WHY TREES ALWAYS PLEASE
Wood is a natural and enduring way to bring the outdoors in, says Frances Childs
WE WArM to woodland, especially at this time of year, when its dappled light provides shady picnic spots. So it’s no surprise that trees and their leaves are such a rich source of inspiration for our homes.
Bringing the outside in is as popular as ever, and you can nod to the woods with beautiful hand- drawn oak tree wallpaper complete with tiny glittering acorns (£78 per 10.05m x 52cm roll,
abigailedwards.com) or a quirky tree trunk stool sourced from sustainable Chinese forests (Metasequoia Trunk, £125, outthereinteriors.com).
‘ Sustainably sourced natural materials in interiors have been popular for several years and the trend shows no sign of slowing,’ says Jenny Hurren, founder of online retailer out There Interiors.
You could decorate the dining room in delicate oak tree wallpaper, go wild with palm tree print curtains (Palmeral linen, £85 per metre, houseofhackney.com), or put up a tree-shaped bookcase (Louane Kids Small Tree Bookcase, £565, cuckooland.com). Some people go further, incorporating trees into the fabric of their homes. Pear Tree House in Dulwich, South London, is a case in point. This light and airy modern house in glass, wood, steel and concrete was designed around an old pear tree.
For Jake Edgley, founder of the London- based architects Edgley Design, it was a daunting project. The land, which had originally been used as a market garden for Victorian Londoners, was littered with bedsteads, trolleys and all manner of junk.
‘ There was so much rubbish. We’d been clearing the site for three months when we unearthed an old motorbike,’ recalls Mr Edgley. The pear tree is about a century old and still produces fruit.
For
several weeks every year we’re inundated with pears. We watch the seasons change with the tree. In the spring it’s covered in blossom and in the winter there’s a stark grace to it,’ says Mr Edgley’s wife, Katherine.
The tree is a source of inspiration inside the home, too. Concrete walls in the kitchen have a timber imprint, a reference to the orchard the Edgleys believe once stood here.
The central courtyard where the pear tree grows is overlooked by every room and surrounded on all sides by large glass panels. other designers are looking at ways to enjoy the natural world from indoors. Cornish designer Tom raffield handcrafts furniture from sustainably sourced timber in his woodland workshop.
raffield launched his Gwenver Garden room at this year’s Chelsea Flower Show (£59,750, tomraffield.
com). Its curved roof and huge windows are ideal for embracing the scenery.
For those of us on smaller budgets — or without gardens — buying a potted tree is a popular option.
‘ We’ve seen a marked increase in sales of indoor trees over the past couple of years. The Pachira (water chestnut), which grows to about 10ft with a spread of 4ft, and the kentia palm, which reaches around 8ft, are favourites.
Patrick Wall, of Wyevale Garden Centres, says: ‘They are good options for hallways and atriums as they thrive in indirect
sunlight and are easy to care for.’ (Pachiras and kentia palms from £30 each, wyevalegardencentres.co.uk).
Tony Hall, arboretum and gardens manager at Kew, recommends buying bay, pomegranate and olive trees for conservatories, while small magnolias and Japanese maples work well on patios.
If you have a little garden, but still hanker after the beauty of a tree, then dwarf conifers and miniature cherry trees make excellent choices, says Mr Wall.
For ideas on how to incorporate greenery indoors, look at @plantsindecor on Instagram, with its pictures of ferns and pine trees growing up through roofs.
‘ There’s something magical about having a tree in your home. It’s alive, it’s growing and it will last for a very long time.’
That’s true of the Edgleys’ pear tree. ‘It’s stood for more than 100 years and I like to think it will last 100 more,’ adds Mr Edgley.