Art & objects

Collections

It needn’t be expensive to be meaningful.

Art was Ingrid Geldof’s pick for enduring design. “Carefully selected, I still love it years later.”

Guy Tarrant also cites his personal collection. “A plaster cast of my daughter’s handprint when she was two; a bullet that my great-great-grandfather brought back from the Boer War; a Karl Maughan painting that I swapped for one of my own when we were at art school together; and art and architecture books that I have collected over the years. They’re all beautiful in their own right but treasured mostly because of what they mean to me.”

Says Amy Tennent: “My huge Moroccan rug [bought] from Bohzali, my leather chair that I had made, woollen blankets.”

Janice Kumar-Ward has a preference: “The artwork of Terry Stringer. Often interactive, emotive and made of beautiful metals, they’re a forever piece.”

Clare Grove calls herself a real magpie: “I have several small collections that I treasure. My vintage evening bag collection would top the list; they shimmer and sparkle on my bedroom wall. I think the most important details in a home are objects that provide a connection to family and friends. Photographs, my children’s artwork and items found on our travels are the things that make me happy.”

Lighting

Considered lighting is vital to the feel and functionality of a home.

Emma Gould’s favourite item in her home is a chandelier she bought from an antiques shop in

Wales: “It’s a large circular champagne glass and chrome art deco chandelier that came off the Normandie liner.”

Alexandra Weston uses lighting to create cosiness: “Use table or floor lamps and low pendant lights and switch off the downlights. Lamps give a more flattering light to the room and the people in it.”

Janice Kumar-Ward agrees: “Lamplight – it’s über flattering!”

Greenery

Plants are ideal for adding life to a room.

Says Amy Tennent: “Fresh bunches of blooms. You don’t have to spend a massive amount – a bunch of greenery looks just as fabulous, or pick a few stems of blossom and pop them in a vase.”

Alexandra Weston adds an extra level of interest. “Place a vase of flowers somewhere that needs it rather than expects it. Keep them off the centre of the dining table – place them on a wooden chair in the hallway or window sill instead.”

‘The most important details in a home are objects that provide a connection’

– Clare Grove, stylist