‘We have a 34-metre-long print table, 40 Period Living

which is quite something. Each colour in a design has its own screen. You go down the table and print one, miss one, print one. You let it dry and go down the table again to fill in gaps and then go again with the next colour.’ The cleaning down of each screen and drying the screens is time consuming but it’s all part of the traditional process.

So, what’s on the horizon creatively for 2018 and beyond? ‘I’m coming up with more and more ideas that have a flavour of Britishness. I’m working on a bunny rabbit motif for a children’s collection and the Birdcage, which is a recent design, needs revisiting; the colours aren’t quite working for me.’ And Belynda thinks the industry is seeing a change.’ I think there’s a chance for a new beginning. People are less enamoured by the digital process. Where it once excited the senses with its endless possibilities, people are again becoming interested in the things made by hand, the hand of the artist.’

Visit belyndasharples.co.uk to see her collection

Clockwise, from top left: Most of the fabric is supplied by a traditional weavers in Scotland; at work, handscreen-printing motifs onto fabrics, priced from £55 per metre; Robert and Belynda; a set of glazed ceramic spoons, made by Belynda; paint swatches to inspire designs; rubber engraved rollers ready to use with the Flexographic printer

Readers’ HOMES AWARDS Is your much-loved home or garden worthy of a prize?

Then enter Period Living’s prestigious annual awards and you could be in the running for a prize totalling £2,300

Left: Last year’s winners Paul and Laura Clark scooped the top prize with their colourful updates to a four-bedroom Victorian semi Top: A stunning renovation of a Grade II-listed home won our Best Renovation category last year Above left: The Best Country House in last year’s awards Above right: A light-filled kitchen in last year’s winning Family Home Right: The winning Kitchen Extension in 2017

Enter the Awards

H

ave you recently finished a renovation project, or restyled and refreshed your home décor? Or do you simply feel that the interior scheme or garden you have created over the years is now complete and ready to be admired?

If so, Period Living would love to hear from you.

Every year we invite readers to enter their completed home-improvement projects for our awards, and its always fascinating to see the diverse and inspiring schemes in all kinds of period properties, large and small, and to hear their unique stories. As we launch the 2018 Readers’ Homes Awards, we look forward to finding out all about your homes, kitchens and gardens, discovering your inspirations and hearing about the work you’ve done. For details of how to enter, see below.

THE £2,300 PRIZE Five shortlisted entries will be photographed for our November 2018 Readers’ Homes Awards issue. One overall winner will scoop a fabulous £2,000 cash prize, together with a £200 voucher to spend at Vanessa Arbuthnott. Our first-prize winner also receives a year’s Period Living subscription for themselves and a friend, worth over £100 in total, making a first prize worth more than £2,300. Four runners-up will each win £150 of Vanessa Arbuthnott vouchers, plus a year’s subscription to Period Living, worth £50.

HOW TO ENTER Enter online at realhomes.com/features/periodliving-readers-homes-awards and follow the instructions on the website. See overleaf for the categories. You will need to tell us in up to 500 words why you think your home should win, giving us details of how it looked before you renovated, what you’ve achieved and how you’ve gone about it. Please tell us what period features you have restored or reinstated. Take photos of all the rooms – quick snaps will do – and the exterior of the property. Send us about 20 photos to provide a good sense of how the whole space looks now.

If you’d prefer to enter by post, write to Period Living, Future Plc, Units 1 & 2, Sugarbrook Court, Aston Road, Bromsgrove B60 3EX, and we will send you a paper entry form. Full terms and conditions can be found at futureplc.com/competition-rules.

Closing date for entries is 5 June 2018. ³ Period Living 43

THE CATEGORIES

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Folding Doors 2 U is a leading supplier of aluminium rooflights, bi-fold doors, sliding doors and windows. The company offers an affordable range of highquality aluminium glazing products to enhance any home extension, new build property or renovation. For more details, visit foldingdoors2u.co.uk.

OUR GUEST JUDGE Period Living is delighted that textile designer Vanessa Arbuthnott (pictured below) will be joining our awards judging panel again this year.

Vanessa started her business from her own home 18 years ago, and since then has created 17 fabric collections inspired by her passion for natural forms, organic shapes and stunning colourways. Her ranges include wallcoverings, rugs and runners, as well as made-to-measure curtains and blinds, furniture and accessories.

For details of all ranges, including the In Full Flight and Branching Out prints pictured above, from her latest Artists’ Collection, visit vanessaarbuthnott.co.uk.

‘I’m so looking forward to helping to judge this year’s awards entries,’ says Vanessa.

‘I find it so inspiring to see the creative and resourceful ideas Period Living readers come up with when they’re renovating their homes.

And it’s always such a pleasure to see the winning entries brought to life on the pages of the magazine later in the year.’

BEST PROJECT – SPONSORED BY ICYNENE This is the category for renovations, extensions, remodels and conversions, including lofts and basements.

If you’ve significantly altered your living space, show us what you’ve achieved.

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For more information, visit icynene.co.uk.

BEST LISTED HOME – SPONSORED

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We’re looking for properties where those challenges have been met with sensitivity, in a large or small scale listed building.

Enhance your home with a stunning hardwood glazed living space. Richmond Oak specialises

in the design, planning application and build of bespoke seasoned oak orangeries, conservatories and garden rooms. For more information, visit richmondoak.co.uk.

BEST INTERIOR DESIGN – SPONSORED BY VANESSA ARBUTHNOTT For this category, we’re on the lookout for inspiring interior design, showcasing a stylish use of colour, pattern and furnishings either in a contemporary update, or an authentic look in keeping with the age of your home.

Whether you live in an old farmhouse, Victorian semi, humble cottage or a gracious manor house, there is sure to be the perfect fabric or wallpaper among Vanessa Arbuthnott’s exquisite ranges, encompassing contemporary shades and designs, and more traditional rural motifs. Visit vanessa arbuthnott.co.uk for more information.

BEST GARDEN – SPONSORED

BY MAZE LIVING New for this year, the best garden category where you can show off not only your garden designs but your green fingers.

Send in your photos of your outdoor spaces in full bloom.

Maze Living is a leading garden furniture specialist, offering a range of luxury outdoor rattan and fabric furniture sets. From dining to sofa sets, each piece has been expertly designed with a blend of comfort and style, perfect for any garden. For more details, visit mazeliving.co.uk.

Set in a Georgian townhouse, the maisonette’s high ceilings and large sash windows really captured Karen’s imagination. The living room is furnished with an Edwardian bergère suite inherited from Karen’s grandmother; the settee has been upholstered in Martineau jacquard velvet in Berry from Designers Guild.

Karen found the chinoiserie side table at Lesley Blackford Antiques in Woodstock and the painting is from Montpellier Mews Antiques Centre in Harrogate. The chandelier is from James Worrall and the curtains were made by Elizabeth Stewart in Heather Saraille linen from Designers Guild

City Maisonette

BOXOF DELIGHTS With love, care and an eye for design, Karen Radley has gradually transformed a tired London maisonette into a hidden gem that glimmers with the opulence and romance of 19th-century Paris Words and styling Pippa Blenkinsop | Photography Malcolm Menzies

epping into Karen Radley’s ownhouse maisonette is more in to entering from a rue aris’ Saint-Germain district a quiet road in north London. usky floral fragrance in the ts the tone, then upon entering you are dazzled by a scene of iniscent of a baroque salon. lacks in size it certainly makes up for in splendour. Bathed in the bright light of a fresh April day, drops from chandeliers sparkle, gilt frames glimmer, and sumptuous velvets twinkle from the upholstered seats of antique furniture. Filled with exquisite antiques, luxurious surfaces and vibrant hues, Karen’s home is like a jewellery box of glistening treasures. ‘I’d describe it as vintage boho meets 19th-century Paris,’ she says. Yet this scene of opulence is a far cry from how it was when Karen moved in.

Built in 1818, the townhouse had been divided into three dwellings in the 1960s, and when Karen bought the maisonette in 1989 some horrors from its reconfiguration still remained. ‘It was a time when people seemed to want to cover up original features rather than enhance them,’ she says. ‘It had lowered false ceilings with huge eyeball spotlights, wall-towall anaglypta paper, and most of the period features had been removed. On top of that, the previous resident was a pop star,’ Karen laughs. ‘So let’s just say it had had a few too many good times.’

Undeterred by the dated décor, Karen knew the property had the potential to become her ‘perfect home’ and was won over by its handsome proportions, large sash windows and romantic history. ‘It was built by an army captain for his two spinster sisters, and started life as a dancing school,’ says Karen. ‘I did ballet as a little girl, so the property spoke to me straight away. I knew I could make it my own and was excited by the challenge.’

Karen has certainly stamped her unique style on the space, but she admits it’s been a real labour of love. After moving in she quickly got to work stripping the rooms and reinstating lost period features. ‘I was keen to make it as faithful as possible, so I did plenty of research and enlisted the help of specialist tradespeople.’ To return the home to its former grandeur, cornicing was installed 48 Period Living

by plasterer Tony Byrne and traditional fireplaces were fitted by Browns of London. ‘I have a weakness for chandeliers, so the 1960s spotlights were swiftly replaced with antique fittings,’ says Karen.

In 2012 Karen started a second phase of renovation, redecorating room by room. ‘Understanding the space you are changing is essential, so I felt it was important to live in my home for a time before decorating it so that I knew exactly what I wanted.’

She replaced the kitchen, then moved on to the bathroom, living room and dining room, before finishing with the bedroom. ‘I lived in the property throughout,’ says Karen. ‘I’ve slept in every room!’

Wandering around her beautiful home and marvelling with a magpie-esque fixation, one could easily mistake Karen for an interior designer.

The clever use of space and aesthetic coherence are marks of a well-seasoned professional. Bespoke storage, smart use of furniture, mirrored surfaces and a light palette are all devices that maximise the feeling of space, while co-ordinating fabrics and colours bind spaces together.

With a family heritage in the textile industry and a career in the fashion industry that takes her across the globe, Karen has been immersed in textiles and travel from an early age, and these passions are clearly reflected in her home. Dotted throughout are sumptuous textures from velvets and embroideries to kilims and toiles, along with pieces from Paris to the Middle East. Also evident is her penchant for fresh blooms. ‘I just love flowers,’ she says. ‘Everyone laughs at the amount of time I give to the floral arrangements at Scoop, the fashion trade show I organise at the Saatchi Gallery, but I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful.’

‘It’s been a long journey, but it’s now complete,’ says Karen. ‘I was fortunate enough to have an excellent team, especially the decorators Christie & Co, who really pulled all the work together.’

Although she’s over the moon with her home, Karen admits she’s itching for a new challenge – ‘perhaps somewhere with a garden.’ No doubt it will be a vision of elegance and sophistication.

THE STORY Owner Karen Radley, founder of fashion trade show Scoop, lives here with her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Perry Property A two-storey maisonette set within a Georgian townhouse in north-west London What she did Karen undertook an 18-month overhaul of the property during the 1990s, stripping back the interior and reinstating period features. Later in 2012 the entire property was redecorated, rewired, replumbed and fitted with a new kitchen and bathroom

City Maisonette

Clockwise from left: Karen and her dog Perry; the pot-lined entrance to her home; sculptural magnolia branches complement the mood of faded grandeur in the living room, painted in Little Greene’s Pearl; false ceilings were removed to return the room to its full height, and the lost fireplace and cornicing were reinstated. A rug from Instanbul’s Grand Bazaar fits perfectly with the jewel palette while Polonaise jacquard velvet in Peony from Designers Guild covers the armchair from Alfies Antique Market; the flower arrangement is by The Urban Flower Company

The sitting room is linked to the dining area by elegant mirrored bi-fold doors. A circular dining table from Lesley Blackford Antiques makes the most of the space and is adorned with a magnificent bouquet from The Urban Flower Company. The chairs were also bought at Lesley Blackford, and have been handpainted

by A&M Restoration and upholstered in Designers Guild velvet; the sideboard came from Hampstead Antique Emporium

50 Period Living

City Maisonette

The showstopping iron balustrade came from an antiques shop on Caledonian Road and was handpainted by bespoke decorators Christie & Co for an antique look. The ground floor has been fitted with Junckers solid wood flooring, which has been bleached and painted

Clockwise from top left: To make the most of the tight space, Karen chose a bespoke Shaker-style kitchen by Lander & Lander of Kent, factoring in plenty of cupboard space. The cabinetry has been finished in Little Greene’s Bone China Blue, while a vintage kilim patchwork rug from Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar and a blind in Colefax & Fowler’s Heywood fabric bring signature touches of colour and texture. The table was sourced from Hampstead Emporium and restored by A&M Restoration; integrated appliances help achieve a streamlined look; Karen’s patio is a riot of colour; her collection of antique English and oriental ceramics includes a series of limited-edition annual Liberty cups dating back to 1975

City Maisonette Outside on the balcony Karen has created a little slice of paradise in the city. The space is filled with plants in vintage pots and wire garden pieces. For similar, try Petersham Nurseries

Period Living 53

54 Period Living

City Maisonette The bedroom is Karen’s favourite room. Panelled wardrobes were made by Lander & Lander and painted in Little Greene’s China Clay to link seamlessly with the walls. The bed frame came from Montpellier Mews Antique Market and has been covered in a classic stripe from Ralph Lauren. The windows are framed by curtains in a toile de Jouy fabric. For similar, try Provence Toile de Jouy from F&P Interiors

Period Living 55

Clockwise from top left: Connected to the bedroom is an upstairs sitting room that leads out onto the balcony. Karen had the Knowle sofa upholstered in the same fabric as the bed to cleverly link the two spaces. The painting of the girl once belonged to her grandmother; a door concealed within the bedroom panelling leads to an opulent bathroom; walls clad in mirrored glass and veined marble give the space a luxurious feel, and the Bateau cast-iron roll-top bath with a polished finish from The Water Monopoly makes a fitting focal point. ‘It had to be craned in and the floor had to be specially reinforced, but it was worth it,’ says Karen

Shopping

Pretty Woman vintage crepe silk kimono, £165, Fuji Kimono

1920s scalloped chandelier, £780, Lorfords London

‘The Day Dream’, 1880, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, from £75 for a framed print, King & McGaw

Pellestrina velvet in Plum/Raspberry/Black, £135 per m, Osborne & Little

Saraille Peony rug, from £1,045, Designers Guild

BIJOU BOHÈME

Versailles urn, £50.40, Grand Illusions

Create a feminine look with a touch of whimsy by mixing floral fabrics and jewel tones with opulent French-style and oriental antiques

Peony glass tumblers, £77 for six, Amara

Jessica Light navy tie back, £40, Bluebellgray

Feature Pippa Blenkinsop

Blue Torquay teacup and saucer, £45, Pentreath & Hall

Extra-small faux milk glass cake stand, £18.50, Berylune

Chapelle Bergère armchair, £1,260, Oficina Inglesa Vintage Chinese cabinet with birds and floral motif, £625, Rouge

Period Living 59

Stone Chalet Update

REAL CHARACTER Before even stepping inside, Kate Glanville fell for this stone cottage and was determined to live here. Now the perfect family home, it serves as inspiration for renters everywhere dy

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The unusual chaletstyle cottage quickly cast its spell over Kate, pictured here with golden retriever Sunny Period Living 61

THE STORY The property A detached three-bedroom estate cottage near Llandeilo, Carmarthenshire The owner Kate, an author and ceramicist, and her three teenage children, Harry, 18, Daisy, 16, and Tomos, 13, live here with golder retriever Sunny What they did As this is a rented home, Kate has personalised the interior with furnishings and artwork

pressure to find a new for herself and her ge children as her house as nearing completion, nville was looking to er than buy. She had a requirements. ‘I was ose to family and schools, tal property to choose alls. ‘I had to be somewhere with character and charm.’ She did have one potential property in mind, though a secluded estate cottage in the grounds of a large country house.

Although she had never seen inside it, and had no idea if it was even available, she asked around to find out who owned it. ‘I just knew I wanted to live there,’ she says. ‘It was so quaint and romantic, and in such a lovely, quiet place.’

Persistence eventually paid off and Kate, an author and ceramic artist, managed to track down the owner. Although he was not looking for a tenant, he agreed to let the family move in.

The cottage dates from the mid 1700s, and Kate had fallen for its picturesque exterior. Rugged stone steps lead up to an arched front door and, at the back, the sloping roof and unusual decorative timbers give the house the look of a Swiss chalet.

Inside are three bedrooms, a spacious family friendly kitchen and a bright living room with doors opening to uninterrupted green space at the back. ‘We all felt at home here straight away,’ she says. ‘It has such lovely atmosphere.’

Having moved from a larger property, Kate embraced the opportunity to declutter. Even so, she was concerned that there might not be space for everything she wanted to bring, but she was delighted to see how readily the house seemed to embrace her possessions. ‘My furniture turned 62 Period Living

out to be the right proportions,’ she says. ‘The only issue was my bed, which was too big to go up the stairs. In the end, it had to be hauled up the outside and brought in through Daisy’s bedroom window.’

The interior was tired and dark when Kate first viewed the cottage, but by the time the family moved in a few weeks later, the rooms had been freshly painted and there were new kitchen units in place. A simple palette of whites, creams and greys makes an ideal backdrop for the unusual collections Kate has put together over the years.

‘I like art, ceramics and old, characterful pieces that have a story. Some are gifts, or things I’ve salvaged or inherited, and each one is here because it has some meaning for me.’

As this is a rental property, Kate has not been able to add any shelves or picture hooks to the walls, but has found alternative ways to display her colourful collections, making use of freestanding furniture, deep windowsills and an unusual stone bench that runs along two sides of the living room.

‘It’s an original feature and at first I just thought we’d use it as seating, but it makes a great shelf,’ she says. ‘Having artwork and pottery at that level means you can really get up close and appreciate it.’

Kate and the children soon settled into their new home. When they are not outdoors enjoying their green surroundings, family life centres around the cosy living room and welcoming kitchen. Despite now being so familiar with the house, Kate is still under its spell. ‘There’s such a sense of calm here,’ she says. ‘It’s an idyllic little house.’

Top left: The cottage’s peaceful rural setting was a big draw for Kate Top right: This traditional kitchen dresser is the perfect place for Kate to display her fabulous collection of Cornishware: ‘I inherited it from my grandmother, and we often use it – especially the teapot!’ she says Right: Kate was about to get rid of her large shelving unit when she realised how well it would work as multifunctional display and storage in the living room. Alongside books, paintings and vintage toys there are modern ceramics including her own, and some by friends and fellow artists. For similar storage, try the Step shelf unit from Dwell Far right: Tea and cake are served on Kate’s own handpainted ceramics

Stone Chalet Update

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Kate enjoys the relaxed look of mismatched chairs around the rustic dining table – for similar, try the Henley oak refectory table from Chiltern Oak Furniture. The handpainted ceramics are from a selection at Kate Glanville.

For a similar rug, try Hare & Wilde, and for similar lighting, try Cox & Cox. The woodwork is painted in Mouse’s Back by Farrow & Ball

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Stone Chalet Update

Period Living 65

Kate was more than happy with the interior’s white walls and contrasting soft mid-grey tones, which add depth and definition, and lend themselves well to her varied mix of furniture and decorative accessories. She inherited the dainty console table from her grandmother and added the marble top.

The owl jug is one of Kate’s designs

66 Period Living

Stone Chalet Update Sunny stretches out in the kitchen. Kate’s ceramics add a splash of colour to the table and the rugged stone chimney breast. The old pine dresser is packed with Cornishware

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68 Period Living

Stone Chalet Update

High ceilings and plenty of daylight give the living room an airy feel. The style is a mix of old and new: the woven chair was a high-street buy, but Kate’s sofa and blue armchair are both reupholstered secondhand finds (sofa upholstered in Villandry Truffle Velvet from Laura Ashley).

For a similar woven chair, try the Vincent Sheppard Victor Chair from Style Our Home.

The vintage rocking horse was a gift from Kate’s parents when son Harry was born

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Above: With its sloping ceilings, exposed beams and unusual circular window, Kate’s bedroom is brimming with cottage charm. Vintage accessories and antique furniture add to the pretty look. Kate’s lovingly restored bed was originally found discarded in a garden some years ago – for similar, try Feather & Black, and for a similar bedspread, try Dunelm Left: Kate’s antique dressing table was a birthday gift from her parents, and is the ideal showcase for her delicate silverware and perfume bottles, some of which once belonged to her grandmother Below: Hints of pink and a mix of high-street, handmade and vintage finds add a fun, feminine touch to Daisy’s bedroom. The blanket box was a charity shop buy, and Kate rescued the old Lloyd Loom chair from a skip some years back. For a similar bed, try Ikea, and for similar cube storage units, try Lazzari

70 Period Living

The kitchen units were made by a joiner to Gemma’s design, to fit round an old pine cupboard positioned next to the range cooker. He also made the oak worktops and a plate rack.

Modern appliances from Rangemaster and Smeg look perfectly at home in the country setting, alongside vintage chairs sourced from a chapel in Devon. The dining table is a car boot sale find, and the curtains are made from old French sheets monogrammed with the couple’s initials, from Cloth House in London. The flooring is from Farmhouse Flagstones and the walls are painted in Cornforth White and the units in Wevet, both Farrow & Ball

Renovated Cottage

A SENSE OF HISTORY Gemma Carsey and Doug Tomlinson renovated their stone cottage on a DIY basis, creating a light and spacious home that remains true to its historical roots Words and styling Heather Dixon | Photographs Jeremy Phillips

ing down the alls and some of e wringing wet d Doug first went itional Yorkshire off most people, was sound and the ses – a huge bonus plus a barn that had been converted into accommodation.

‘We saw potential in the cottage and realised we could live in the barn while we did the renovation work,’ recalls Gemma. ‘We loved its location and character, so we bought it. It was a gamble – and it turned out to be quite a stressful project.’

The challenge began as soon as they moved into the barn and realised it was almost as damp as the cottage. But it only spurred them on to complete the work to the cottage before winter set in. ‘The damp was definitely the biggest issue,’ says Gemma. ‘We think the walls had been glossed to make them easier to clean, but it actually created more moisture as the thick walls couldn’t breathe, and old cottages like this need good airflow.’

Their first – and very laborious – task was to strip all the paint off the walls, which came away in sheets. They then opened the doors and windows and turned on the heating to allow the cottage to dry out over a period of six weeks. While the property started to breathe again, they took up three layers of soaking wet carpet in the kitchen and removed the living room carpet to reveal the original wide-plank floors, which Doug sanded by hand to maintain the character. ‘It took five days of solid sanding and oiling,’ recalls Doug. ‘It was pretty boring but well worth the effort.’

The kitchen floor, meanwhile, was covered with firmly stuck-down lino squares, which despite the couple’s efforts wouldn’t budge, so instead they spent hours researching stone floors to complement the original flags in the hall. ‘We found a company in Bath that could create cement casts of original Victorian paving stones, which we have used for the kitchen, dining and boot rooms,’ says Gemma. ‘It took one man all day and most of a night to lay the floor, but it looks great. We are both outdoorsy and have dogs so we didn’t want to feel we had to take 74 Period Living

off our boots every time we stepped inside. If you live in the country your home has to suit your lifestyle.’

Upstairs, the floors were no better – old underlay had rotted into every crack and crevice of the floorboards, and had to be painstakingly removed with knitting needles. Hundreds of staples in the stairs had to be removed with pliers so Gemma and Doug could replace the old stair carpet with a French linen runner and brass rods – all polished by hand – bought from a stately home in Belfast.

The next major job was painting the beams, which were so heavily varnished that they looked dark and overbearing. Doug covered them with easy surface prep, and then painted on five coats of Farrow & Ball Casein distemper to get the desired finish. ‘We wanted to do the best thing, but in hindsight we should have just primed them.’

The kitchen units were made by a joiner to Gemma’s design – inspired by an old cupboard she has owned since her days at law school – and new bathroom fittings were installed to replace a basic suite. Outside, Doug laid eight tons of pebbles and organised drainage to the stable block.

Once they had finished decorating the cottage from top to bottom, the couple were able to move in. Although even that was not without a few problems: ‘We soon discovered that it’s almost impossible to get anything up the stairs that won’t come apart,’ says Gemma, ‘and we have had to redecorate the stair walls after scratching them when we carried up the beds.’

Most of their old furniture is now in storage or has been given away, leaving them to buy pieces more suited to the period property. ‘We pick up pieces from all over: car boot sales, antiques shops and places we discover on our travels. One of my most expensive purchases was a carved French bedhead, which now hangs on the wall over our own bed,’ adds Gemma. ‘I love things that have a history to them, like old books, mixing bowls or small pieces of furniture that we can slot in among everything else. We mix old and new and only buy things we both like, even though our tastes can differ. The result is eclectic, but it works for us.’

THE STORY Owners Gemma Carsey and Doug Tomlinson, both solicitors, live here with their two Lhasa Apso dogs Muffin and Toastie The property A Grade II-listed threebedroom cottage in a conservation village in the North York Moors. The original cottage dates back to the 1700s, but the kitchen and dining room were added in the 1800s. The garage arch is from the 19th century, with the top part being converted into a bedroom in the 20th century What they did They stripped the walls, exposed original floorboards, replaced kitchen and bathroom fittings, painted beams and laid new flooring

Renovated Cottage

Left: The couple like to mix old with new, and urban with country style, so couldn’t resist these industrial-style light fittings from Urban Cottage Industries Below: Set in a pretty village in the North York Moors, the cottage dates back to the 1700s and has been extended over the years

Above: A glass partition, thought to have once been a window in an exterior wall, draws light between the kitchen and dining rooms. The wing back chair is from Greyhound Antiques in Malton and the throw on the leather chair (just seen) is from Homesense Right: The table is an old desk, bought for ÂŁ170 from nearby Ampleforth College, and the chairs, from a chapel in Devon, reminded Gemma of her school days. The leather chair is from their previous house and the silk picture on the wall is part of an old Chinese robe.

For a similar glass pendant light, try Jim Lawrence

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Renovated Cottage

Period Living 77

Two sofas from Sofa Workshop slot neatly into place in the compact living room. Gemma made cushions from vintage French linen sheets and quilt pieces. The rug was just £20 from the floor of a shop in Spitalfields market – ‘it cost much more to have it cleaned,’ says Gemma. Most of the accessories are from auction rooms and antiques markets, or were gifts, and the coffee table is from The Shambles in Malton

Renovated Cottage

80 Period Living

Renovated Cottage Left: The crooked chimney breast makes a quirky feature in the master bedroom. Self-assembly wardrobes from Ikea were painted by Gemma, and the bedside tables are from Bowley & Jackson in Helmsley. The French carving is the top from an old four-poster bed, which was bought from a roadside sale in France for £180. Gemma made the curtains with linen from John Lewis. For similar bedlinen, try John Lewis, and for a similar chandelier, try Laura Ashley. The throw is from Homesense Below: The couple created a simple, French look in the bathroom with fittings from Bathstore and Victorian Plumbing, and a wood floor from Wickes. The washstand was made by a joiner, using banister posts for the legs Bottom: Gemma didn’t want the twin beds to look the same so bought one from The Original Bedstead Company and the other from Ebay, adding John Lewis bedlinen with vintage quilts. The cushions are made from old eiderdowns

The 1960s ‘Scandart’ chairs are topped by cushions from Emma’s own design brand, Wallplayper, including her I Spy and Tangram designs. A cabinet from the vintage Danish PS furniture system makes a perfect television stand – the table in the other alcove belonged to Emma’s parents. The two original Peggy Wickham prints are from The Medici Society and are displayed either side of print from We Are Unlimited

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Terrace Renovation

R AISING THE ROOF Designer Emma Carlow and her husband Graham completely renovated their Victorian end-of-terrace property, from replacing the roof to extending the kitchen, in just six weeks Words Katie Treggiden | Photographs Bruce Hemming | Styling Sally Maton

Period Living 83

Above: Emma reupholstered these stylish mid-century AH McIntosh dining chairs with a remnant of Eleanor Pritchard fabric. The vibrant colour is matched by the cords on the pendant lights – for similar lights try Haysoms. The wall unit is the Danish PS System and displays many of the family’s treasured items, including a Noah’s ark that was Emma’s childhood toy and papier mâché toys her mum bought in Japan. The fish pendant was created at one of Emma’s craft nights Right: The three-bedroom Victorian end-of-terrace home was originally built for workers from the nearby foundry. Emma (pictured) was drawn to the village feel of the area. ‘At first I thought “gosh, this is a small house,” but everybody in Lewes has a small house, and I quite like that – it’s not a status symbol here, people just go out more’

84 Period Living

Terrace Renovation

,a signer, ham and e living ouse when their knew almost the n four doors uld know what to do with it.’ In the end, the couple lived in the house for a year before starting work and found that one change led to another. ‘Replacing the main staircase meant reconfiguring the bathroom,’ she says. ‘Masses of extra insulation in the roof meant we had to have paddle stairs up to the top floor… In the end, we didn’t do anything we had planned to!’

Despite not sticking to their original plans, it was a very efficient renovation. The family moved out while a team of builders headed up by Emma’s dad – a retired builder himself – moved in.

The first job was the staircase. ‘The original stairs were just too steep,’ says Emma. But altering the staircase meant re-planning the bathroom to create the space needed. It was also a chance to replace everything and create a bright family bathroom.

A dormer in the roof created enough space for an en suite for Finn. Emma’s dad advised them to add insulation not only to the roof but also to every external wall, as the Victorian property doesn’t have cavity walls. This meant losing three inches around the edge of every room, and compromising on paddle stairs up to Finn’s room, but it was worth it, as Emma explains: ‘We hardly ever have to heat the upstairs of the house.’

The builders then moved downstairs to the spare room on the first floor. ‘We call it the Mother Cupboard,’ laughs Emma. ‘Partly because it’s where my mother stays when she visits, but mostly because it is one mother of a cupboard! There is as much storage as you could possibly fit in there – it’s basically a garage in spare-room form.’

The final stop in this speedy renovation was the kitchen. ‘We had inherited a 1980s kitchen, which was tiny, horrible and dangerous,’ says Emma. By extending to fill the side return and using extensive glazing, they created a spacious, light-filled family area. ‘We doubled the size of the kitchen, and the

glass extension means that the whole of the downstairs is much lighter,’ she says.

The whole build took just six weeks, with Emma and her dad project managing. Graham was in New York for five of the six weeks, and Emma stayed in a local holiday cottage, so she was able to keep an eye on progress. ‘I loved seeing it all stripped bare, so you could see the shell of the house,’ says Emma.

‘But the best thing was Graham’s reaction when he got back from the US – he was quite impressed!’

Inspired by a love of colour and mid-century design, the interior came together quite naturally.

‘Graham and I are flamboyant with colour,’ she says. ‘We both went to art school, so we’re inspired by the artists we admire – I am a massive fan of Alexander Calder and he uses a lot of primary colours. I also love Alexander Girard and, of course, Charles and Ray Eames.’ The vision for the space was Emma’s but Graham did have some input, such as choosing the yellow for the stairs and the mango orange for the kitchen cupboards. ‘I let him pick two colours,’ she laughs, ‘but I’ve got to hand it to him – they are pretty good colours.’

White walls provide a backdrop for mid-century furniture and a colourful collection of art and personal objects that are displayed throughout the house. The couple’s existing dining table provided a starting point, soon enhanced by the 1960s teak display unit – a lucky £400 Ebay buy that turned out to be the Danish PS system. ‘The scheme was designed around our dining table, because we are a family that sits at the table rather than in the living room,’ explains Emma. ‘That is where we entertain and work, and where I host a craft night once a week – it really is the heart of our home.’

Emma bought basic kitchen cabinets and commissioned a carpenter to make doors, now painted bright orange. ‘We didn’t know what to do with the floor,’ says Emma. ‘But luckily, we live next door to the principal of the Inchbald School of Design, and he said: “You’ve got to go with teal!”

– so teal lino it was!’

Now that the whirlwind renovation is complete, what does the family make of their colourful home?

‘What I love about our house is that it’s incredibly welcoming,’ says Emma. ‘Nothing is hidden – it’s all very open. Everybody knows where everything is, so they just help themselves. It’s a really friendly house.’ Not bad for six weeks’ work.

THE STORY Owners Designer Emma Carlow, who created Wallplayper.com, and her husband Graham, a photographer, live here with son Finn, 15, and two cats, Squid and Peck Property A three-bedroom Victorian end-of-terrace in Lewes, East Sussex What they did The couple replaced the roof and staircase, and built a sidereturn extension to enlarge the kitchen Period Living 85

The steel-frame double-glazed extension in the kitchen has transformed this previously dark area into a light, welcoming family space – and doubled its width. Emma bought basic kitchen units and local carpenter Lindsay Owen made bespoke doors that Emma painted in Dulux’s Lemon Punch and Farrow & Ball’s Black Blue. The glass ceiling panels meant that pendants weren’t an option, so Emma chose Anglepoise wall lamps

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Terrace Renovation

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Top: Shelving in the main bedroom includes pull-out bedside tables, all painted in Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe, a neutral backdrop for an Arthur Wilde Parsons painting of Cornwall. A bed from Heal’s is topped with John Lewis bedlinen and two red vintage pillowcases.

Try Etsy for a similar lampshade Top right: One of Emma’s wallpaper designs in the bathroom, where a Villeroy & Boch bath has a handpainted panel – try Rust-Oleum’s Cardinal Red paint for a similar look. The basket is from Milagros Right and above: Storage galore in the ‘Mother Cupboard’; blind by Marimekko

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ABOUT YOUR FREE GIFT Presented in an elegant, matching gift box, this hand-finished, faux-leather travel wallet features Harlequin’s beautiful Savanna elephant motif. With five small pockets and one large one to hold your documents, the wallet also comes with a smart stainless-steel blue ink pen.*

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This month, when you subscribe to Period Living for six months by direct debit, you will also receive a stylish Harlequin Savanna travel wallet worth £21

ELECTRIC DREAMS Warmer climes may be around the corner, but if you still want to cosy up in front of a fire and it’s impractical to install a solid fuel or gas model, Chesney’s has introduced the Salisbury electric stove, which provides a realistic flame and a 2kW fan heater at the flick of a switch. Available from £1,194, it’s shown here with the Burlington fire surround for classic period styling.

Shades of spring Hand-cast in bone china, Original BTC’s aptly named May pendants will add a splash of subtle colour to your lighting scheme. Inspired by the changing seasons, the two sizes of cylindrical shades are handpainted with clean, straight lines of varying widths, in orange with grey and black or fresh shades of blue, from navy to bright cobalt. Priced £275 each, they come complete with painted ceiling roses and grey cotton braided flex.

HOUSE jour l

Dis ducts to i d home and pick up top tips from leading industry experts

TOP BRASS Crosswater has introduced a beautiful brushed brass finish to its MPRO collection of brassware, combining state-of-the-art function and design.

PL particularly loves the elegant bath/shower floorstanding mixer, £999, which will complement a shapely roll-top tub to a tee.

Feature Karen Bray

STATEMENT HANDLES It is often in the unique details that the character of a home is created, and these fabulous Art Deco door handles from Rockett St George will add an element of old-school glamour.

Choose from a set of two brass parrot handles, £25, and brass swans or peacocks, both £40.

Period Living 93

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

SMOOTH FINISH Used by sculptors from Michelangelo to Hepworth, and adorning Roman antiquities, stately homes and churches, Carrara marble has been prized throughout history for its lustre and translucency, and is now the inspiration for Lakeland Paint’s new range. Formulated with pure powdered Carrara marble to create a unique ultra-matt finish, Carrara Marble Matt is luxurious yet hardwearing, and suitable for high traffic areas including kitchens and bathrooms. Priced from £74.50 for 5 litres, it’s available in 180 colours, including the dusky pink shade shown, Napa, with a colour matching service also available to order.

Ripley Castle near Harrogate provides the perfect backdrop for The Decorative Home & Salvage Show, from 11-13 May. Find the finest reclaimed materials, restored furniture, antiques and more. Friday, £10; Saturday & Sunday, £5. Visit asfairs.com LEADING LIGHTS Add some period-style charm as well as useful task lighting with these elegant wall lights from Laura Ashley’s Bathroom Collection. Featuring a timeless design and chrome finish, each light costs from £148. Shown here with the Marlborough 120cm freestanding curved basin unit in Cotton White with underslung basin, £2,030, and traditional bevelled mirror, £267, which features a practical heated demister pad.

Bathroom beauty Create a boutique-hotel feel or simply complement a pared-back scheme with Rowen & Wren’s new bathroom collection. Inspired by old locomotive luggage racks, this Bilton towel rack, £228, comes in brass, blackened bronze or matt nickel – its unadorned rails and hooks are just the ticket for rescuing nightwear from the floor.

94 Period Living

Q

We’re planning building work to our old stone cottage. Is it a good idea to attempt to seal the walls as a precautionary measure to reduce the likelihood of rain penetration?

Sealing traditional solid (i.e. non cavity) walls is normally strongly inadvisable, as old buildings need to ‘breathe’. While modern homes rely on excluding water with a system of barriers, those that pre date 1919 are usually constructed of absorbent materials that only allow moisture that enters to evaporate back out the ‘raincoat’ and ‘overcoat’ effects respectively. Attempts to seal old buildings with hard cement pointing and render, tanking, plastic based paints, colourless water repellent treatments and spray on roof foams entrap moisture and are regular causes of deterioration. Ideally, such impervious materials should be removed but this may not be possible without causing further damage. Be wary of written guarantees from remedial firms, which are often loaded with ‘get out’ clauses and may have no insurance backing. The right approach from your contractor coupled with good workmanship is your best warranty.

* 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

How do I recognise active beetle infestation in an old building?

Much beetle attack found in old buildings is extinct. Active outbreaks are recognised by holes with sharp instead of round edges, and the interiors and bore dust (‘frass’) aren’t dark but the colour of newly cut timber. Furniture beetles attack both softwoods and hardwoods, creating 1 2mm wide holes and lemon shaped frass. By contrast, death watch beetles prefer oak and may be identified by 2 3mm diameter holes and bun shaped pellets. Signs may be less apparent with smaller death watch outbreaks because adults sometimes emerge from cracks rather than holes. The distinctive sound death watch beetles make tapping their heads on timber in the springtime when courting may, nevertheless, reveal their presence. Where signs of beetle activity are ambiguous, this can be resolved by monitoring for a year. Use water soluble glue to cover a group of holes with acid free tissue paper, through which beetles will punch their way if present. Alternatively, holes can be clogged with wax polish.

Lighting Design

LIGHT FANTASTIC Illuminating a home requires a careful balance of design and practicality – it must both look good and create the right atmosphere. We offer advice and round up the best options Lupita crystal pendant with six lamps, £480, Där Lighting

ing the lighting me can be as replacing a few s or shades with ut with a bit of uly transformative h space looks, but only consider the d underestimate put, yet in order to be truly successful, a home’s lighting design must satisfy both of these criteria.

What type of light?

There are three main types of light that are needed in a home: Ambient lighting is the main source of background illumination in a room. It’s usually provided by ceiling fittings, but wall lights, and sometimes table or floor lamps, may be used to add to the overall light level. In order to create the right atmosphere in a room, ambient lighting should be dimmable, with each area independently controllable.

Task lighting is used to illuminate spaces where specific activities are being carried out. This may be prep areas in the kitchen, at a dressing or hobby table, or in a reading nook. Lamps and spotlights are most often used, but pendant and wall fittings can also be strategically positioned for this purpose.

Accent lighting highlights a particular feature or object, and is designed to draw the eye. It is often used to accentuate artwork and fireplaces. The light is usually provided by concealed spotlights, uplights or downlights.

Lighting schemes tend to be most successful when they use a combination of the different types of illumination for a layered effect. This means you can have all the lights on when you need them, but pare them back for a more relaxed ambience.

How to design a lighting scheme It’s important to work out what fittings you want and where, right at the start of a renovation or decorating project. Chances are you’ll need to update and 98 Period Living

extend wiring, which will upset plasterwork and potentially flooring, making it difficult if you want to change your mind later on. For period homes with original characterful plasterwork, you may want to consider modifying plans if the work will cause a lot of damage. In such cases, add more lamps, and look at increasing the lumens of bulbs, as well as the number of lights on individual fittings.

Draw up a plan of the affected works and think carefully about where you want furniture and fittings to go, and what type of light you wish to create in each space. Take into account natural light and where glare and shadows might be an issue. Mark the position of fixtures and switches on your plan, and give it to your electrician.

The best lighting schemes are the ones that work with a room’s existing features. Use an original ceiling rose to frame a statement pendant light or chandelier. For an industrial edge, and to avoid disturbing plasterwork with new wiring, fit a cluster of filament bulbs on long flexes and hook them up in different positions. For low ceilings and alcoves, use wall lights and sconces. Lighting is a powerful tool for zoning spaces such as dining and seating areas, and breakfast bars.

Can I use antique fittings?

Antique lighting must be professionally restored or rewired, so always look to reputable sources, such as Skinflint, Fritz Fryer or Stiffkey Period Lighting, to ensure fittings meet regulations. Alternatively, many companies now produce lights in an antique style, so it’s easy to get the look with replica designs. ³

Clockwise from top left: Make a modern statement in a living area with Jonathan Adler’s Jacques Sputnik chandelier, £2,250; working from home will feel a real treat next to Pooky’s Roller pendant, £95; Cox & Cox’s large metal Trapeze pendant light, £200, is fabulous for creating an industrial look; make a strong first impression with a focal-point fitting in your hallway – this Selbourne antique brass light is £150 from Laura Ashley; Jim Lawrence’ Lexington oversize pendant lights in Slate Grey, £275 each, are perfect for illuminating a breakfast bar; David Hunt’s Hyde 18-light pendant in Arctic White, £1,710, adds a mid-century feel; tap into the factory trend with these Ophelia dimmable LED filament bulbs, £30 each, and Bianca dimmable LED filament bulb, £22, both Well-lit; the iconic Bestlite was made famous when Winston Churchill had one on his desk – this BL5 wall version costs £526 from Nest; add a unique touch with the Bretton single wrought-iron pendant light, £165 by Nigel Tyas; Audenza’s quirky brass Rhino wall lamp, £122, has an on/off switch on the cable

Lighting Design

Bathroom lighting Lighting in bathrooms needs to be safe to use in a moist environment, so not all fittings will be suitable. Regulations dictate that the room is divided into lighting zones, each with a minimum IP (ingress protection) rating for fittings – the higher the rating, the more protection from water.

Zone 0 is in the bath or shower itself – any fitting used in this area must be rated at least IP67, which is totally immersion proof.

Zone 1 covers the area above the bath or shower to a height of 2.25m from the floor, and requires light fittings to have a minimum rating of IP45.

Zone 2 covers the area stretching 0.6m outside the perimeter of the bath and to a height of 2.25m from the floor, as well as the area around the basin within a 60cm radius of any tap. In this zone, fittings must have a rating of at least IP44.

Which bulbs are best?

Traditional incandescent bulbs are inexpensive to buy and produce a natural-feeling light, making them an easy choice. However, they require much more energy than LED bulbs, which use very little power, last for a long time, and are capable of producing high-quality light. LEDs used to have a reputation for producing a cold, harsh light, but they now come in warm colour temperatures, and some specialist LEDs have even been developed specifically for historic interiors. It’s possible to buy LEDs that are dimmable and imitate the look of old-fashioned Edison lamps.

When choosing the level of light, bear in mind this is measured in lumens, not wattage.

EXPERT ADVICE

Top: The mix of opulent rococo lighting against the contemporary, industrial furniture gives a calming yet luxurious look to this living space. Fritz Fryer offers a range of new and antique designs – visit the website for the latest stock Above: Set the right tone in the bedroom with Dunelm’s Zamora Voyager gold palm leaf fitting, £115 Left: Original BTC’s Hampton wall light is rated IP44 and has a hand-blown opal glass shade, £339

Hollie Moreland, creative director of David Hunt Lighting, gives tips on creating a lighting scheme Start with the walls – One of the most overlooked areas of lighting is wall lights. Well-chosen wall lighting creates intrigue and, since they provide more direct light, can be used to highlight specific architectural elements of a room. As well as being practical, they look incredibly stylish, too.

Choose a good location – It is important to plan a lighting scheme before starting to decorate a room.

Think about the room layout, where furniture will be positioned and how you will be using the space.

Choose complementing designs and ensure that you put lamps and lights in places that you wish to highlight and add character to.

Create atmosphere – Using a combination of accent, ambient and task lighting is the best way to illuminate a room, but to further add atmosphere, consider indirect lighting. Bring table lamps in to create a cosy feel, while the addition of stylish pendants ensures the room is smartly lit.

Consider the space – Lighting can completely change the feel of a room and is crucial for creating the right atmosphere, from calm and romantic to energising and vibrant at the flick of a switch.

The Reclaimer

On the tiles Andy Triplow from The Vintage Floor Tile Company explains the benefits of sourcing original geometric and encaustic floor tiles Prestige flooring…

Geometric and encaustic tiled floors first appeared in public buildings, churches and grand villas in the Victorian era. Their rise to fashion was assured by their use in prestigious sites like the Victoria and Albert Museum, and by the 1890s they had become an essential feature of ordinary terraced houses. As well as adding status and colour to a hallway, they were also remarkably practical; in fact, most domestic interior tiled floors have survived 100 years of family wear and tear. With a little care, they will probably be good for another 100 years.

The original method of manufacture involved building up the layers of colour, so the pattern can be seen throughout the tile, whereas the majority of new encaustic tiles only have the pattern screen printed on top, which can wear and rub off easily. If you are lucky enough to have an original encaustic tiled floor, using reclaimed and restored original tiles enables you to extend or repair it more easily, rather than trying to match the tiles with new versions.

A piece of history…

Feature Karen Bray

As reclaimed tiles come from all sorts of properties, they often have a unique story attached to them. We source a lot of tiles from salvage yards a good place to start if you only need a few replacement tiles to mix and match.

However, reclamation companies often only

What to pay…

Prices start from £285 per m2; individual tiles start from £1.75 each, encaustic tiles at £10.50 each.

stock a handful of tiles and are unable to offer enough for a complete floor, which is why we started collecting, and now have the largest range of reclaimed original tiles in the UK.

Fault lines…

Loose, broken and cracked tiles are the most common faults in Victorian and Edwardian floors. Individual loose and broken tiles are normally the result of wear and tear and can be replaced quite easily. If something heavy has been dropped on the floor, however, the exposed bedding needs to be examined to see if it is showing cracks or any sign of sinking. Larger areas of loose tiling are normally due to floor structure movement. As the screed used to bed the tiles is normally very brittle, tiled floors cannot tolerate any significant deflection without cracking. Once the screed cracks, the adhesion of the tiles will begin to fail, so cause of movement must be identified and corrected before any retiling. When sourcing replacement tiles, make sure there is no concrete on the back of them as this is difficult to remove, and would need to be cut off at the risk of damaging the tile.

Things to consider…

Original tiles can come in slightly varying sizes and depths, which will involve using a good tiler to ensure the pattern flows and the tiles are flat at floor level. Get a reputable tiler involved in the early stages to advise on the depth of border and how the pattern will flow to make sure the correct quantity is ordered. As the tiles are all individual they can be used in any patterns, plus tiles within a pattern can also be changed to reflect the look you want to achieve.

Clockwise from top left: Geometric tiled floor, incorporating red, buff, coffee and blue tiles laid in the hallway of a private home; blue and green encaustic tiles like this start at £10.50 each from The Vintage Floor Tile Company; Andy Triplow in the showroom; Lunar reclaimed tiles from a Spanish villa, £175 per m2, Reclaimed Tile Co; French Maubeuge period flooring, reclaimed from a village property in the Somme, POA, The Antique Floor Company

Maintenance

HOME HEALTH CHECK:

Stone floors Preserve the aged markings of frequent footfall, timeless textures and distinctive natural patina of real flagstones or tiles with some simple cleaning and maintenance Words Roger Hunt

A

n old stone floor adds beauty to an interior and represents a slice of history. Sadly, many are damaged or removed with little thought for their value. Lifting or replacing them invariably spoils the building’s character and results in the loss of attractive surface patina, and the gentle undulations that signal patterns of wear from the passage of countless feet. Wherever possible, stone floors should be retained in situ and, before attempting to clean, repair or alter them, it is essential to think about the consequences of any methods used. When building work is being undertaken, floors should always be protected with hardboard or plywood sheets sealed at the joints with duct tape.

Material facts A wide diversity of stone types were used for flooring, but the preference was always for hard, dense and durable stone that could easily be split to form flagstones or tiles.

SANDSTONE, LIMESTONE, SLATE AND GRANITE: Often sourced from local quarries, the stone was riven or sawn and sometimes dressed. The thicknesses of the finished pieces varied considerably.

MARBLE: Imported from the continent, marble was used for floors from the Georgian period. It easily stains and can even be damaged by clean water.

Warning signs Stone floors often suffer due to inappropriate building work that has resulted in damp within the property. Wear and tear, a lack of maintenance and poor cleaning over many centuries also takes a toll.

What to look for: Illustration Sarah Overs

O O O O O O O

Loose or rocking flagstones Cracking, flaking or crumbling Damaged or inappropriate pointing Missing stones Areas of unevenness Excessively damp patches Ingrained dirt, paint splashes or staining

General care Stone floors benefit from a regular but simple cleaning regime, as trodden in grit and debris causes scratching and a change to the surface appearance.

ACTION: O Trap moisture and dirt at entrances with a doormat that is frequently shaken out.

O Regularly sweep or vacuum.

O Wipe up spills promptly – red wine is particularly damaging.

O To prevent rust marks, fit pads under metal objects that are in contact with the floor. ³ Period Living 105

Where floors require washing, use minimal quantities of clean water infrequently.

O

Damp Until the 1800s, stone floors were generally bedded in lime mortar or sand laid directly onto well-compacted soil. To avoid damp problems within the building, old floors must be able to ‘breathe’, allowing moisture to freely evaporate.

ACTION: O Ensure external ground levels are lower than the floor.

O Check drains and gullies are not blocked or cracked and that there are no leaking water pipes.

O Make repairs to pointing using lime mortars.

O Avoid cement mortars and other modern materials.

O Maintain some heating within the room to avoid condensation.

O Ensure rugs or mats are natural fibre. Synthetic and rubber-backed materials trap moisture, causing sweating, and may mark the floor or cause surface deterioration.

O Be aware that polishes and sealants can restrict the floor’s ability to breathe.

Damage During their life, stone floors may move, crack and become uneven. This is part of their character, but major defects should be investigated to establish the cause and whether remedial work is required.

ACTION: O Ascertain whether cracks or dips in the floor are serious. They may indicate voids below the surface or structural issues within the building.

O Where necessary, fill voids with dry sand or a weak lime-based grout.

O If unsure, seek the advice of a structural engineer with experience of old buildings.

O Consider reversing badly worn flagstones so that the worn side is face down.

Cleaning The priority is to maintain the natural surface patina of age, but cleaning may be necessary where inappropriate finishes have been applied or floors have become excessively dirty.

ACTION: O Test cleaning methods on a small unobtrusive area.

O Be aware that some types of stone, such as soft limestones and marbles, can react adversely.

O Remove surface dirt with a mild detergent such as washing up liquid diluted in hot water.

O Scrub gently with a stiff bristle brush. Never flood the floor, and continually mop and rinse.

O Steam wallpaper strippers may help remove adhesives and other compounds.

O Use specialist stone cleaning products to remove ingrained dirt and deposits.

O Avoid abrasives such as wire brushes.

O Never use water to remove salt efflorescence – brush or vacuum off instead.

106 Period Living

Re-lay Lifting an old floor should be seen as the last resort. Doing so will destroy its character and may upset the equilibrium of the building, especially if damp-proof membranes such as concrete are introduced.

ACTION: O Number flagstones with chalk and photograph the floor prior to lifting.

O Take extreme care as lifting slabs can cause them to crack.

O Beware of fracturing neighbouring slabs if levering against them.

O Avoid undermining the building’s foundations when excavating the floor.

O Replace stone slabs on a bed of sand over well-compacted ground.

O If a subfloor is required, consider limecrete, a breathable alternative to concrete (see below).

O Laying takes skill so, if unsure, get a professional to do the work.

Insulation Coir or other breathable floor coverings can help provide a layer of thermal insulation to existing floors. Where a stone floor is being relaid, perhaps because of damp problems caused by a concrete slab, a limecrete subfloor may be an option.

Similar to concrete, the material doesn’t contain cement, consisting instead of lime and aggregate, and so provides a floor slab that is vapour permeable, can be highly insulated and may incorporate underfloor heating.

Useful contacts Delabole Slate Company slate slabs, flagstones and tiles. Tel: 01840 212242; delaboleslate.co.uk HG cleaning products. Tel: 01206 822744; uk.hg.eu The Limecrete Company limecrete specialist.

Tel: 01508 484155; limecrete.co.uk Mike Wye & Associates lime materials.

Tel :01409 281644; mikewye.co.uk SALVO - architectural salvage directory; salvo.co.uk Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings (SPAB) advice and floor care publication.

Tel: 020 7377 1644; spab.org.uk Stone Age stone flooring. Tel: 020 7384 9090; stone age.co.uk Stone Federation of Great Britain information on stone. Tel: 01303 856123; stone federationgb.org.uk Ty-Mawr lime and associated products.

Tel: 01874 611350; lime.org.uk

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Playful polka dots

BOOKSHELF Passionate organic gardener Tovah Martin’s new book, The Garden in Every Sense and Season, will inspire you to take a seasonal sensory adventure of your own, from spring through to frost-bitten winter. £18.99 at Timber Press.

Make light work of your gardening chores with this fun new Cabbage Rose and polka dot patterned three-part tool set, £51 from MacKenzie-Childs.

GARDEN j ur TROLLEY DASH Add a little vintage charm to your patio with the Verdi garden tea trolley from Norfolk Leisure. Made from sustainable 100 per cent eucalyptus, it’s perfect for serving afternoon tea alfresco. £99 from Cuckooland.

Shed heaven Tin Shed 2 is part of a quirky series of A3 prints by creative studio Tom Pigeon, which boldly captures the strong geometric shapes of agricultural buildings.

Priced £40 from Nest.co.uk.

al

It’s all about seeds, senses and garden shows in this month’s seasonal round-up

SPRING INTO GEAR With two bank holidays in May and the weather warming up, why not pack a picnic, hop on your bike and while away the hours in a shady nook with this selection of goodies?

Croft Collection luxury picnic hamper, £125, and foldable coolbag, £45; stripe water-repellent outdoor cushion £10; Crosley Cruiser Deluxe Bluetooth turntable, £89.95; Fujifilm Instax Mini 90 instant camera, £119; Provence collection Weaver Green washable outdoor rug, £135; Fjallraven Kanken classic backpack, £80, all John Lewis.

Feature Michelle Guy

e’s tickin m g Ti

Whatever the weather, Bramwell Brown’s limitededition lightweight concrete weather clock will brighten up any wall in your home. Showcasing the charming qualities of traditional barometers, this contemporary update has animated moving artwork and is hand assembled. Priced from £450.

Period Living 109

EXPERT TIPS… SOWING SEEDS FOR SUMMER Mick Lavelle, gardening expert and senior lecturer in horticulture at Writtle University College, offers seasonal advice May is an ideal time of year to sow seeds under cover. If you don’t have a greenhouse, don’t worry as you can quite easily use a windowsill.

Go potty Whether you want to grow your own, buy it in bloom or house your herbs, take a look at these perfect planters to pot them in.

From top left: Bohemia enamel hanging planters in cream, aqua and lilac, from £16 each, Bohemia Design; weather-proof clay fibre Hampstead Lead window box, £45, Bay & Box; concrete bird planter, £9, The Contemporary Home

Head to Hyland House & Estate in Essex from 18–20 May for the National Flower Show, a three-day event celebrating gardening and the great outdoors, and featuring special guest Alan Titchmarsh. Adults £14; children £5.

Reel it in Hozelock’s retractable hose has been given a refresh for 2018. Its new Auto Reel 30m compact model has new hose connectors, carry handle, feeder hose storage and wall bracket, which rotates 180 degrees. From £139.99.

110 Period Living

SHELVE IT Extra storage never goes amiss. A perfect place for pots, small tools or for displaying plants, this smart new large wooden three-tiered shelf unit, £220 from B&Q, will house a host of garden paraphernalia.

STARTING SMALL Seed trays can take up a lot of space, so if you’re using a windowsill, small 9cm pots will be suitable. Indeed, it is perfectly feasible to reuse plastic cups or vegetable packing trays (provided you wash them thoroughly before use), which can then be recycled or reused afterwards. Old plastic bottles make good individual covers for small pots, while plastic bags can also be used to cover the tops of pots or trays to maintain humidity.

RAISING MORE If you intend to raise a number of plants from seed, you could invest in a propagator, which is essentially a mini ‘hothouse’ that maintains a warm, moist environment inside.

More expensive models have heated bases and thermostats to control the temperature. Choose a narrow one for use on a windowsill.

HANDLE WITH CARE Once your seeds germinate, move them gradually into a less humid environment. Keep them warm and sheltered, and spray them with a fine mist several times a day for their first few days in the open. As soon as the seedlings reach a size where they can be handled, carefully ‘prick’ them out into individual pots or containers.

Always handle them by the leaves, gently lifting each seedling from beneath with a dibber or even a pencil. Never hold them by the stems as this can cause them a great deal of damage. Gradually harden them off (acclimatise them to outdoor conditions) in a sheltered spot outdoors before planting them out in late summer.

Shopping Elemental Beetle gold art print, £20, The Curious Department

Porcelain butterfly, from £163, Richard Ginori

Honeycomb Bug Decorations, £8.50 for three, Talking Tables

Crystal Butterfly tumblers, £192 each, Moser

Three-tier bee and insect hotel in Wild Thyme, can be personalised, £39.95, Wudwerx

Beefayre Mummy Bee Lavender & Geranium hand cream, 3 per cent of profits go to bee conservation, £12.50, Annabel James

LITTLE CRITTERS Now that blossoms have well and truly bloomed, your garden will be a hive of activity with bees, bugs and butterflies all taking advantage of the abundant food supply found in flourishing flowerbeds. These plant pollinators and busy beasties are all captured in this eclectic mix of items – from bug hotels to bee-friendly seeds and butterfly buys nd beautiful be

Butterfly watering can, £118, MacKenzie Childs

ure Michelle

Bee Friendly Seeds, £9.95, Annabel James

Lila Green Insects, £822.30, Wisdom & Koenig Interior

Gold Longicorn Beetle wall decoration, £48, The French Bedroom Company

The Big Book of Bugs, £12.95, Bobby Rabbit

Set of two golden ants, £34.95, Audenza

Dancing Butterflies cushion, £45, Lomas & Lomas

Period Living 113

RETREAT TO THE GARDEN Embrace the versatility of an outdoor room all year round with our pick of the latest garden buildings, from posh shed to summerhouse Feature AndrĂŠa Childs

BARN BOX Left: Inspired by farm buildings, the Belgiandesigned Barn Box is made from a mix of salvaged woods. European grey wood clads the outside; centuries-old Canadian barn wood covers the interior and ceiling; and antique French oak sourced from old railway wagons creates a beautifully smooth and aged floor. The result is a contemporary garden room that sits perfectly in a natural setting. The Barn Box can be delivered as a complete unit or as flatpack version named Buxi; both include aluminium doors and windows, plus interior and exterior wiring and power points.

Priced from ÂŁ13,500 at Holloways of Ludlow.

Garden Buildings SHEPHERD’S HUT Left: These traditional homes-cum-store rooms for shepherds tending their flocks have morphed into a modern-day must-have for anyone seeking a garden sanctuary. They combine great looks with adaptability – most companies offer a range of fit-outs for sleeping and cooking, plus bespoke solutions such as home offices and yoga studios.

And because the hut is mounted on a wheeled chassis, they can come with you if you move home. The huts are built with a timber frame that’s insulated and clad in timber or corrugated iron, with a corrugated roof. Many can be supplied with a wood-burner installed and with electrics and even plumbing fitted, if required. This hut from Blackdown Shepherd Huts costs from around £20,190.

POSH SHED Below: The humble shed has been elevated to luxe levels, with stylish designs based on potting sheds and beach huts to Anderson shelters. Each shed from The Posh Shed Company features toughened glass windows and triple-skinned walls made from strong redwood timber and cladding, plywood skin and a waterproof membrane. The outside can be painted in the colour of your choice, and the timber is guaranteed against rot and insect attack for 10 years. This National Gardens Scheme (NGS) Shed, £4,995, has an additional 3ft veranda, perfect for gardeners to sit and relax after pottering, and five per cent from each sale is donated to the NGS.

TRELLISED GAZEBO Above: A gazebo can create a focal point in the garden and at the same time, provide shelter and a place to perch. The open design is less intrusive than other garden buildings, too, and works well combined with planting. This hexagonal Holkham gazebo from HSP Garden Buildings has three closed and three open sides and comes with a choice of domed or cathedral roof, optional benches and a choice of trellised or solid side panels, or a combination of both, from £8,148.

BEACH HUT Above: Bring classic seaside style to your plot with this Beach Hut wooden summerhouse.

The raised design, front steps and covered deck set it apart from other sheds, yet it’s an affordable option for storage or as an extra garden room. This design features tongue-andgroove cladding, a felt roof and shatterproof Styrene windows, and comes with a 10-year anti-rot guarantee, £999.99 from Waltons. ³ Period Living 115

SHELTERED SPACE Right: Give your garden a Chelsea Flower Show look with an open shelter that creates the feel of an outdoor room. This Retreat shelter, £735 from Jacksons Fencing, comes with either Venetian or woven panels and the option of a polycarbonate sheeting to cover the roof. The softwood structure is guaranteed for 25 years.

PORTICO GREENHOUSE Below: Made using traditional techniques from Western red cedar, this stylish Portico greenhouse from Gabriel Ash features a central porch allowing access from the side. Maintaining all the classic features of the RHS collection – narrow pane centres, steep roof pitch and cedar hand-turned finials – it complements both an English garden, or more contemporary setting, perfectly. The design also offers toughened safety glass with full-length automatic ridge ventilation, and for extra growing capacity you can opt to have cold frames added to the greenhouse either side of the porch. Priced from £15,845.

CLASSIC ORANGERY Above right: An impressive freestanding building can become a beautiful feature in a large garden.

This elegant orangery benefits from modern materials, combining a metal-clad exterior with a timber interior. Top-opening windows and a rising canopy in the glazed roof provide ventilation in the warmer months. Prices start from £40,000 at Vale Garden Houses.

BESPOKE GLASSHOUSE Right: Buying bespoke gives you ultimate control over the size, finish and style of your garden building. The glasshouses from Hartley Botanic are available in a range of widths and colours, and with a planthouse-style brick base or grass-to-ground design. The frame of this Planthouse, shown here in the Olive Leaf shade, blends into the garden more sympathetically than white. Price on application.

116 Period Living

Garden Buildings PLANNING AHEAD

TRADITIONAL SUMMERHOUSE Above: Prettier than a shed and more sheltered than a gazebo, an octagonal summerhouse is the timeless choice for a garden structure. Despite their classic looks, today’s versions can feature mod cons including double glazing, insulation, electrics and built-in furniture or shelving, that make them usable all year round. The Burghley, by Scotts of Thrapston, even features a rotating base, so you can turn it to catch the rays. It’s available in 2.4m and 3m sizes, and with either a lead-effect or cedar shingle roof, from £6,575 at Garden Affairs.

THATCHED LAPA Right: The origin of this authentic thatched design lies in the traditional South African Lapa buildings used for outdoor living and entertaining. Each Lapa is unique, being built in situ from African hardwood poles supporting a roof made from sustainable water reeds. Guaranteed for 10 years against wood decay and leaks in the thatch, they cost from £15,000 at The Lapa Company.

You may not need planning permission for a garden building but it’s best to check, as large structures or those built next to a listed property or on designated land may need consent. Check if your dream garden room stays within the rules with this guide from Garden Buildings Direct: O The building has a maximum overall height of no more than 2.5m from existing ground level, a maximum overall height of 4m with a dualpitched roof, or 3m for any other roof.

O It will be placed more than 2m from your property’s boundaries.

O It will not be used as self-contained living accommodation.

O It’s a single-storey building and doesn’t feature any balconies or raised platforms.

O It doesn’t take up more than 50 per cent of the area of land around the original house.

O It is closer to the original house than it is to a road or public highway.

O Its internal size is no more than 30m2.

O It won’t be placed within the boundaries of a listed property.

O It doesn’t cover an area larger than 10m2 if it is to be placed on designated land, such as national parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, World Heritage Sites, or the Broads.

O It won’t be placed to the side of a property on designated land.

ALL INCLUSIVE RETREAT Below: Costs can mount as you specify your requirements for a garden building, but Green Retreats makes budgeting easy with fully inclusive pricing that covers VAT, installation, foundations, lighting, heating, insulation, double glazing, laminate flooring, internal electrics, doors and windows. The Expressions garden room is wood clad and has a roof that extends over all sides for a hooded look, from £12,245.

Period Living 117

Gardens

THE COMPLETE GUIDE TO CONTAINER GARDENING Well-placed pots can transform a garden, setting the style, making a statement and filling in gaps with extra seasonal colour wherever it is needed Words and photographs Leigh Clapp

Clockwise from top left: Terracotta ages gracefully and fits almost every garden; pots can lift a dark corner; trailing pelargoniums complete a summery scene of lavender, poppies and frothy Alchemilla mollis; complementing the pretty pink wall are sun-loving petunias, pelargoniums and lobelia; transform inexpensive plastic pots with a coat of paint; a rustic ladder makes a pretty stage for seasonal pots; personalise your display with a touch of fun; create a herb garden of individual terracotta pots; an urn of effervescent daisies completes the colour theme

ontainers allow for creativity in the garden, whether filled with displays that change with the seasons or stately evergreens for year round impact. They are versatile, too, being portable, and almost anything can be grown in them from flowering annuals, perennials, bulbs, climbers and herbs to shrubs and trees.

The power of pots shouldn’t be underestimated: well placed containers can transform a garden.

They set its style, completing the look, making strong statements or providing seasonal highlights.

Container plants can be used as focal points or to draw the eye to different areas of your garden.

They are also a good way to grow tender plants that need to be overwintered inside and allow you to grow plants that need different soil types. The advantage of container gardening is its extraordinary flexibility. Seasonal displays can be moved around filling gaps in the borders is a great trick and, where space is limited, such as down the side of the house, long planters are a good solution. Pots allow you to place plants where they wouldn’t normally grow, such as on windowsills, rooftops, transforming and softening a bare patio, or encircling the paved perimeter of a pool.

Select your containers for their design as well as functionality. You don’t even have to use plant pots: old baskets lined with plastic, olive oil cans, coal scuttles, crates, ancient watering cans, chimney pots or industrial salvage can all be adapted for plants, although you do need to consider practicalities such as the durability, porosity and weight of the container.

C

CONTAINER SUCCESS As with all gardening it’s a case of choosing the right plant for the right place, knowing the area you want to display your containers and doing some research into suitable plants to use. You need to know whether the spot is windy or protected, and how much sun it gets. Then add in style decisions.

Remember that containers must have free drainage because if water gets trapped in the pot, air can’t get to the roots and the plant may rot and die. Most pots have drainage holes in the bottom but it’s a good idea to add extra ones in plastic and wooden containers, and add a layer of gravel or broken pottery crocks to the bottom of the pot, as this will stop the holes being blocked by lumps of compost. Garden soil is usually unsuitable for containers because it doesn’t drain well and tends to set hard. Proprietary potting compost mixtures are ideal as they are open, porous mixes, free from weed seeds and plant diseases.

Whatever you grow in your pots, they will have a restricted root system and won’t be able to forage for moisture as they would in the open garden. Life can be a little tougher in pots, so make sure you give your container plants lots of TLC. 120 Period Living

BEST POT PLANTS Top row, left to right: PANSY – These dainty little perennials are usually grown as annuals and are handy for colour when other plants aren’t flowering. When buying them, select ones with buds rather than open flowers.

Use as underplanting in containers or mixed with bulbs, in sun to part shade, and water regularly.

PETUNIA – Prolific blooming makes these cheerful flowers ideal for summer pots and hanging baskets.

Require full sun, regular feeding and deadheading.

Allow to dry out between waterings and avoid wetting the flowers or foliage.

FUCHSIA – Easy to grow and will provide flowers spring to autumn in a shady spot. Need frequent watering; keep moist but not soggy and deadhead.

Second row, left to right: AZALEA – Ensure the container is large enough to provide growing space for the roots and good drainage. Azaleas need an ericaceous potting mix, and thrive with morning sun and afternoon shade.

HYDRANGEA – The mophead and lacecap varieties are the easiest to grow in containers. Select a container just a little larger than the pot you bought the plant in as too large a pot can rot the roots. Acid potting mix for blue flowers, alkaline for pink.

SALVIA – Shrubby perennials with intensely coloured flowers. Some are hardier than others, but all need a sunny spot. Flowers from summer to autumn. Add horticultural grit and feed in spring.

Third row, left to right: HOSTA – Arrange a collection in a shady corner and enjoy the foliage and spires of lavender flowers.

Water carefully so they don’t dry out. A layer of small pebbles on the soil will stop slugs and keep the roots cool. Overwinter the containers inside.

HEUCHERA – Shade perennials with interesting foliage in green, orange, silver, black or pink, with ruffled or smooth edges. Ensure good drainage and mix a slow release fertiliser into the soil.

SKIMMIA – Long-lasting evergreen shrubs that are ideal for containers. Grown for their glossy foliage, flowers and berries, they need semi-shade, slightly acidic soils, and prefer rainwater to tap water.

Fourth row, left to right: ASTER – Brighten up the patio as other flowers start to fade. They prefer soil a little on the dry side. Add some mulch and feed monthly through the growing season. Remove spent blooms and keep an eye for pests, such as aphids and spider mites.

AEONIUM – Architectural succulent with rosettes of leaves. Look particularly good in terracotta pots, and need a sunny, sheltered spot. The purple black varieties intensify in sun. Protect from frost.

AGAPANTHUS – Particularly effective in a repeated line of containers in a sunny position. Reduce watering from September and protect in winter.

Divide every three years once they’ve filled the pot, but they prefer not to have too much space. ³

Gardens

Left, from top: Potted white narcissi draw the eye above the medley of tulips; a row of conifers divides the patio and lawn, the repetitive arrangement defining the space; containers are particularly useful to brighten up hard surface areas; potted plants are a mobile garden that can be moved around for the best aspect each season

THE INSTANT LOOK After a long winter, there’s nothing better than getting outside and watching things grow. Now is an ideal time to plant up pots and hanging baskets.

Visit your local garden centre for inspiration. Start with a centrepiece plant and don’t be afraid to take a few pots off the shelves to try out possible planting combinations. It’s similar to arranging flowers in a vase, except that nature is unpredictable and there may be some surprises in growth patterns. But whether you’re a beginner or an expert, you can achieve success in a pot – and in next to no time.

DESIGN TIPS O Containers are most effective when used as

highlights and visual punctuation O Position your containers where they will be seen

from a window, on steps, or around a sunny seat O Select plants that are relatively easy to grow and

that will perform well over a long period of time O Large pots look good even in small gardens and

actually give the effect that your garden is larger O Use strappy plants and dwarf conifers for height O Add seasonal colour, such as bulbs, violas or

cyclamen, to permanent topiary containers O For a cohesive look, keep containers simple –

don’t use too many different materials and styles O Potted plants can disguise a bare patch and

create an instant flower-filled garden

PRACTICAL TIPS O Place crocks at the base for drainage O Most plants don’t thrive in overly large

containers, some prefer to be crowded O Leave 5cm between the soil and the top of the

container so water doesn’t spill over when watering O Mulch with moss, bark, gravel or glass chippings O Place on pot feet for better drainage O Water evenly and feed regularly O Trim to keep tidy and deadhead flowers O Remove withered foliage and check for pests O Placing a plastic pot inside a terracotta pot avoids

it cracking in winter, retains moisture and the lighter pot can be moved or replaced more easily

BROWSE AND BUY WHICHFORD POTTERY, Whichford, Warwickshire CV36 5PG. Handmade British frost-proof pots, workshop, gallery, café and display courtyard garden. Tel: 01608 684416; whichfordpottery.com POTS AND PITHOI, The Barns, Turners Hill, Crawley, Sussex RH10 4QA. Cretan terracotta pots, display, shop and café. Tel: 01342 714793; potsandpithoi.com HADDONSTONE, East Haddon, Northampton NN6 8DB. Cast stone ornaments and pots, and show garden. Tel: 01604 770711; haddonstone.com CHILSTONE, Langton Green, Kent TN3 0RD. Cast stone ornaments and urns, and show garden.

Tel: 01892 740866; chilstone.com

SLEEPING BEAUTIES Nicky and Paul Biddle uncovered a forgotten woodland garden beneath tangles of brambles and shrubs. In spring, it gradually awakens into an array of fresh greens and blooms – a perfect contrast to the formal plantings elsewhere Words and photographs Leigh Clapp

Gardens

Dancing clouds of aquilegias frame the vista across the sunken garden, creating a contrast with the geometry of the pond and clipped buxus forms

KEY FACTS CHARACTER OF GARDEN An open, ericaceous garden featuring expansive lawns, a sunken pond, formal clipped shrubs and a planted woodland with highlight azaleas and rhododendrons that give vibrant spring colour SIZE The garden spans six acres, including the woodland ASPECT The garden faces south-east SOIL The soil is acidic, rich and loamy OWNERS Nicky and Paul Biddle bought the property in 1991 PERIOD OF HOUSE The property dates from the Queen Anne period, with Victorian and 20th-century additions OPEN Nicky and Paul’s garden at Westways Farm, Chobham, Surrey GU24 8HH is open on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 May (11am–4.30pm).

Admission £4, children free. Groups also welcome by arrangement in May and June for groups of 10 or more.

Visit ngs.org.uk for more details

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W

hen Paul and Nicky Biddle moved to Westways Farm in Chobham, Surrey, they found a sleeping beauty of a garden surrounding the lovely Queen Anne house. Quiet and peaceful at the edge of the village, it was full of unexpected charm. Originally laid out in the 1930s, the gardens had been well looked after until the late 1970s, then more or less left to fend for themselves.

The grounds of the house had originally spanned 50 acres, with landscaped gardens, formal areas, woodland and a productive kitchen garden with Victorian glasshouses. Sadly, though, by the time the Biddles took it on in 1991, most of the garden had been gradually sold off, the glasshouses had been dismantled and the herbaceous beds dug up.

Around six acres remain today, mostly open areas with some woodland. ‘When we first came here the wood was so overgrown, it was a mass of brambles, bracken and dying specimen shrubs,’ says Nicky. ‘It was impossible to walk through and so we had little idea of what really grew there.

Over the years we have gradually cleared a path and uncovered some beautiful rhododendrons, azaleas and particularly camellias, which we have added to. It has been quite a journey of discovery that has taken around 10 years to get under control.’

They reimagined the garden in ‘layers’ to add interest at every level, with shrubs filling the spaces under trees, and bulbs, annuals and perennials at ground level to draw the eye up. As the new growth unfurls, the young fresh greens contrast with the hues of spring blooms. The dazzling beauty of azaleas, rhododendrons, cherry blossom and tulips is hard to beat at this time of year, their petals sparkling with droplets from spring showers.

With the help of a part time gardener, Paul and Nicky have nurtured and augmented the palette ³

Above: A mix of formal and informal plantings, the serene garden stretches out from the Queen Anne house Above right: Azalea japonica ‘Palestrina’ and rhododendrons are interwoven with bright Tulipa ‘Red Shine’, making a pretty scene against the foil of greens

Gardens

Above left: The clear white blooms of Anemone coronaria ‘The Bride’ are a good choice for spring containers near the house Above right: A characterful wall pot containing convolvulus adds quirky detail Right: Bluebells feature through the spring

of plants across the whole garden, bringing the landscape back to life. This was a larger garden than they had in their previous home in Sunningdale, and offered more challenges, which they have enjoyed taking on. Nicky grew up in Yorkshire and inherited green fingers from both parents. ‘I enjoy planting, or rather planning the planting in the garden, but I do an array of pots, changing them each season and using lots of bulbs,’ she smiles.

The structure was there but the plants needed trimming back and some replacing to fully renovate the garden. At the front of the house there are some wonderful ancient red oak and beech trees, which give the garden maturity. Other fine trees on the site include Metasequoia glyptostroboides (dawn redwood) and Pinus strobus (Weymouth pine).

An extensive Cupressus x leylandii hedge that stretched across the garden was removed and this really opened up the garden to reveal extensive lawns and an array of shrubs. An island bed was created and planted with conifers, junipers, grasses and heather. The back garden also had a patio out from the house, which Nicky highlights with containers of stately cordylines and soft infill, a tennis court, swimming pool and working stables.

Next to the house a charming sunken pond garden needed clearing and replanting with irises, rushes and waterlilies. Existing shrubs that delineate the sunken area have been augmented with cistus, buxus, berberis and rosemary, and all are beautifully clipped in curvaceous forms, providing accents that lend formality and a sense of contrast to the open expanses backed by woodland. Recently planted beds by the house are resplendent in spring with 128 Period Living

vibrant tulips, lime-green euphorbia, eryngium, hebes and heuchera. Further shrubs have been added to the palette, including elaeagnus, skimmias, daphnes and weigela for year-round interest. ‘The look we have now probably took 10 to 15 years to achieve,’ Nicky explains. Ongoing challenges are keeping on top of the moss on the lawn that, despite being treated each year and having land drains, is a constant effort, as well as having rabbits and the odd deer to contend with.

The garden continues to be a place of relaxation for the family, the grandchildren enjoy using the flat lawns as a football field or playing in the woods, and the patio is in almost constant use for eating outside. Nicky and Paul also enjoy opening the garden in spring to visitors through the National Gardens Scheme. ‘It is a labour of love, but we are proud of what we have in the garden, and it is very rewarding that we can share it with the people who come along to visit,’ explains Nicky. It is the woodland area, with some rare rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias and magnolias underplanted with bluebells, that is particularly popular with visitors. The native bluebells are now thriving in the reinstated dappled shade of trees and shrubs.

‘We have added some more bluebells and azaleas that have established really well.’

Overall this is a very relaxed, peaceful garden that is a delightful contrast between formal and informal, especially in spring. ‘It’s the promise of warmth coming,’ says Nicky. ‘Spring is such a lovely time, a reawakening that comes up every year; the structure is green, then the colours of spring lift it up and change the whole vista.’ ³

Gardens

Opposite: Camassia leichtlinii bulbs add loose spires of mauve flowers in the textural island bed Above: A curving grass path by a weeping pear and old apple tree draws you on to beds of azaleas and rhododendrons Far left: Aubrieta ‘Purple Cascade’ has masses of rich purple flowers to tumble over walls or through beds Left: The whorls of Euphorbia characias wulfenii light up the garden in spring

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Above: Nicky uses Juniper communis ‘Compressa’ to give vertical accents in the borders, along with potted agapanthus on either side of the steps

130 Period Living

SPRING SHRUBS TIPS

IN THE AREA

Follow Nicky’s advice to ensure success O Shrubs are a long-term investment, so buy the best specimens you can.

O Consider how they will develop.

O Leave space for each plant to mature.

O Plan their placement to blend well with other elements of your garden.

O Select for interesting foliage, beautiful flowers and year-round interest.

O Consider soil and climatic conditions.

O Azaleas and rhododendrons look at home in woodland settings.

O You need free-draining acid, sandy-type soil for azaleas and rhododendrons.

O Rhododendrons need a soil pH of 5.5 to 6 to grow.

O If bracken grows wild in your area, then rhododendrons will too.

O All rhododendrons will respond to pruning.

RHS WISLEY, Surrey GU23 6QB. The Royal Horticultural Society’s display and trial gardens with design, innovation and cultivation techniques to inspire, plus an attached nursery. Tel: 01483 224234; rhs.org.uk/Gardens/Wisley SAVILL GARDEN, Windsor Great Park, Surrey TW20 0UU. A garden for all seasons with spring bloom, hot borders, autumn colour and winter stems.

Tel: 01753 860222; windsorgreatpark.co.uk HILLIER GARDEN CENTRE, Sunningdale GU20 6LQ. Expansive range of plants and sundries, restaurant and plant advice. Tel: 01344 623166; hillier.co.uk HAMPTON COURT PALACE GARDENS, East Molesey KT8 9AU. Immaculately restored riverside gardens with bedding displays, knot garden, maze and wilderness garden. Tel: 0870 752 7777; hrp.org.uk

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Recipes

Time for tea

Adorn your afternoon table with your best china and take inspiration from MasterChef ’s Mat Follas to create an irresistible spread of bakes and pastries with these recipes from his Bramble Cafe Photography Steve Painter | Copyright Ryland Peters & Small

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SCO N E S;

SEE NEXT PAGE FOR RECI

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Plain scones Plain scones are anything but! They are light, buttery, melt in the mouth, a mini meal – perfectly complemented by some homemade jam. You know you have achieved perfect scones when they form a natural crack in the middle when they’re baked, so you can just pull them in two. Be careful not to overwork the dough or they will not rise.

MAKES 8 500g of self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting O 100g of butter, chilled O 30g of caster sugar O 100ml of milk O

100ml of double cream 100g of sultanas (optional) O 1 egg yolk O

O

Preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F) Gas 7 1 Add the flour, small pieces of butter (each approx. 20g) and the sugar to a food processor and pulse until they form a crumb. Continue pulsing the mixture while adding the milk and then the cream in a steady stream, until the mixture forms a dough ball that just holds together.

2 Lightly flour your hands and a cool, flat surface (marble is ideal). Fold the sultanas, if using, into the dough. Press out the dough to a thickness of about 5cm. Use a 3-inch cookie cutter to cut out the scones. Re-press the leftover dough together to maximise the number of scones, but always use the cutter to form sharp edges or the scones will not rise properly.

3 Make a glaze by whisking the egg yolk and brush the tops only with the glaze. Bake for 12– 14 minutes until just cooked through and risen.

I always carefully split one scone to check the centre is cooked.

Chocolate and vanilla marble cake Always a fun cake for afternoon tea, a marble cake is not to be taken too seriously. The challenge as a cook is to keep the cake moist and to make each flavour distinctive. I add a little extra milk to my chocolate sponge mix, as cocoa will dry out a cake without some extra moisture to compensate.

SERVES 12 FOR THE BASIC SPONGE: O 5 eggs O 250g of self-raising flour O 250ml plus 1 tbsp of vegetable oil O 250g of caster sugar

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FOR THE VANILLA SPONGE, ADD: O 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract FOR THE CHOCOLATE SPONGE, ADD: O 2 dessertspoons of unsweetened cocoa powder O 50ml of milk

Preheat the oven to 140°C (280°F) Gas 1 1 Line a lightly oiled non-stick 900g loaf pan with baking parchment. Place your mixing bowl onto your scales and zero the scales. Into the bowl, crack the eggs and make a note of the weight. Add the same weight of each of the flour, oil and sugar. Mix for a few minutes with a hand-held electric whisk or in a stand mixer until it forms a smooth batter.

2 Divide the cake mixture equally between two mixing bowls. Fold the vanilla extract into one portion and fold the cocoa powder and milk into the other portion. Now, alternating large spoonfuls of each mixture, dollop the sponge mixes into the lined loaf tin until all the mixture has been used.

3 Place in the preheated oven for 70–90 minutes, until a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean, and the internal temperature of the cake reaches 90°C/195°F. 4 Leave the cake to cool for 20 minutes before removing from the tin. Serve in thin slices.

Recipes

Rainbow cake Colourful and fun, this is a cake with which you can let your imagination run wild. Try different flavour and colour combinations of cake and frosting, and use specialist cake colours, as regular ones just don’t seem to work when baked.

SERVES 10 FOR THE CAKE: O 4 eggs O 200g of self-raising flour O 200ml of vegetable oil O 200g of caster sugar O Yellow, red and blue cake colourings O 1⁄2 tsp of pure vanilla extract O Concentrated lemon, raspberry and liquorice flavours

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM: O 100g of butter, softened O 250g of icing sugar, plus extra for dusting O 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract O 2–3 tbsps of warm water

Preheat the oven to 140°C (280°F) Gas 1 1 Line four non-stick 8-inch round cake tins with baking parchment. Place your mixing bowl onto the scales and zero the scales. Into the bowl, crack the eggs and make a note of the weight.

2 Add the same weight of flour, oil and caster sugar. Mix for a few minutes with a hand held electric whisk or in a stand mixer until it just forms a smooth batter.

3 Take three more mixing bowls and, using the scales, divide the cake mixture evenly between the four bowls. You will now have four mixing bowls containing equal amounts of cake mixture.

4 To the first bowl add half a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. To the second bowl add yellow cake colouring to the desired shade and a few drops of the lemon flavour. To the third bowl add red cake colouring as before and a few drops of the raspberry flavour. To the fourth bowl add blue cake colouring and a few drops of the liquorice flavour. Fold the colour and flavouring into the mixtures until fully combined, then pour each into a prepared cake tin.

5 Place the filled cake tins into the preheated oven and bake for 12–15 minutes. Do not open your oven for any reason for at least 10 minutes or they may collapse! The cakes are cooked when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out cleanly and the internal temperature reaches 90°C/195°F. 6 Remove from the oven immediately once this temperature is reached, so the cakes don’t dry out.

Leave the cakes to cool in the tins for 10 minutes, then place on a wire rack to cool completely.

7 For the buttercream, in a mixing bowl whisk the softened butter, icing sugar and vanilla together until the mixture is smooth, then add the warm water while whisking to lighten the mixture.

8 Using a bread knife, level the blue, red and yellow cake layers. Generously ice the three layers and stack them on top of one another. To finish, place the white cake layer on top and dust with icing sugar. ³

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flour, then add another 50g of flour and the coffee.

2 Mix for a few minutes with a hand-held electric whisk or in a stand mixer until it forms a smooth batter. Add the crushed walnuts, then mix for another minute until the mixture is fully combined.

Pour half into each of the lined brownie tins, then place them into the preheated oven for 20–25 minutes, until a skewer poked into the centre comes out clean and the internal temperature reaches 90°C/195°F. 3 Remove from the oven immediately once this temperature is reached, so the cakes don’t dry out. Leave the cakes to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the tins and finish cooling on a wire rack. Leave until cooled to room temperature for at least 30 minutes before frosting.

4 Make the frosting by mixing the butter and icing sugar until smooth and combined. Slowly add the coffee while continuing to mix. Finally, add a pinch of salt and ensure the mixture is fully combined. Use a bread knife to level the top of the cake if necessary.

5 Using half of the frosting, ice the top of one of the cakes. Now place the second cake on top and coat the top with the remaining frosting. Trim all four sides, then portion into 10 pieces before placing a walnut on top of each piece.

Raspberry meringue kisses Coffee and walnut cake The key to making a good coffee and walnut cake is the size of the walnuts. If they are too small, they disappear and the cake tastes bitter; too large and they will sink to the bottom of the cake during baking. Approx 3mm is the perfect size. If you can find Camp Coffee, it makes a wonderful baking flavour; if not, use instant coffee to impart the correct cake flavour.

FOR THE FROSTING: 100g of butter, softened O 250g of icing sugar O 3 tbsps of Camp Coffee or strong instant coffee O Pinch of salt O

DECORATION: O 10 walnuts

Preheat the oven to 140°C (280°F) Gas 1 1 Line two lightly oiled non stick 12x8 inch brownie tins with baking parchment. Place a mixing bowl onto scales and set the scales to zero.

Into the bowl, crack the eggs and make a note of the weight. Add the same weight of oil, caster sugar and 136 Period Living

MAKES 12 FOR THE RASPBERRIES: O 200g of raspberries O Freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon OR O 40g of dehydrated raspberry powder

O

100g of egg whites (approx. 3 large eggs)

FOR THE BUTTERCREAM: O 50g of butter, softened O 100g of icing sugar O 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

FOR THE MERINGUES: O 200g of caster sugar

SERVES 10 FOR THE CAKE: O 4 eggs O 200ml of vegetable oil O 200g of caster sugar O 200g of self-raising flour O 3 tbsps of Camp Coffee or strong instant coffee O 100g of crushed walnuts (pieces no bigger than 3mm in size)

Dehydrated raspberries are a staple in my kitchen as they have a lovely sharpness that offsets sweet meringue and cream perfectly.

1 For the raspberries (if using fresh raspberries), preheat the oven to 90°C (195°F). Place a sheet of baking parchment over a wire rack. Spread the raspberries over the baking parchment and sprinkle with the lemon juice. Place in the preheated oven and leave in the oven overnight, or for at least 8 hours. Once dried, blitz the raspberries in a food processor until they form a fine powder, then pass them through a sieve.

2 For the meringues, preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6. Ensure the bowl you use is perfectly clean. Sprinkle the sugar over a non-stick baking sheet and place into the preheated oven. At the same time, place the egg whites into a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk (or use a mixing bowl

Recipes and a hand-held electric whisk) and start mixing until stiff peaks form; this will take 5–8 minutes.

Remove the, now hot, sugar from the oven and turn down the oven to 100°C (210°F).

3 Add about one-quarter of the sugar to the egg white mix. Whisk for a couple of minutes, then repeat until all of the sugar has been combined.

Whisk for another 5 minutes, checking that the mixture is fully combined and that no graininess remains. Finally, add about three-quarters of the raspberry powder and fold together, but leave some patterns in the mixture.

4 Spoon the meringue mixture into a piping bag and snip off the tip. Pipe the meringue mixture onto two baking sheets lined with parchment, making about 24–26 5cm kisses. Bake in the

preheated oven for 45 minutes. Check the outer layer of meringue has fully cooked and is crispy; continue cooking in 10-minute intervals if not.

Switch off the oven and leave the meringues to cool in the oven for at least 30 minutes. Store the meringues in an airtight container until you are ready to serve.

5 For the buttercream, in a mixing bowl, whisk the butter and icing sugar together to form a smooth cream. Add the vanilla and a couple of dessertspoons of water. Whisk until a smooth, light buttercream is made.

6 To serve, place a teaspoon of the buttercream onto the flat side of one meringue and stick it to the flat side of another. Sprinkle a little remaining raspberry powder over the top to decorate. ³

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Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4

Rhubarb and custard slice This slice is a take on a classic custard slice or mille feuille, which brings back childhood memories for so many of us, especially when it’s paired with the magical combination of rhubarb and custard. You can use store bought pastry here, as homemade puff pastry will shrink too much, and is too buttery and soft for this recipe.

MAKES 10 150g of puff pastry O 300g of fresh rhubarb O Vegetable oil, to coat O 50g of demerara sugar O 200ml of milk O 100ml of double cream O

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2 eggs O 2 egg yolks O 50g of plain flour O 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract O 100g of caster sugar O

1 Line a lightly oiled non-stick 12x8-inch brownie tin with baking parchment, as well as a baking sheet.

Roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 3mm and trim it to fit the base of the brownie tin. Use a fork to prick holes all over the base; this will stop the pastry rising too much. Bake in the preheated oven for 10–12 minutes until the top is golden and the pastry is cooked through. Don’t worry too much if your pastry shrinks a little as you can trim the edges later. Remove from the oven and leave to cool, but leave the oven on.

2 Trim and cut the rhubarb into evenly sized pieces, about 2cm in length. Toss them with a little vegetable oil and then the demerara sugar. Spread out the rhubarb on the lined baking sheet. Bake in the oven for 10–12 minutes, until they are just softened and cooked through.

3 In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the milk and cream on a low heat, gently stirring, until just simmering, then immediately take off the heat. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, flour, vanilla and caster sugar to form a paste. Pour the hot milk and cream mixture into the mixing bowl, whisking constantly to combine into a thin custard.

4 Now return the custard to the saucepan and, carefully, on a low heat so as not to catch or burn it, whisk the custard over the heat until it is thickened and holding soft peaks. Pour the thick custard over the pastry base and smooth it to make level. Carefully, place the rhubarb pieces on top of the custard; they should be half-submerged in the mixture.

5 Place the brownie tin in the refrigerator for at least an hour before carefully removing and cutting the slice into 10 with a bread knife.

Reader offer This is an edited extract from Afternoon Tea at Bramble Cafe

by Mat Follas (£16.99, Ryland Peters & Small). PL readers can buy it for the special price of £11.99, including UK postage and packaging. To order, call Macmillan Direct on 01256 302699 and quote ref NR4.

Heritage weekend...

WINDSOR This atmospheric Royal Borough in the South East has a unique mix of regal history and equestrian culture just right for a royal wedding

Above: Windsor Castle looks on majestically over the River Thames, where among the sights of the resident swans you can enjoy a boat tour to explore this Royal Borough

140 Period Living

ourney west of London, and you’ll find the capital’s country estate, the Thamesside town of Windsor – the perfect place to enjoy both city and countryside, and to take in the oldest, largest inhabited castle in the world, and Her Majesty the Queen’s favoured weekend residence. Dominating the skyline, Windsor Castle was built by William the Conqueror in the 11th century, and remodelled by subsequent monarchs since; public tours take in the opulent State Apartments, the intricately detailed Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House, and you can witness the colourful pomp and ceremony of the Changing of the Guard within the Castle’s walls.

But the location for perhaps the most anticipated royal wedding in recent times is the resplendent St George’s Chapel, where Prince Harry was baptised, and will marry this May. The Prince was schooled at the prestigious Eton College, just north of the river via footbridge, and you’ll still find schoolboys in traditional tailcoats in this tiny neighbouring town.

Windsor itself offers beautiful parks and gardens

such as Savill Garden, and the vast Windsor Great Park, where The Long Walk, a three-mile treelined path from the Castle, was created by Charles II. The town centre is home to quaint features such as Queen Charlotte Street, the UK’s shortest at 16 metres long, and the only blue air mail posting box.

And for those partial to afternoon tea, it is said to have been ‘invented’ here in 1841, when the 7th Duchess of Bedford wrote from the Castle about needing to appease the ‘sinking feeling’ between lunch and supper. She asked for a pot of water, bread and butter, and cakes, before brewing her own tea.

The Queen’s lifelong passion for horses is evident throughout: May sees the Royal Windsor Horse Show in the private grounds of the Castle, and if you enjoy a flutter, June’s world-famous Royal Ascot, or a visit to Royal Windsor Racecourse, is just the ticket. Further afield, the Legoland resort is a must-see for miniature members of the family, or why not take a more leisurely boat trip along the picturesque River Thames? Just make sure to take in this charming town before the crowds roll in…

Photographs (Boat trips on the Thames, The Long Walk) © Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, Windsor.gov.uk; (Queen Charlotte Street) © J Ellis; (Eton College) © Provost & Fellows; (Legoland Windsor) © LEGO Illustration Sarah Overs

Feature Emily Hawkes

Out and About Where to stay Tucked off a cobbled street by Eton Bridge under the ramparts of the Castle, Sir Christopher Wren Hotel and Spa is both characterful and contemporary, the main Grade II-listed house offering historic elegance, including original Tudor beams, and its newly refurbished wings adorned with stylish soft furnishings and statement features.

From £140 per night, including breakfast. 01753 442400; sirchristopherwren.co.uk.

Find a home away from home at St Mary’s Cottage, a charming 19th-century B&B located in a quiet lane a stone’s throw from the centre. Host Susan offers a comfortable room and smaller second bedroom that’s perfect for friends and family; find a roll-top tub in the private bathroom, and a lovely breakfast to set you up for the day. From £85 per night. 01753 620078; stmaryscottagewindsor.co.uk.

The quintessential country house, The Oakley Court has rooms with the kind of grandeur you’d expect from a Gothic Victorian manor. Cosy and luxurious, the hotel boasts a nine-hole golf course and a fine dining restaurant. From £212 per night, with breakfast. 01753 609988; oakleycourt.co.uk.

Clockwise from above: The quaint Queen Charlotte Street is the shortest in the country; the school yard of Eton College; take a carriage ride along The Long Walk

Where to eat Home to some renowned Michelin-starred restaurants, Windsor also has a wide range of eateries and traditional pubs. Perched on the edge of Windsor Great Park, the 18th-century Two Brewers inn is one of the town’s smallest pubs, with only nine tables inside. And famous for its Eton Mess, The Boatman has been part of the waterfront scene in Windsor since 1829, offering classic British favourites as well as seasonal twists.

Head to the picturesque nearby village of Bray to sample the stunningly curated menu of Heston Blumenthal. Michelin-starred The Hind’s Head, first established in the 1400s, features lovingly restored quirks that provide an atmospheric backdrop to this modern gastropub experience.

01628 626151; hindsheadbray.com. And for a great cup of coffee, upon which the premise of this establishment was born, stop by locally loved independent Cinnamon Café – a popular spot for passing cyclists, and home to the best cinnamon buns around. 01753 857879; cinnamoncafe.com. ³

Clockwise, from above right: Enjoy a countryside retreat at The Oakley Court; the riverside terrace of The Boatman; a

miniature London built at Legoland Windsor; find toile de Jouy among the tranqil décor of St Mary’s Cottage B&B

Where to shop

Above: A former Victorian railway station, Windsor Royal Shopping offers a unique experience, whether browsing or eating Left: Find vibrant scarves and hats in Eton College colours at New & Lingwood Below: The formal gardens of the Cliveden Estate

Whether you’re looking for original handmade items, vintage gems or lush plants for house and garden, you’ll find a wealth of options in Windsor. Located opposite the Castle in a Grade II-listed Victorian railway station, you can still see Queen Victoria’s royal waiting room in Windsor Royal Shopping arcade, where brands from Jo Malone to Whistles can be found under the Jubilee Arch of this continental café-style setting.

Take the steps down to Windsor Yards, where you’ll find Royal Warrant holder Daniel of Windsor department store (and a big hat for the races); Lower Peascod Street and St Leonard’s Road are where Windsorians love to shop, and where cosy cafés meet traditional crafts and fashion; and for foodies, head to Windsor Farmers’ Market on the first Saturday of the month.

In Eton, among the antiques shops, art galleries and small family businesses, including jewellers and bookshops, gentlemen’s outfitters New & Lingwood has been tailor to generations of college pupils since 1865. 01753 866286; new andlingwood.com. And situated on the edge of Home Park, The Royal Farms Windsor Farm Shop is credited as the Duke of Edinburgh’s idea, created by converting Victorian potting sheds and constructing two new buildings, including a coffee shop. Find locally sourced goods and produce from the Royal Estates, including venison from Balmoral, apple juice from Sandringham, and over 20 varieties of pie made in the farm shop itself. 01753 623800; windsorfarmshop.co.uk.

For more information, visit windsor.gov.uk

A proud celebration of status and splendour, Cliveden has played a pivotal role in British history, as Estate general manager Mark Bradshaw explains.

Can you give a brief history of the Estate?

Built in 1666 by the 2nd Duke of Buckingham, Cliveden House has been home to six families, notably the Astors. American William Waldorf Astor purchased the property in 1893, creating the iconic Italianate Long Garden, Water Garden and Maze.

He later gifted Cliveden to his son, Waldorf 2nd Viscount Astor, upon his marriage to Lady Nancy, who is known for hosting the most lavish of house parties. Cliveden is also known for the ‘Profumo Pool’, the meeting place of the up and coming Secretary of State for War and Christine Keeler, the mistress of a suspected Russian spy, in 1961. Their affair went on to alter Britain’s political landscape, and the pool is the last remaining listed outdoor pool in England. Nature and structure exist in harmony in the gardens, adorned with gilded iron and statuary, and where the ordered lines of the Parterre meet the tranquil charm of the Round Garden. Cliveden was donated to the National Trust in 1942 on the condition the Astors could continue to live there, which they did until 1966.

How is it presented today?

Set upon 376 acres of National Trust grounds, Cliveden House is regarded as one of Britain’s

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finest examples of Grade I stately architecture. In 1985 it became a luxury hotel, and today, a new spa has marked the final chapter of the property’s four-year refurbishment. The landscaped gardens that overlook the River Thames are a delight in every season, and there are miles of woodland walks to discover, as well as short guided tours of the house.

What’s new for this year?

2018 is a busy year, and includes the second Cliveden Literary Festival from 29-30 September. And as part of the National Trust’s ‘Women & Power’ programme, the property hosts a year-long celebration of its historical female figures.

The Cliveden Estate (including garden, woodlands, chapel, shop and cafes) is open year round, from 10am; house tours, April to October (see website for further details). Admission: adult £12.70, child £6.30, family £31.80 (guided house tours extra). Tel: 01628 605069; nationaltrust.org.uk/cliveden

Photographs (Windsor Royal Shopping) © Royal Borough of Windsor & Maidenhead, Windsor.gov.uk; (New & Lingwood) © Neville McCarthy; (Cliveden Estate) @ National Trust

Cliveden House

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15 OF OUR FAVOURITE VICTORIAN NOVELS

Girl in a pinny falls down rabbit hole, shrinks, has tea with a dormouse and plays croquet with a grumpy queen. All in a day’s work for our Alice

Small-town satire in Cranford based on Knutsford where Gaskell grew up. Not much happens and there are no WAGs in sight

Tweed-caped crusader and private detective Sherlock Holmes’ first appearance alongside sidekick Dr Watson was in a Christmas annual

Wild child Catherine falls for force of nature Heathcliff in Emily Brontë’s tale of passion and family strife out on the wiley, windy moors

There’s trouble at t’Mill on the Floss. George Eliot’s account of sibling rivalry, family feuds and rural intrigue sends its heroine to a watery death

The immoral and degenerate world of The Picture of Dorian Gray played a part in author Oscar Wilde’s infamous trial for gross indecency

Pip may have had Great Expectations but what the Dickens was Miss Havisham doing wearing her wedding dress after all those years?

Set against the Napoleonic Wars it’s more about the people left behind – the cunning Becky Sharp and her naive friend Amelia

Animal antics with wolf boy Mowgli, Baloo, black panther Bagheera and the other jungle VIPs – Kipling’s enduring lore of the jungle

Ivory trading and a slow boat up the Congo in the Heart of Darkness explores Victorian ideas of civilisation, imperialism and barbarism

Doctor Who fans should read The Time Machine

by HG Wells. No tardis here, but his Time Traveller fast-forwards to chart the earth’s gradual demise

Rich cad preys on poor farm girl Tess, who loves and marries another man then admits her past. He leaves, cad returns, she kills him and is arrested – it’s an unfair cop

Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre is at the altar with her intended when she discovers he already has a wife – a mad one, in the attic. A fateful fire sorts it out for a happy ending

Orthodontically challenged European aristocrat with a predilection for haemoglobin and an aversion to garlic comes to a sticky end

In The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, a new genre was born – the detective story. And with sacred stolen gems at its heart, a touch of Indiana Jones, too

162 Period Living

Feature Karen Darlow Images Dracula © British Library Board, Cup.410.f.718; Heart of Darkness © Blackwell’s; All other images © Getty Images

The 19th century saw a boom in reading for pleasure. Cheap paper, the industrialisation of printing and, eventually, education for the masses helped spread the words.

Here, in summary (spoiler alert!) are some of our ancestors’ top reads

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