Living Etc November 2020

This issue includes Livingetc’s first-ever art special. Month on month, we feature striking, art-filled interiors so it felt right to shine a light on this undoubtedly tricky subject. Discover our edit of names to collect, unearth designers’ sources and read about the key movements in the industry today. I’d like to pause here to mention our partnership with Runway Gallery. This fashion-focused online gallery is a trove of unusual prints and originals. With this special in mind, it felt appropriate to choose a cover house where art plays an important role. This New York home sees sculptural furniture combine with decorative objects and unusual wall pieces. The interior is by the acclaimed designer/architect Giancarlo Val le, and he is in good company this month alongside rooms by Rose Uniacke, Greg Natale…

1 FERMENTED COCKTAILS This year’s unlikely tipple trend? Beneficial bacteria, coming to you via the fermented flavours of kimchi, koji and kefir. Try Hawksmoor’s Real Kombucha Royal Flush, a Miso Mule or blend spirits with Jin Jin’s probiotic-packed cordials (pictured). We say cheers to gut health! 2 HOLIDAYS FROM HOME Here to out-acronym WFH, Holidaying from Home (HFH) is the riskfree answer to winter travel. Unpack a ‘Vacation in a Box’ from Ikea to experience a Parisian-feel bistro dinner or Tokyo tea ceremony, or fire up YouTube for a romantic train ride through the Norwegian mountains. 3 SIDE DETAILS There are two sides to every sofa and this autumn it’s this design element catching the eye. We’ve spotted stitched art deco-feel lines on Hamilton Conte’s Belgravia sofa (pictured), cane panels from new-season Heal’s and zigzag…

THE HIGH-STREET HERO clean lines You needn’t try to reinvent the wheel when it comes to tackling a design classic like the four-poster bed. Designer Tim Rundle’s take for Heal’s is all about more subtle tweaks, including a seamless walnut silhouette that has no visible joints. Sometimes simple really is best. Marlow king-size bed, £2,499 (heals.com) INTERNATIONAL DESI GN mixed metals Cattelan Italia’s Amerigo coffee tables come in nine variable height and width combinations to make mixing and matching a breeze. What’s more, a titanium embossed metal base and a brushed brass lacquered steel top add a little understated bling. From £708 each (chaplins.co.uk) THE QUICK CLICK boil it down Hay’s first foray into home appliances is every bit as nonconformist as you’d expect, with its Sowden kettle and toaster proving that it takes just a bold colour…

It’s hard to believe that just a few short months ago interior designers Alexandria Dauley and Sophie Ashby had never met. Yet within days of first making contact on Instagram they were setting the wheels in motion for a game-changing collaboration aimed at creating a significant shift in the industry in which they have built their successful careers. Launched in July, United in Design is a charity initiative targeted at increasing the number of people from Black, Asian, ethnic minority and low socio-economic communities in the notoriously white and middle-class world of interiors. Alexandria and Sophie, along with an impressive team of design’s leading names, including Martin Brudnizki, Joyce Wang, Fameed Khalique and Natalia Miyar, have set up a framework that encourages any company or individual working in the field to…

1 first things first Know your brief. Reflect on your existing home; what you like best and why; what works well and are there any frustrations? What are your morning and evening routines? Think about how you want to use your home and how you want it to feel. It’s just as important to know what clients don’t like as much as what they do. Suzy Hoodless, founder and creative director, Suzy Hoodless 2 know your priorities We can help clients to maximise their budget by agreeing priority areas during the first phase of the design process, creating a hierarchy throughout the house. Additionally, having an understanding of which rooms we will focus on and when means that the clients will have plenty of time to bring their own ideas and suggestions to the…