Latest news with #Balineum
Telegraph
02-05-2025
- Lifestyle
- Telegraph
How to bring English country charm to your home (without looking dated)
The British design duo Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham, aka Salvesen Graham, are known for their contemporary take on traditional English country house design – an aesthetic that combines bold colour, romantic florals and a smattering of well-chosen antiques. It's a look that, in their hands, never looks fusty and old-fashioned, but combines the charm of a classical English house with the comfort and convenience needed for modern life; and it's as popular with their American clients as it is in the UK. Their first coffee-table book, out now, is packed with inspiration for recreating their style, whether you live in a country manor or a city flat, and while it isn't as such a how-to guide, there are plenty of ideas to steal. Go bold in utility rooms The rooms that work the hardest in a house, such as utilities and pantries, aren't always the ones that other people see; but that doesn't mean they shouldn't pack a decorative punch. This flower room in a Cornish country house has been painted in a joyful bright yellow that couldn't fail to lift the spirits, and the scallop edging on the shelves adds a further cheerful touch. The under-counter curtain is a signature Salvesen Graham move in utility rooms, and not only adds aesthetic value, but also allows for more easily accessible storage than cabinet doors would. Pack a small room with pattern This bedroom is in a flat in central London, but you wouldn't know it from the romantic decor. The de Gournay wallcovering transports the room into the countryside, and the half-tester above the bed – a canopy that adds grandeur, without taking up as much room as a four-poster bed – adds to the feeling of comfort. Built-in bookshelves, and reading lights incorporated within the bed canopy, maximise the sense of space. Hang art in clusters A collection of colourful entomology prints adds a characterful touch to this entrance hall – and the colours are cleverly echoed in the bench cushion and checked throw cushions below, bringing a note of cohesion. Hanging similar prints in a grid in this manner looks smart and considered – and is a less expensive way to fill a wall than buying one large artwork. Bring decoration into the kitchen You won't find a clinical kitchen in a Salvesen Graham project. Here, the walls and cabinetry have been painted the same shade, a very pale pinky cream (Archive by Farrow & Ball is similar), and decorative green and white tiles from Balineum provide some contrasting colour and subtle pattern on the splashback above the hob. Colourful ceramics hung on the wall and displayed on the shelf add further character and warmth. Go wild in the downstairs loo The downstairs loo is always a fun place to experiment with colour and pattern, especially in an otherwise neutrally decorated house: this one teams a traditional-style marble-topped basin unit with modern wallpaper by Ottoline, the colours of which are picked up in the woodwork, painted in Arsenic by Farrow & Ball, the glossy red Balineum mirror and the red wall lights. Install architectural panelling to add depth Panelling has been added to the walls of this drawing room in a 19th-century country house, bringing proportion and depth. The plaster-pink paint is the perfect background colour for antique wooden furniture, artworks, and a mix of printed fabrics. Note the club fender too: a classic feature of a country house that provides an extra place for guests to perch during parties, covered here in a contemporary zigzag fabric. Spend on joinery While the enviable proportions of this country-house pantry are not found in every home, the built-in cabinetry demonstrates perfectly the way well-planned built-in storage can both maximise the size of a room and make it feel streamlined and uncluttered. The cupboards here hide the useful but not necessarily beautiful essentials, while shelves provide display space for a collection of china. The pendant light, the Dodo Egg by Beata Heuman, adds a note of country-house eccentricity. Make space for books In this house in Colorado, an archway leading from the dining room into the sitting room is flanked by a built-in bookcase – a clever way to make use of the space and provide subtle separation between the rooms. A wall light placed above is positioned to throw light on to the books in the evening, and a picture hung from the centre of a shelf breaks up the display: note how the placement of a small picture within a large white mount provides a little visual space. Make the most of every corner Here, a nook off the kitchen of the same house has been deployed as a self-contained office area. The pretty printed fabric used for the blinds has been repeated on the gathered shades of the wall lights (Salvesen Graham's Floral Sprig fabric would have a similar effect), and the simple tongue-and-groove panelling adds texture and interest. If in doubt, add a stripe A striped fabric or wallpaper brings a classic, tailored look, and works as a classic counterpoint to any other patterns or prints in a room. In this bijou bedroom, Salvesen Graham's Zig Zag Stripe print in a mossy green has been used on the walls and the blinds, adding colour and pattern without overwhelming the small space. The built-in bed, with drawers beneath, makes best use of the floor space, and the antique marble-topped table helps to create the effect of a room that has evolved over time.
Telegraph
19-03-2025
- Lifestyle
- Telegraph
Finding sanctuary in the city: the rise of the soulful home
There's a new look stealing into interior design. Neither maximalist nor minimalist, overtly modern or traditional, the soulful interior is a millefeuille of colour, texture and antiques set against knotty, reclaimed floorboards and earth-toned walls. It feels aggregated and personal; as if everything had settled into place over time. (you know, like when you compliment a friend on a quirky ottoman and they respond 'Oh that old thing... I found it at a flea market in Puglia'). It's the antidote to the rumple-free boutique hotel look that's predominated in recent years; the sort of home your parents – or even grandparents – might have grown up in. But this isn't just about looks. There are economic and eco-linked reasons behind the shift to an ageless aesthetic. Increasing costs of materials and building work (projected to rise by 15 per cent over the next five years) have prompted a rethink. Why spend on fitted storage when a vintage wardrobe will do instead? The same applies to jettisoning perfectly-sound fittings – that fossil-stone kitchen island for instance – on to skips. Why discard, when you can re-use? Does this make commercial sense you may ask? The interiors industry is, after all, predicated on consumption. But interior designer Brandon Schubert detects a change. 'For some, design is about newness – perfection,' says the former lawyer. 'But I'd suggest that there's a large cohort of designers – and clients – who feel differently.' They want a balance between an interior that's 'fresh and relevant' but feels, he says, as if its style has 'developed over decades'. In fractious times, there's something comforting about the always-there home. Tamsin Saunders of Home & Found, who champions an art and antiques-led approach, likens it to a 'warm hug... that envelops the senses'. For Saunders, it isn't about looks, but atmosphere. 'A home should be where you feel cocooned. Secure.' If the last decade was about knocking through and throwing out, this is the era of putting back. Schubert cites a recent project: a Victorian villa in north London. The brief from the couple, in their mid-30s, was for a home that had quietly evolved. A petite fireplace – that would have originally been there – was returned to a bathroom gleaming with brass taps. In the once-open plan basement, new doors were added to screen the new snug with its deep ottoman and sofas. A once-cavernous space has become cosy, sequestered. Adam Bray also counsels clients to spurn trends. 'It's like clothes. It's fun to go out in an out-there outfit once in a while... but you wouldn't want to wear it every day.' He refers to a mansion-block apartment designed for American clients. 'Deep-dish English' was the brief. This stretched to the kitchen. Others might have been tempted to knock through the compact, Jeeves and Wooster-esque space. Bray did the opposite. Lined in overscaled tiles from Balineum, he designed it to feel like an Edwardian scullery with classical joinery. 'It's small – but perfectly functional.' Anna Haines, an advocate of 'richer, lived-in interiors' took a similar approach to a Marylebone apartment. Previously a blank canvas, she reinstated panelling and mouldings to conjure 'a light Georgian interior.' But she also likes to use rogue elements: the contrasting fabric on the back of a sofa, the mismatched Suzani cushion which make a place feel 'less studied'. For Octavia Dickinson, placement is key. Once a floor plan is done, she'll always smuggle in a 'few extras'. Hanging bookcases, brackets and pieces in 'unexpected places' make a room look inhabited. She also breaks with convention when it comes to lighting. Leaving a few unlit areas (albeit not in practical spaces) adds a 'whisper of romance'. Colour and pattern play a similar role. For Olivia Outred, it's Edward Bulmer's Jonquil Pink with its 'undertones of brown and green' which make it the foil for an antiques-centric scheme. 'Combining pieces from different eras conjures layers of romance', she says. Woodwork is also transformative, says Tamsyn Mason. 'You can paint the wall a straightforward colour, such as Farrow & Ball's Giles Blue; using a buff shade on the skirtings adds nuance.' For new fabrics with an antique patina, Bennison, Soane Britain, Sibyl Colefax or Robert Kime excel at muted archival patterns. History also played its part in Christian Bense 's Knightsbridge project. His brief for the mid-18th century townhouse was to conjure up 'a journey through time'. The developer-mangled architecture was restored but in every room the decoration is different. One bathroom is lined in panelling; another is wrapped in a bucolic wallpaper. In the kitchen, light pours through a classical oculus. Bense likes to imagine the first owner moving in with the Georgian dining chairs he found at auction. And there are absolutely no trophy pieces. The gleaming plates on a dresser were chosen to be used – and chucked in a dishwasher. The sofas are deep enough to snooze on. 'This isn't a show home,' says Bense. It's quite the opposite. A soulful home.
