HOUSE STYLE
The enduring appeal of the country hotel
There was a time when country house hotels were a humbler proposition. Often family run, they provided their guests with simple pleasures: newspapers by the fire, good food, a comfortable bed in a grand setting… They were predictable, homely and definitely not setting the style zeitgeist as they do today.
Their shift to modernity didn’t happen overnight, but it gained momentum when the doors opened to Babington House about 20 years ago. A Georgian property near Frome in Somerset, Babington ushered in a sense of cool that until that point had been alien to country hotels. In came the leather club chairs, velvets and ikat prints – influencing the way so many of us decorate today – and exciting interiors became a prerequisite to success. ‘English country houses, even smart ones, were rarely buzzy or glamorous, and they’ve had to reinvent themselves,’ says Fiona Duncan, hotel expert for Telegraph Travel. As the market for weekend breaks expanded and the clientele became younger and more metropolitan, the experience had to change to match.
Fast-forward two decades and the scene is unrecognisable. Gone are the mahogany-panelled temples to chintz that once dominated, with a new breed of sleek lifestyle destinations taking their place. Openings over the past few years have moved the look on further – greens, teals and geometrics now abound. This in turn has influenced decorating as a whole, as hotel guests take the trends back home, along with a couple of mini toiletries.
So to see what the next big interiors looks are going to be, notes can be taken from any of the recent major openings, their bold style another turn of the country house revolution. At The Newt, a hotel and horticultural centre outside Bruton in Somerset, modern shapes contrast alluringly with period features. ‘I’ve always loved old houses, but prefer contemporary furniture – the tension between the old and new excites me,’ says Karen Roos, the hotel’s owner and designer. ‘My inspiration was the beautiful manor house and working outbuildings, such as the stables, coach house and laundry.’
The success of properties such as The Newt, which incorporates a working cider farm and historic gardens, is down to the value placed on integrity and heritage, even during a dramatic modernisation. And nowhere is this more apparent than with these buildings’ interiors.
‘I always wanted The Fife Arms to feel like inheriting a nutty great-aunt’s old house, and for walking every part of that building to be a hugely impactful experience,’ says designer Russell Sage, who was tasked with reinventing a Victorian coaching inn in the Cairngorms on behalf of the owners, contemporary art dealers Iwan and
“WE HAVE A MUCH MORE DESIGN SAVVY CUSTOMER NOW. DETAIL, PERSONALITY, EXPERIENCE – THEY ALL MATTER A MASSIVE AMOUNT”
RUSSELL SAGE, interior designer of The Fife Arms
Manuela Wirth. While The Fife Arms’ new decor, resplendent with tartan and stag-head taxidermy, respects its Scottish period history, a thread is woven towards its next chapter under the stewardship of gallerists. ‘Hauser & Wirth is the second biggest private contemporary art gallery in the world.
They have exquisite taste and look after hundreds of artists,’ Sage points out, explaining how this particular nutty great-aunt came to have a Picasso hanging above her sofa. ‘The most important thing is for an owner to show personality and what they love.’
The much admired drawing room at Hadspen House, the main building on The Newt’s estate, perfectly showcases Roos’ skill for blending the old with the innovative. Contemporary velvet tub chairs and modern taxidermy rendered in patchwork fabric sit alongside lofty portraits of former owners that came with the property. The scheme is tied together with a fresh celadon green, not an uncommon colour to see in the countryside, but used over all woodwork and panelling here to striking effect.
‘I invariably end up with a few green rooms,’ says Roos. ‘It helps to hold together old and new furniture, and perhaps links everything back
“COUNTRY HOUSE STYLE HAS ALWAYS APPEALED TO ME. IT COMBINES WARMTH AND GRANDEUR IN A UNIQUE, ALLURING WAY”
KAREN ROOS, owner and designer of The Newt
to nature.’ Reflecting the trend towards indooroutdoor living, the house’s courtyard has been covered over with glass, creating a solarium dining space peppered with potted trees and plants, which practically named itself The Botanical Rooms.
Roos notes that country house style has become less grand, eschewing gilt inlay heirlooms in favour of a look more closely linked to rooms traditionally hidden from view. ‘I like the interiors of films such as Gosford Park and The Portrait of a Lady, but
I tend to prefer the downstairs, where the spaces are functional, timeless and unfussy.’
Detail and consideration have become king. Sage notes that although he is often asked where he sources furniture, by people keen to uncover hidden gems and rare treasures, what’s more important is how what’s found is used. ‘The level of detail that we put into interiors now is pretty breathtaking, and I can’t imagine doing it another way,’ he says. Whether it’s commissioning bespoke silks from heritage brands such as Gainsborough, borrowing artwork from the collections of public museums or tracking down local makers who created past pieces, it’s about thoughtfulness, research and relationships – an approach that is mirrored in how we now decorate our own homes.
The march continues towards country hotels being bigger, better and doing ever more. The Newt recently opened The Viper, a treetop walkway that takes guests through the canopy and down to a subterranean virtual-reality gardening museum. But what waits at the end of the next 20 years? Babington House, where it all began, reopens with a refurb next month, and will doubtless be moving the style barometer yet again. But ultimately this is a look about comfort and joy – neither of which ever stops being a trend.