The English Home May 2022

Just as our homes have taken on a new significance over the last few years, so too have our gardens. With more of us making the most of our outdoor space for summer living, we consulted leading garden designers for this Gardens Special issue to find out where best to invest and where we can make clever savings when considering garden updates, from adding a new patio to planting (p114). We are also hugely inspired by the beautiful garden Sophie Conran has created at her Wiltshire home (p90), and plan to seek further inspiration now that historic and notable gardens are open to visitors again, including the selection of examples we map out and explore on p122. Blurring the boundaries between the glorious outdoors and our interiors feels right for our current…

SPOTLIGHT ON… Chic Britannia Legendary fashion designer Dame Zandra Rhodes is as famous for her colourful designs and exuberant patterns as she is for her fluorescent pink hair. Her new collaboration with silk weaving house Gainsborough – The Britannia Collection – is an alluring blend of refined grandeur and her bold, liberated, free-flowing style. A duo of new fabrics, Fabulous Frills and O-Gee Whizz, in four different colourways, have been woven using traditional practices on heritage looms at Gainsborough’s historic mill in Suffolk. Presenting hand-painted designs, Zandra worked with Gainsborough and delved into its archive to refine the final fabrics. She says: “I am honoured to collaborate with historic British mill Gainsborough and its talented team for this new collection. I look forward to seeing our designs in palaces and intimate abodes.” gainsborough.co.uk The…

London Craft Week, 9–15 May, will see over 300 events staged across the capital, showcasing work by more than 400 makers from 25 countries. londoncraftweek.com Visitors to The Petworth Park Antiques & Fine Art Fair in West Sussex, 13–15 May, will have free access to the 17th-century National Trust house, too. petworthparkfair.com Treasures from across Europe are on show at The British Museum for The World Of Stonehenge, a landmark exhibition on the site’s history and mystery. Until 17 July. britishmuseum.org…

CORNISH CONNECTION The Cornubia collection, named after the Latin for Cornwall is the second collaboration between Ben Pentreath and Morris & Co. Bringing a delicate awakening of a budding Cornish landscape while paying homage to the Arts and Crafts movement, the revived iconic patterns in bright hues, contrasted here (right) in three textures, add a wonderful originality to a room scheme. Woodland Weeds wallpaper, £119 a roll, Cornubia collection, Ben Pentreath x Morris & Co TRUE TO TRADITION Drawn from a traditional English design, the hand-formed bulbous glass held within a brass frame (above), finished in Antique Verdigris patina, is a staple of Jamb’s new collection. Other pieces include elegant chairs and tables perfect for instilling a classic and refined look, all taken from original designs and sensitively reproduced. Berrington Lamp, £3,800, Jamb FLASH…

Bring the glorious beauty of an English country garden into the home with joyous floral motifs depicting native favourites from wildflowers to the classic tea rose. The taste for English botanicals is evident in many new pieces for spring, with painterly techniques capturing the ethereal beauty of blossoming petals or graphical designs modernising trailing foliage for a crisp look. Of course, blowsy chintzes epitomise the classic English country garden look in full bloom with peonies and roses bursting across fabrics in cheerful, gay abandon. (See p72 for more inspiration on bringing the outdoors in.)…

Planting and landscaping create the framework, backdrop and ambience of a garden, but just like a room indoors, a few well-chosen decorative accessories can make all the difference and bring it to life. Consider it much like a room and include a clock, a statement seat, soft furnishings and heat and light sources for the evening. Whether adding comfort with rugs and cushions, a spot more colour with pretty tiles, or even a soothing water feature, these details will elevate an outdoor space into a welcoming place to spend a lazy afternoon. FEATURE KATY MCLEAN PHOTOGRAPH (REBECCA PITCHER) © HOLLY BOOTH PHOTOGRAPHY…