HOUSE NOTES #15
Join me at two upcoming events, book a place on a design retreat. discover new launches and find out where I always start my gift shopping. Plus, my monthly interior design tip.
HOUSEKEEPING
Following the last of the season’s interior design retreats in Italy (more on that below) I headed to Mallorca for a couple of days, for a site visit to a hotel I am working on with a client I met at the very first retreat I co-hosted, in Marrakech, in 2020 (just a couple of weeks before All That started).
She bought the building, Casa Roca (named for the owners), in 2016. At the time there were a series of empty rooms on the top floors and a beautiful old stationery shop on the ground floor. It took several years to even get planning permission.
I first went to see it in 2022, when the architects had drawn up plans to create three one-bedroom apartments on the first and second floors, with a three-bedroom penthouse on the top.
The shop, which was full of stunning original fittings, was to become a shop, café, wine-tasting space and hotel reception, while the basement – accessed via an incredible double marble staircase – was for a kitchen for cooking demonstrations, dining room and a bar.
My job was what they call “look and feel”. I was to come up with a colour palette for each apartment, to create the look of the bar, and work out the best way of enhancing the original shop features while still creating a welcoming reception area and café bar that locals, as well as guests, would want to visit.
Three years on and we are nearing the final stages, so I thought you might want to see a few pictures. It will give you an idea but there is still plastic on the lampshades and mattresses and no pictures or rugs yet.
I can’t wait for it to open next February – and I will let you know as soon as bookings open, because I think you will want to go there.
Next up, two events that you might want to join me for:
On 4 November I will be hosting a panel discussion on The Art of Layering at Cloth Shop, with Louise Roe, fashion influencer and founder of Sharland England, Isabella Worsley and Alice Crawley. It’s free to attend – but spaces are limited so if you fancy coming along for a glass of something sparkling and some expert design chat then fill in this form and I’ll see you there.
On 14 November I am hosting a day-long masterclass “Decorating with Purpose, how to find your interior design style”, at Henry’s Townhouse in Upper Berkeley Street, London. Owing to a cancellation, we have one place left for that day but we will be doing it again on Friday 26 February – so if you fancy coming along to that, then email henrys@thecollinscollection.co.uk / or ring +44 1451 850 577. The price for the day is £495 but if you want to make a night of it there are six beautiful hotel rooms to stay in. You can see the itinerary here (scroll down)
Finally on events, the dates for next year’s interior design retreats are now up. We will be hosting three weekends in September and October. The first will be a three-day, four-night retreat on finding your style, with the focus on designing with purpose, understanding colour and how to style. There will be two guest speakers joining me.
The second, also a long weekend, will be run again with Catherine Finkernagel of Spaces Refined, an award-winning architect who will take you through the seven stages of a renovation project, with special focus on kitchens and bathrooms. I will lead a session on how to create a home that tells your story, with focus on colour, layout and styling.
The final weekend - three nights and two full days – is an introduction to interior design, which will include three workshops, one with a guest speaker.
All three retreats will involve trips to the local vintage markets and a freeform session with fabric and paint swatches where you can create your own room scheme with help from me and our experts.
All the details, including costs and outline itineraries, are here and places are strictly limited to 15 per weekend so we can create a cosy feel with enough time for everyone to focus on their own project. KWSDESIGNRETREATS.COM
To see what people said about this year, you can read this post – and if you do want to join me, either reply to the comments or email: kate@madaboutthehouse.com
“This weekend was completely restorative; not just in terms of reconnecting with my passion, but also the opportunity to connect with a group of hugely engaging and interesting women – I felt like I left with my own personal hype squad.”
SHOPPING and NEW LAUNCHES
Regular readers will know I have long been a fan of a museum shop for gift hunting – tea towels and silk scarves for framing, as well as postcards or prints by artists you couldn’t otherwise afford. These days the galleries have cottoned on to the idea of commissioning exclusive pieces as well, so you really can find something a little different. With this in mind I was thrilled when the National Portrait Gallery invited me for a cup of tea and a browse the other day.
In addition to the beautiful books and prints (they currently have an exhibition of Cecil Beaton (I’m also reading Glossy, a history of Vogue, where he worked for around 30 years), there are some lovely presents just waiting to be picked up, including an exclusive mug design, a scarf that has been created to reflect the colours in many of the exhibitions currently on display, small-order socks and jewellery, and a rather fabulous set of napkins that are large enough to be made into cushions if you are a little bit handy in that direction. Now, obviously it’s great to go if you can, but nearly everything is online, so have a gander. And don’t forget the joy of a framed tea towel which may be the only way to get a Tracey Emin onto your walls.
Another great present idea is this set of plates, illustrated by Fee Greening for the Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel in London. Each one celebrates a pioneering woman of the 1900s: Sarah Parker Remond, Christina Rossetti, and Princess Sophia Duleep Singh. The set, which costs £130, was inspired by the Bloomsbury Group’s Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant’s 1932 collection of hand-painted, fine bone china plates “The Famous Women’s Dinner Service”.
£20 from the sale of each set of plates will be donated to Coram, which supports children’s rights and wellbeing through legal support, advocacy, adoption, and educational and cultural programmes. You can see more here and email to purchase.
New on My ShopMy
I’ve added a few things this month from small (stripy candles) to large (a two-seater sofa), so go and have a browse of the edit. If you’re new to ShopMy, the idea is I trawl through the stores and sites and curate a selection of things that I like and think you might, too. If you buy them via my shop then I earn a small commission from that purchase. The price for you doesn’t change but, in theory, if I have done my editing right, you will see things you like and not have to trawl through endless pages of things you don’t.
Have a look at my latest finds here – and not to get ahead of myself, but I’ve started stocking a new shelf called Gifting.
NEW LAUNCH
Regular readers will know I’m a huge fan of Seletti, and I was thrilled to interview Stefano Seletti – who runs the family-owned design business – earlier this year. (Subscribers can find the piece behind the paywall.) I have one of their circus lamps in my dining room – and one of our recent retreat guests liked it so much she skipped out of the vintage market to track one down in Turin and take it back to the US.
Seletti has always made great lights and great porcelain too. The company is known for its witty designs and has now expanded its Super Furniture range – billed as “a tribute to the radical Italian design of the 60s and 70s”.
The collection is available online at uk.seletti.it and at selected retailers, with prices starting from £225. It includes armchairs, stools, mirrors, shelves, bistro-style high tables, and a square table, all made from premium MDF, wood, and laminate. It’s pretty cool, see what you think. I really fancy this as a contrast to all the vintage and antique frescos in the house in Italy. I’m not sure The Mad Husband will be as convinced though.
DESIGN TIP
Gloss paint. That’s it! That’s the tip! As I mentioned yesterday in my Design Decoded post on Lily Allen, I had already written this when I saw her house was listed.
To expand; firstly you can now get water-based gloss everywhere, so it’s not the slow-drying, strong-smelling oil-based formula of yesteryear. Now, to save your scrolling, here’s the image from Casa Roca again. It’s two units from La Redoute put together with new handles added – and all sprayed in high-gloss paint.
I had to work quite hard to convince the owner to trust me on this, and when we had chosen the colour she still insisted on having samples made in matt and gloss. She also put off the final spray for several weeks in case I wanted to rethink. I held fast. I’m glad I did. It looks great.
Gloss is also great in small rooms - think downstairs loos, where it will bounce the light around and also give a sumptuous finish that can look like lacquer (see my old bathroom above). If you have a smooth ceiling it looks fantastic - less good on a bumpy one.
I also used it on the panelling in my tiny office in the last house. So give it a try - it’s a great way to add interest to a small room.
AND FINALLY…
My regular Drop-in Design Clinic, where paid subscribers can bring me their decorating dilemmas, will be on Friday at 2pm. The link is at the end of this post.
If you want to come along then you can upgrade your subscription here and that will also get you below the paywall on this for a glimpse of what I have been cooking, wearing, buying and watching.