25 Beautiful Homes October 2016

If you’re old enough to have owned a home 20 years or more ago, you’ll probably remember that whether it was period or not, there used to be a focus on replacing or even adding architectural details, from cornicing to dado and picture rails. The trend nowadays, however, is to create open-plan spaces – which often means sacrificing these period features. Although our house is over 200 years old we don’t have any detailing apart from some lovely panelled doors. I think our home was originally a working farmhouse so I presume that ‘fripperies’ such as cornices and picture rails were considered unnecessary. The original owners were probably right to keep the look simple. The oldest rooms don’t have high ceilings and lots of extras would make the rooms feel…

1 HEAVENLY SLEEP Rose double bed frame in Zinc crushed velvet, £925, Button & Sprung 2 TACTILE TOUCH Velvet cushion, £10, M&Co 3 DIVINE NATURE Raven lamp, £85, Abigail Ahern/Edition at Debenhams 4 DEEP BUTTONING Velvet Chesterfield bench, £640, The French Bedroom Company 5 POM-POM TRIM Belinda Silver Grey velvet throw, £75, Ragged Rose 6 AMAZING GRACE Blue Louis XVI-style dog bed, £409, Joanna Wood 7 PURPLE REIGN Velvet occasional armchair in Slate, £875, Out There Interiors 8 PERFECTLY REFINED Chesterfield sofa in Duck Egg, £400, Argos…

1 SHELF LIFE Antiqued green shelf unit with drawers, £74.95, Melody Maison 2 GET SET, GLOW Dillon table lamp in Sage Green with shade, £87, Dar Lighting 3 STYLISH TUB Tubby Torre custom-painted freestanding bath, from £2,289, The Albion Bath Company 4 TEXTURE TALKS Apple Green cobweave throw, £58, The British Blanket Company 5 GLASS ACT RHS flower-pot holder in Bottle Green, £37, Dartington Crystal 6 BOLD HUE Trento cube, £580, plus fabric, The Sofa & Chair Company 7 READER’S CORNER The Hunter armchair in Moon Earth Willow, £1,359, Sofa Workshop 8 DRINK UP Textured glasses, £16 for four, Next 9 NOD TO NOSTALGIA Retro electric oven, £89.99, Swan…

If you’re old enough to have owned a home 20 years or more ago, you’ll probably remember that whether it was period or not, there used to be a focus on replacing or even adding architectural details, from cornicing to dado and picture rails. The trend nowadays, however, is to create open-plan spaces – which often means sacrificing these period features. Although our house is over 200 years old we don’t have any detailing apart from some lovely panelled doors. I think our home was originally a working farmhouse so I presume that ‘fripperies’ such as cornices and picture rails were considered unnecessary. The original owners were probably right to keep the look simple. The oldest rooms don’t have high ceilings and lots of extras would make the rooms feel…

TILE WALLPAPER I would like to decorate one wall in my downstairs cloakroom with a wallpaper that looks like Moroccan tiles, but have so far been unsuccessful in finding one – can you help? TRACY MURRAY, DARLINGTON Some of the most convincing trompe l’oeil tile wallpapers I have seen are by Louise Body (07734 907357, louisebody.com), and a number of her designs reveal a Moroccan influence. Have a look at the Tile wallpaper in Old Blue, £22m (W70cm). Cole & Son (020 8442 8844, cole-and-son.com) has a pattern called Piccadilly, pictured, which comes in five colours, £90 per 10m roll. Lastly, Wallpaper Direct (01323 430886, wallpaperdirect.com) sells a realistically distressed-looking mosaic tile design called Turquoise Chess by Paper Moon, £147 per 9m roll. TV UNIT Could you give me some ideas for a TV…

INSPIRING HOME TRUTHS THE PROPERTY Semidetached house, built in 1950 LOCATION The Netherlands ROOMS Hall, sitting room/ kitchen-diner, studio, utility room, cloakroom, three bedrooms, family bathroom PURCHASED 2012 PREVIOUS PROPERTY ‘We moved to this house from an apartment in the nearby city of Arnhem,’ says Angela. Angela Derks and her partner Gerg Visser felt they had outgrown their city apartment and yearned for a different lifestyle in new suroundings. In search of a home with more space, they spotted a rundown 1950s house on the outskirts of Arnhem in The Netherlands, which was ideal. According to Gerg, who runs his own property developing business, the place ‘oozed potential’. Angela, however, had initial reservations. ‘I loved the quiet location and the large garden, but the house was dark, dated and needed serious replanning,’ she says. ‘Luckily, Gerg is very…