Latest news with #Edwardiana
Telegraph
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Telegraph
Why interior designers are bringing back the Downton-era kitchen
It was Downton Abbey that sparked the current revival in traditional, country-house kitchen design, and as the period drama's grand finale hits cinemas in September, our fascination with 'back of house' kitchenalia continues. Tile-lined larders and housekeeper's windows, cook's tables, glazed cabinets, floor-swishing door curtains, serving hatches, baize doors and even serving hatches are back, bringing an aura of below-stairs Edwardiana to modern kitchens. As Chloe Willis, the associate director of interior-design firm Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, puts it: 'There's an appealing honesty to the hard-working, back-of-house kitchen where everything looks collected rather than designed. It's a celebration of utility, patina and texture. Everything is in its place… it's orderly, but not minimal.' But it's not all about nostalgia. There are practical reasons for turning back the culinary clock. An antique armoire or robust cook's table is just as useful as fitted MDF joinery or a built-in island, and you can take them with you when you move. A door curtain provides insulation; a cool, slate-lined larder year-round storage. Throw in punchy modern fabrics, vibrant colours and reclaimed materials and you have a kitchen that feels familiar but not frumpy. Here is our pick of the kitchen throwbacks worth investing in. The serving hatch As we fall out of love with open-plan living, separate cooking and dining areas are resurfacing on floor plans. So, too, is the serving hatch. Once a byword for naffness, these nifty portals make sense: you can close the doors for privacy while you're toiling puce-faced over saucepans, and open them – ta-dah! – to pass plates through to expectant guests. For a Gloucestershire barn conversion, designer Amy Dalrymple made a hatch out of reclaimed timber, with folding doors that echo the rustic architecture and a deep shelf for serving plates. And a hatch is not just for dining rooms. Designer Sarah Peake installed a glazed window, set into a bookcase, in one of her projects, which allows her client to keep an eye on the children in the adjacent playroom as she works at her desk in the kitchen. 'It's practical and a fun way of communicating,' says Peake. The cook's table Before the kitchen island, there was the workaday cook's table (think Mrs Patmore kneading the dough). For her London kitchen, designer Sarah Brown eschewed the ubiquitous island in favour of a free-standing piece of furniture from Plain English: 'I call it my chop-and-chat table; I use it for cooking and socialising,' says Brown. The sturdy cook's tables by Wiltshire-based kitchen company Guild Anderson are based on examples at National Trust houses and made using traditional estate joinery techniques, with storage drawers and wooden worktops with marble inserts. Use it for prepping and breadmaking – or working from home. The housekeeper's window (or glazed partition) The Edwardian housekeeper kept a gimlet eye on her underlings through the internal window that separated her office from the kitchen. Today, a glass partition offers both practical and aesthetic appeal. In furniture maker Patrick Williams's Bath home, a screen of handmade 'wibbly' glass masks culinary clutter – the mixer, bowls, storage boxes – from the main kitchen. 'Things can be fairly chaotic, but if you hide them behind a screen, there's an order to them,' says Williams, who runs the interiors practice Berdoulat. In a terraced London house, designer Laura Stephens chose not to knock through the kitchen and family area to create a single open-plan space. Instead, a new internal window above the kitchen sink offers a glimpse into the sitting room at the back. 'I've always loved that historic reference [of a housekeeper's window] – they feel architectural and full of character,' she says. It's also, she notes, a more layered and lasting alternative to open-plan living. The hotplate Synonymous with robust country-house breakfasts ('More kedgeree, madam?'), the hotplate is having a moment. Think of it as the modern incarnation of the 1970s hostess trolley. The sine qua non of food-warming implements – favoured by designers such as Beata Heuman and Sarah Vanrenen – is the claw-footed Wembury Warmer, a 1930s-inspired piece created by interiors stylist Emma Hanbury. Production is currently paused while a new manufacturer is sourced, but you can still join the waiting list. In the meantime, British maker Kaymet offers a palatable alternative with its retro bronze-glass top. The pantry Classical kitchen maker Plain English has transformed the pantry – once a utilitarian store for tins and dry goods – into an object of desire. Today, it's as much about display as storage. Think carefully curated shelves of mugs, jams or cookbooks; freestanding or built-in units that double as stations for coffee makers, toasters or wine fridges, set beneath elegant marble shelves. 'It can be incredibly functional and beautiful,' says Merlin Wright, the design director at Plain English. Where pantries were once lined in plain pine or linoleum, they have since become a canvas for colour and pattern. Interior designer Tiffany Duggan used deep crimson shelves and emerald-and-white tiles to bring joy to a pantry in an Edwardian home. Designer Isabella Worsley gave a seaside pantry flair with blush-pink tiles and walnut shelving edged in brass studs. Lisa Mehydene, the founder of homewares brand Edit 58, indulged her 'back-of-house yearnings' in a compact pantry nook, also by Plain English, in her London kitchen. Walls in Farrow & Ball's St Giles Blue – 'like a burst of summer on a winter morning' – are paired with cheerful Wayne Pate tiles. Beneath the worktop, skirted cubbies house pasta, baking staples and 'grabbable' snacks for the children. 'It works for all of us,' she says. The glazed cabinet Once the pinnacle of dining room elegance, the glass-fronted cabinet fell from grace after years of displaying sporting trophies, porcelain knick-knacks and fussy sherry glasses. Now, says antique cabinet specialist Valerie Perkins, it's time to reassess this maligned classic. Her mainly 19th and early 20th-century pieces – originally made for schools and libraries in oak or mahogany – are beautifully constructed and can be customised with vibrant wallpapers or contrasting paint, inside and out. 'I tell people not to play it safe,' says Perkins, who scours salerooms and markets for the right examples. Some clients build entire kitchens around a cabinet; others top them with deep marble to create bars. 'It's the cherry on the cake – a talking point,' she says. The portière or door curtain Attached to a sturdy curtain rod, a floor-sweeping door curtain adds both insulation and drama. Fabric designer Tori Murphy is a fan of the portière: 'They bring softness and comfort… a sense of cosiness,' she says. And it's not just doors getting the treatment – curtains are creeping beneath worktops and shelves too. They can even serve as a pet-friendly way to disguise a dog or cat basket – ideally in matching fabric, as seen in designer Laura Stephens's co-ordinated home. There are no rules: sturdy wools, practical oilcloths or light cottons will all do the trick. The baize door Traditionally, a door lined in forest-green baize and pinned with brass tacks marked the boundary between the main house and the servants' quarters. It muffled noise, absorbed cooking smells and helped insulate draughty halls. Now, baize is making a quiet return – for more democratic reasons, says designer Octavia Dickinson. 'A baize door offers a sense of quiet separation, but I love using it as a decorative element in its own right.' And it's not all snooker-table green. In her own home, Dickinson chose burgundy on one side of her kitchen door and soft sage on the other. Made from merino wool, the fabric feels 'soft and luxurious', and the studwork, she says, can be applied in 'wonderfully inventive ways'.
Telegraph
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
100 years of Art Deco
'It's exactly 100 years this month since Art Deco entered the picture – and never left. In the Roaring 1920s, an era of gin, jazz and joie de vivre, 'les arts décoratifs' (the English term took a few decades to catch on) were the focus of a major exhibition in Paris. Leaving Victoriana and Edwardiana in its wake with its geometric patterns, bold colours and innovative materials, Art Deco would come to influence the design of everything from necklaces to skyscrapers. The Hoover Building in Perivale is an archetypal example of Art Deco architecture 'It was ground-breaking and shocking – a distinct rejection of the old-fashioned styles and establishment that had led Europe into a horrific war,' says the historian and author Melanie Backe-Hansen. 'It was part of an alluring world full of glamour, music, dancing and prestige. And it still holds that place as being 'modern' and distinct, while also reminiscent of a 'golden age'.' All over London, you can see monuments from this period of innovation: from the Isokon flats in Belsize Park, the Hoover Building in Ealing and Battersea Power Station to the city's most famous five-star hotels, including the Dorchester and Savoy, and Fleet Street's imposing paeans built in the heyday of newspapers. The decor of 45 Park Lane's lobby lounge is an homage to the energetic decadence of the Roaring 20s A century on, Art Deco continues to make a splash in London's prime property scene, with the transformation of two landmark buildings – 60 Curzon in Mayfair, and The Whiteley in Bayswater – combining modern luxury living with 1920s architectural pizzazz. The design hallmarks of this era are instantly familiar, including its curving facades and experimental use of chrome, marble and walnut. 'Art Deco captures the optimism and energy of a transformative era, blending artistic expression with functionality in a way that still feels modern,' comments Lee Polisano, founding partner and president of PLP Architecture, the architects behind 60 Curzon. Once a storied Mayfair nightlife institution, 60 Curzon Street's rebirth as super prime London real estate, plays up its Art Deco DNA The Mayfair site that previously housed the celebrity-studded Mirabelle restaurant has been 'romantically reimagined' as a boutique scheme of 32 residences with top-notch concierge services and wellness amenities. And underpinning the design, says Polisano, are the basic principles of Art Deco: 'A sleek, streamlined aesthetic reflecting a newfound fascination with innovation, globalism, and luxury,' he says, pointing out the intricately detailed Portland Stone facade handcrafted bronze balustrades and entranceways. The building also brings back a slice of upper-class living in its 'service spaces', Polisano explains, 'where back-of-house functions are kept entirely separate, without interfering with the choreography of the resident. This is lost in contemporary luxury buildings over the past century.' For Joyce Wang, who has designed an apartment priced £17.25m at The Whiteley, whose £1.2bn renovation is nearing completion, it's the 'enduring opulence' of the Art Deco era that has inspired her vision for this private residence with six-metre-high ceilings. 'The Whiteley's original style evokes a sense of classic luxury and elegance,' says Wang, who has also curated a selection of accessories that reflect the global outlook of the department store's founder William Whiteley, from antique Georgian chandeliers to modern mixed-media artworks. Some property hunters can't resist homes from this era, says Becky Fatemi, executive partner at UK Sotheby's International Realty. She mentions American buyers who are familiar with such landmarks from the era as New York's Chrysler Building or Miami's vibrant Art Deco district, and Middle Eastern buyers 'who are drawn to the grandeur and opulence inherent in the style'. The era's rich individuality also resonates with younger wealthy buyers, adds Claire Reynolds, managing partner at UK Sotheby's International Realty. 'In a period marked by rapidly changing trend cycles, the enduring sense of quality and longevity, paired with a design language that feels both modern and nostalgic, has allowed Art Deco to evolve without losing its essential character,' she says. Art Deco design complements settings from different eras too. Architect David Hartley from OWN London draws influence from Art Deco, 'which is both elegant and modern' – and cites Eltham Palace as 'a prime example of the style blending with a separate era of architecture – medieval in this case'. Its rotunda even served as inspiration for the billionaire John Caudwell, who has installed a replica in his revival of the iconic 1920s Le Provençal hotel on the French Riviera. Revamped in the 1930s, Eltham Palace and Gardens marries its medieval foundations with Art Deco signatures Accessories from the era can also add an eye-catching touch to a contrasting backdrop. Interior designer Portia Fox suggests adding a Lalique vase to a table setting, 'or an ornately decorative upholstery fabric or beautiful vintage lamps give a fresh take on Art Deco in a building from a different time'. Buildings from the Roaring 20s come with some practical plus points too, says Simon Barry from Harrods Estates. 'Many feature large windows that flood interiors with natural light – and Art Deco mansion blocks were the first in London to use steel and concrete construction, providing much better levels of sound insulation than their Victorian predecessors.' For those who don't want to go the full Deco, 'gestures and nods towards the simplicity and refinement of it' may provide a happy medium, suggests Guy Meacock from Prime Purchase buying agency. 'The subtle adoption of Art Deco is all the rage among design schemes. Crittall windows, for example, are everywhere.' They are indeed – and many owners are likely unaware of the origins of the trendy glazing adorning their kitchen extensions. It's a mark of quality, however, that a century on, Art Deco innovations look as good as ever. Art deco in the sun Love Art Deco? The apartments, penthouses and garden villas at Le Provençal enjoy a beachfront Cap d'Antibes location and an illustrious history. Once a glamorous hotel dating from the 1920s, where guests included Coco Chanel, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Charlie Chaplin, its reimagining into residences exudes the Jazz Age era. Its design is inspired by both Eltham Palace and Manik Bagh, the Bauhaus palace of the Holkar Maharaja of Indore State. Developed by Caudwell into 35 residences priced €4.5m to 15m, it's selling through Beauchamp Estates. The London Magazine celebrates prime property and luxury lifestyle in the world's greatest city. Sign up to the newsletter
