Home truths

Pinehurst II, Pinehurst Road, Farnborough Business Park, Farnborough, Hampshire GU14 7BF 0330 390 6591; www.countrylife.co.uk

AS we emerge from lockdown into dazzling spring sunshine, many lessons have been learnt over the past year, from the joys of home baking to the torture inflicted by feeble wifi. We’ve also discovered how the pressure of round-the-clock habitation has thrown domestic deficiencies into sharp focus. In particular, we’ve had plenty of time to ponder on poor space planning, substandard materials and shoddy workmanship. A useful criteria when assessing the contents of any room is William Morris’s advice that you should ‘have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be beautiful or believe to be useful’. It certainly sorts the wheat from the chaff.

Perhaps the greatest design lesson we have been taught is that there are few shortcuts when creating a pleasing domestic environment. Instead, pleasant surroundings are rooted in good decisions: carefully considered layouts, well-made furniture, flooring and fabrics, good-quality upholstery and the use of natural materials, such as wool, wood and stone, that have the capacity to last for decades, if not centuries. Many successful interiors are also the result of bespoke craftsmanship that creates furniture that is truly fit for purpose. Our historic houses are great examples of all these.

Last month, the Government’s announcement of regulations intended to combat in-built obsolescence in household appliances has helped raise consumer awareness of this issue. There’s no reason why everything we buy for our homes shouldn’t all be manufactured to last longer—and to be fixable if it breaks. A piece of furniture that has the capacity to serve several generations is a better investment than one that will be consigned to landfill in 10 years or so.

Pleasing interiors also do an enormous amount to enhance the quality of our lives. On page 98 is a feature on a much-loved home in Hampshire that has been restored, furnished and cherished over the past 35 years. Its interiors are an eloquent expression of how careful planning can transform even the most challenging spaces so that they are comfortable and function perfectly. Its story has been one of evolution, rather than revolution, with considered decisions made over a long period of time.

Most important, perhaps, is the fact that it is imbued with a pleasing timelessness achieved through a focus on substance, rather than style. After the past year, the benefits of furniture that is both beautiful and useful have never been more obvious.