THE A to Z of a STYLISH home
Planning to upgrade your interiors in the year ahead? Jessica Salter compiles our definitive directory of British makers, designers and sellers to inspire you
At this time of year, having spent the few weeks enjoying our beautifully decked halls – not to mention our festooned front rooms and prettified patios – our thoughts will naturally turn to how much more stylish and comfortable we could make our homes all year round, if only we paid more attention to interior decoration.
After 2020, especially, when most of us have spent much more time than usual at home, our surroundings deserve an upgrade.
So with a new year on the horizon, now is the ideal moment to consider a project or two.
With an increased focus on homegrown brands and local heroes, here is our A-to-Z directory for anyone planning an interiors project for next year. These are the ideas gurus, the niche brands, and the gifted makers we have found exciting this year. So may they – and their ideas for what will be the next big things – inspire you to transform your home. Once that tinsel is down…
A
ARTIST PLEDGE
Art has seen a huge rise in sales over the past year. The Artists’ Support Pledge – whereby artists sold works for less than £200 – started during the first lockdown, as a bid to support struggling creatives. “It has provided a lifeline when galleries were closed and opportunities for selling work were no longer available,” artist Daisy Cook says. “And at the same time you could support other artists in the same boat.” For us non-artists, it has meant being able to buy an affordable piece of work from a talented creator. Search Instagram for #artistssupportpledge.
B
BELOW STAIRS There’s a whiff of nostalgia surrounding household products like galvanised housekeeper’s buckets, wooden handled dustpan brushes and even carefully crafted toilet roll holders. In times of increased cleanliness, they take on a new value. The best independents selling old-fashioned wares are Labour and Wait (labourandwait.co.uk), Rowen & Wren ( rowenandwren.co.uk) and Caro Somerset (carosomerset.com). woven in Ghana, from £150,
hadeda.co.uk
CCHAIRS
If there’s one thing we’ve been doing more of this year, it’s sitting down, so a comfy, stylish chair – with plenty of cushions – is essential. Online brand Ceraudo, founded by two sisters Emily and Victoria, designs cocktail chairs, armchairs, footstools and ottomans ( amongs other pieces) in a vintage style, but with customisable details and changeable covers (ceraudo.com). Meanwhile Scout in Norfolk has a great selection of chairs, from 19thcentury Irish finds to rustic artists’ stools (scoutdecorativeantiques.com).
CERAMICS There’s something comforting about cosying up with a rustic, handmade piece of ceramic – particularly if you know that you’re supporting an independent seller. Kana London makes everything from bowls to plates and mugs, but also, during the first lockdown, launched a hugely successful Stay Home Clay Club, where she sent out clay and tools and filmed videos, inviting people to drop off their creations when restrictions eased to be fired and glazed at her studio (kanalondon.com). Other gorgeous makers are Pottery West, selling earthy-toned tea ware from Sheffield (potterywest.co. uk), Penkridge Ceramics, selling beautiful fruit ornaments from their studio in Walsall (penkridgeceramics.com), Carla Sealey who handmakes her minimal style ceramics in Bedfordshire and Popalini & Jezando, who create hand-thrown tea sets from their shed at Welcombe in north Devon (available from toa.st).
D
DARK NIGHTS
In the bleak midwinter, it’s time to draw the curtains or blinds. “I don’t think there’s anything cosier than drawing the curtains in the evening and hiding from the world,” says Gemma Drain, owner of East London Cloth, who makes curtains and blinds by hand to order (eastlondoncloth.co.uk). For a vintage look, designer Pearl Lowe sells off-the peg lace curtain panels (£150; pearllowe.co.uk); while Hunter & Hyland sells the best curtain hardware, particularity for tricky windows ( hunterandhyland.co.uk).
E
ECO FRIENDLY Covid might have increased our reliance on single-use plastics, but we can still wage war on the plastic inside the home with refillable cleaning products. Home Things launched this year: it sends you a tablet to put in your cleaning bottle, fill it with water and get scrubbing ( gethomethings.com). A Little Find offers refills for your floors, sprays and washing up liquids (alittlefind.com) and Bower Collective sells glass pumps and reusable pouches which you can order on subscriptions ( bowercollective.com).
G
GARDEN GEAR
Our love of gardening blossomed over lockdown, and while it might be a bit frosty out, there’s still work to be done. Kent & Stowe makes beautifully crafted tools using ash wood (kentandstowe.com), Primrose is an online garden retailer based in Reading, Goodhood is an independent homeware store that stocks garden pieces ( goodhoodstore.com) while Garden Trading and Cox & Cox, which are big online traders but both British companies, based in Oxfordshire and the Cotswolds respectively, have a range of accessories to make it pretty ( gardentrading.co.uk and coxandcox.co.uk). For children, a new start-up call Herboo delivers garden and nature box subscriptions (herboo.com).
H
LUSTWORTHY HARDWARE It’s not until you’re doing up your house that you become profoundly interested in hardware. Dyke & Dean, based in East Sussex, sells every style from beautifully kitsch Bakelite hooks to ceramic, brass and chrome (dykeanddean.com), while Armac Martin is a 90- year- old