Country Living UK Modern Rustic 18

I am often asked what exactly Modern Rustic is about and how we select the content, especially how we choose the houses and what our criteria is for selecting them. There are naturally certain parameters – the name Modern Rustic does indeed shape our initial selection (as the houses, artisan pieces and craftspeople need to have an element of both earthy and current) – but the brief can still be really broad. An old house filled with antique items, carefully curated, might have a twist of modernity simply by the way the owner has edited their belongings or kept the colour palette to a strict minimum to give it a fresh feel. It could be a complete mix of new architecture juxtaposed with old, or an interior that plays with the…

MEET THE MAKERS ABIGAIL SCHAMA The junction between art and function is always fascinating, and in Abigail Schama’s work it gets extra impact from her interest in the uncanny: in things that look fragile but are strong beneath the surface. “I like the idea of making you think, ‘Is that going to work the way other jugs work?’” she says. One is so big you wonder if it can hold its own weight. Another appears to have cracks all the way through it. “Yes,” Abigail says, “but it’s sealed, it will hold water. Every piece is watertight or food-safe. It’s just ‘different’.” Abigail initially trained as a painter and she earned a living from fine art for 20 years, but gradually realised that she wanted to make whole objects. She was already painting…

*CONTENTS INCLUDING WOODEN BROOCH BY NAOMI GREAVES ARE NOT INCLUDED…