House and Garden January 2016

DAVID OLIVER Photographer David Oliver has tried his hand at several creative careers. He was a photographer’s assistant at the age of 19 in New York, then few across the world to study sculpture, printmaking and drawing in Sydney, before settling in London and founding the Paper & Paint Library in 1996. He has been its creative director ever since. Now also working as a photographer, he was assigned the task of capturing an open-sided, bamboo-clad house in Mustique. Designed by Veere Grenney and his team, the house is decorated in 50 shades of beige, with bamboo bones that don’t distract from the turquoise waters and emerald landscape outside. See the results from page 84. What is a favourite hobby of yours? ‘I’m never happier than when travelling to a new destination. Nomadic…

We can deliberate over choosing fabrics for days, weeks, even months, but when it comes to curtains and blinds, the details of how they are made up can easily be overlooked. I have to admit that my knowledge of curtain terminology is scant, but I do know that even if you opt for simple-seeming curtains hanging on a pole or track, it is worth giving proper thought to the headings and fixtures, as they dictate the finished effect far more than you might think. In response to my decorating inadequacies, between pages 49 and 55, Gabby Deeming has collated a host of good advice and examples of curtains – from the pretty softness of antique linen with an unusual shirred pencil-pleat heading to the slickness of those hung on a…

VIOLA LANARI looks into wall mirrors, from decorative styles to the sleek and streamlined *MURALS, FROM FIRST PAGE: THOMAS HOPE BY SIR WILLIAM BEECHEY; GEORGE GORDON BYRON, 6TH BARON BYRON BY THOMAS PHILLIPS; EMMA, LADY HAMILTON, BY GEORGE ROMNEY; ALL FROM £610 FOR A 200 X 300CM UNSTRETCHED CANVAS, FROM SURFACE VIEW…

March 18, 1949 to September 17, 2015 Just before the start of the London Design Festival in September, sad news arrived that the interior designer Melissa Wyndham had died at the age of 66. The talented designer had decorating in her blood: her great aunt was Nancy Lancaster and her sister Jane Churchill. Melissa’s major projects included Petworth House in Sussex, the Pugin interior of Lismore Castle in Ireland and Mottisfont Abbey in Hampshire, and she’s also designed fabrics, rugs and furniture. As former House & Garden editor Susan Crewe, who had known Melissa since they were both in their teens, recalls, ‘She had a marvellous and original sense of colour, and her clients loved her because she was a wonderful combination of being professional and enormously good fun.’ Melissa was…

IN THE DETAILS Embroidered linen napkin with bunny motif, by Coral & Tusk, £19.95, order by December 22, from Liberty. liberty.co.uk THREE OF THE BEST NAPKINS christmas angles Geometric-design paper napkins, £3.50 for 20, order by December 18, from Talking Tables. talkingtables.co.uk TREE’S COMPANY Screen-printed linen/cotton napkins, €21 for 2, order by December 14, from Fine Little Day. finelittleday.com This year, forget the frenetic whizz around the shops to buy those all-important final decorations and presents – you can do it all with the click of a button instead. Wrapping paper, ‘Brussels Sprout’, £9.95 for 5 sheets, order by December 21, from Nancy & Betty Studio (nancyandbetty.com). Handpainted ceramic baubles, by Molly Hatch and Starla Halfmann, £12 each, order by December 21, from Anthropologie (anthropologie.com). Stockings, from left: Paisley, £26, order by December 19, from Toast…