Period Living April 2022

Spring is finally here, bringing so much joy and optimism with brighter days, budding flowers and the dawn chorus. If you find the reawakening of nature has inspired a renewed sense of vigour for improving your home and garden, then this issue is packed with ideas for bringing your dream to life. One feature I particularly want to highlight this month is Creative Imprint (page 33), an exploration of the ancient craft of hand block printing, which is experiencing a renaissance thanks to a new generation of design talent. It’s an incredibly intricate process, and it can take days to produce a small amount of fabric or wallpaper, using as many as 200 printing blocks. It’s no wonder that many of the designs come with a high price tag, due…

VINTAGE REVIVAL It’s often the details in magazine features that can spark imagination, provide motivation and offer the confidence to continue with building a home. In my case, page 67 of the February issue rekindled a memory. Sharon and Gavin Hunt made kitchen drawers by reclaiming vintage crates. Forty years ago, I used these ‘potato boxes’ – they weren’t vintage then – to store fruit and vegetables when we moved into our farmhouse. It was derelict, our finances were minimal and we had no other place to store our vegetables. Now, as we move into our retirement home, I will be sure to find a place for a ‘vintage’ crate. Gil Lester HANDY COMPANION This week has been a slow one for us in terms of renovating as the cold…

SEASONAL CHEER Spring is a time of transition – the weather warms up, the days are longer and brighter, and we can always rely on cheery yellow daffodils to help lift our spirits. This Easter, make the most of any rays of sunshine and create a no-fuss spring tablescape in the garden for brunch or afternoon tea. Layer up linens and scatter jugs and cups filled with seasonal blooms. Emma Bridgewater’s jolly new Little Daffodils collection is the perfect celebration of spring and will chase away any winter blues. It includes plates, mugs, bowls, vases, jam jars, and even a hen on a nest. Team the designs with Emma’s Bumblebee collection for the perfect pairing. MADE TO LAST Passionate about zero-waste living, sisters Olivia and Marnie Walker have launched a…

Getting the balance right when mixing patterns and prints is vital to a room’s success. As you may have seen from my Instagram (@pearllowe) I use lots of patterns and textures in the rooms I decorate. However, I do find that many of my clients struggle to mix patterns, so I have pulled together some tips and ideas based on my approach to decorating my own home in Somerset. Firstly, take inspiration from the world around you. I love drawing inspiration from hotel rooms that I stay in and the restaurant bathrooms that I visit. I always take lots of photos for reference and then search the web for fabrics, wallpapers and tiles to recreate the bits that I like. I’m a big believer in walking into a room and…

Ask Sarah Druce what inspired her most when she was redesigning her converted stables home and she’ll tell you it was the time she spent away from it. ‘I’ve travelled to some beautiful places all over the world and I always research where I stay. My surroundings are very important to me, whether at home or away,’ she says. ‘I’m always inspired by the different styles of houses and furnishings you find abroad. I’ve been on yoga retreats in Majorca, in amazing settings, and beach homes in South Africa, where I was born, but it’s more about the feeling I get from these special places than the specific designs.’ The renovation project gave Sarah the opportunity to bring her favourite global looks to this unique home in the Surrey Hills.…

Rhythm, repetition, pressure and precision are fundamentals in the creation of almost all printed fabrics and wallpapers. But pace of production can vary widely. High-tech, mechanised methods have dramatically enhanced speed and efficiency, and significantly reduced cost, yet the complex and age-old tradition of printing by hand continues to be championed by a number of heritage brands and there is a modest renaissance underway with a gentle swell in numbers of studio printers. As well as a desire to cherish the endangered art form, this is fuelled by a renewed appreciation for the merits of slow design and the joy that the imprint of the artisan can give to every home. The simplest hand-blocked designs feature a single motif to create charming mono-colour prints, but designs can hugely increase in…