House Notes #7
This month we learn about the Interior Life of one of my favourite designers, discover the first carbon-negative fashion brand, and meander around a beautiful, and free, conservatory in London.
HOUSEKEEPING: My month this month
Hello everyone one and I hope you are well. I’m so glad to welcome you all to Mad About The House. There are more than 17,000 of you now, which is so wonderful and I’m very happy to have you here.
My personal 2025 got off to a good start when I saw this newsletter named in Architectural Digest as one of the 15 Best Design and Fashion Substacks worth subscribing to. Clearly if you're reading this you already have (do congratulate yourself on your taste and discernment), but please feel free to share such taste and discernment with anyone you think might also like to join us.
The article read:
“Mad About The House is a valuable interior design resource [which] delves into how the spaces we inhabit reflect our identities and support our well-being, with a keen focus on the details — whether it's colour, furniture, or the often-overlooked benefits of functional design. If you're looking for practical guidance that feels equal parts thoughtful and stylish, you will find it here.”
In other press news, I have written a feature for The Times on why I will never be a slow renovator, and how even if you prefer to take your time, you can speed up the boring bits by really considering what you need and planning in advance. This is not so much about choosing colours as studying your floor plan and layout and thinking about the way you live – and that piece, like the AD piece, sort of sums of this newsletter really. It also includes lots of befores and afters of this house, which I might revisit in more detail if you would like.
In this month’s column for Red Magazine I wrote about New Year resolutions and how we need to reset our ideas from negative to positive. So rather than “I will lose weight, drink less and reduce my screen time”, we should reframe it:
Even the words are designed to set us up to fail, as they emphasise the negative. When it comes to personal resolutions, let’s change the language, so it feels like something worth striving for, rather than a penance to be endured."
This year, if you feel in need of a reset (let’s avoid the word detox), how about saying: I resolve to be able to touch my toes in a few weeks, to conquer standing up from sitting cross-legged on the floor, to spend time reading and to drink more water so I will sleep better?
In other Housekeeping news, for new subscribers – and old if you’re still thinking about it – if you would like to join me at the house in Italy this year for an interior design retreat filled with workshops, great food, vintage markets and just hanging out with like minded-people over a Campari, then there are some places available. You can read all about it here (along with some rave reviews!) and do comment or email me for details if you would like to come.
Other than that it’s all been a bit January. My excuse for failing to exercise is that I’m wintering. My husband does not entirely agree with my terminology here. But he also knows that I suffer terribly from FOMO, and if he exercises I will feel compelled to do it too, so as not to feel left out. The roles will reverse in the summer when he’s too hot and I’m raring to go.
I’ll leave you with one for the water cooler: I discovered in my Italian lesson the other day that the word mortgage literally means “death pact”. I am, in parts, fascinated and horrified by this.
MY INTERIOR LIFE: Tiffany Duggan
I have loved Tiffany’s work for many years and indeed one of her designs was the basis for my own kitchen in London. She began in set design and interior styling for Elle Decoration and Livingetc and set up her practice in 2011. In 2019 she founded Trove by Studio Duggan, a collection of headboards, beds, seating, lighting and accessories.
Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Tiffany - an Interior Designer and the owner of design firm Studio Duggan, as well as our little furniture shop TROVE in Notting Hill. I live in the heart of the Wiltshire countryside in a very old converted mill (a work in progress!), with my husband James, our three children and Stella the dog. We moved out from West London a few years ago – a little late to the Covid exodus party... and haven’t looked back. Luckily, I’m often in London at the shop or visiting our projects so I reckon I’ve greedily got the best of both worlds now.
What’s your trade secret?
Something old in every space – the odd antique or a little vintage brings so much soul to an interior. We vary the items we source depending on the project, but whether it is a Murano wall light, an antique brass umbrella stand, or a re-covered country house sofa, you’ll always spot at least one old piece in all of our projects… and often many more.
What would you rush to save from your burning house?
Just the family – everything else is replaceable and I’m all for a circular economy. I might grab my stack of fabric off-cuts on the way out though…I have some cushion plans in mind for these…
What’s your (current) favourite Instagram account?
Gosh, just one? That is really hard. I love everything @tamsinjohnson does – the queen of the mix in such a cool, laid-back way. ut there are so many - @thelondonlist @beau_traps @dessellepartners @matildagoad @nathaliefarmanfarma @pierceandward @martadelarica – endless inspiration if you can bear to scroll past the ‘suggested posts’.
If I gave you £150, what would you buy?
A vintage oyster plate – I can’t get enough and have a little collection growing. One day I’ll have enough to fill a wall…
What’s your favourite style of furniture/decor?
Just so, so many, I find so many styles and eras inspirational. For me it’s all about the edit, and rooms that are very singular in their look or furniture choices aren’t really my thing. I love a low-slung Vladamir Kagan-style sofa or a lacquered Willy Rizzo coffee table to add a little kick to a space, but the magic happens when you set this against a ruffled country house skirt or a little moody chintz. I love to use natural materials such as wood, reeding, rattan, bamboo or linen to relax a scheme and bring it down to earth a little. I like rooms that can’t be pinned down to a specific era and when decorating like this it’s so much easier to allow rooms to evolve – it’s timeless.
What is/are your most visited interiors websites/stores?
Definitely Vinterior, 1st Dibs, Lorfords, Dean Antiques et al for antiques. The Diarist has some great vintage bits too. Wondering People is great for art sourcing. Pierre Frey, Zak and Fox, The Cloth Shop and Antoinette Poisson for fabrics. I’m also loving Lemon Furniture at the moment, who are a recent discovery. Abask have some wonderful handcrafted accessories, etc.
What’s the best thing you ever bought?
I bought a pair of huge Tole brass torchiere palm tree floor lamps a few years ago – they were pretty epic. They were not cheap but they sold super quickly in the shop. I half hoped they wouldn’t, so I could ‘take care’ of them at home.
What’s your cocktail of choice?
Spicy Marg, all day long please.
What’s the soundtrack to your favourite room?
Roxy Music – such a vibe.
Confess – what’s your screen-time total (so far) this week?
Five hours on average a day. Somewhat concerning considering the amount of time spent additionally on my computer. Something to work on perhaps.
What do you wish you had designed, or could own?
I adore everything by Gabriella Crespi – I desperately covet an original Fungo lamp.
What’s one thing you do for your mental well-being?
I’m very big on baths. If I’ve had a long stressful day, I run a hot bath, pour in copious amounts of oils and potions, lights some incense and candles, dim the lights and turn off my phone. It’s one of my favourite things to do and I always sleep so much better afterwards.
What’s the ugly thing in your house that you can’t bring yourself to throw away?
I have some very questionable ceramics which were made by my children – they have formed a somewhat unusual collection on my desk.
Plan B. If this wasn’t your job, what would you be doing?
I started my career painting sets in theatre and I think set decorating or art direction would definitely have been Plan B. Not a million miles away from what I do now, I suppose! I do sometimes imagine retirement spent painting in my summerhouse. Perhaps I’ll have a second wind as an artist one day…
DESIGN DISCOVERY
Not so much a discovery but a piece of news: the Nytillverkad collection from Ikea is a selection of pieces from the last 80 years of design that have been re-imagined and re-issued in different colours. Slightly vexingly, they’ve changed the names as well, so if you remember Puck from 1969 it’s now called Sotenäs, while the 1969 Mila “anti-stress” chair is now Dyvlinge for reasons known only to them. But just look at that lush green corduroy. It does also come in black, but somehow that’s less exciting.
If you fancy a pop of the unexpected red, try the 1978 painted pine mirror Turbokastanj (at this point I think they’re just laughing at us). There are 36 pieces in the range, but another good classic is the Orresalt, formerly known as Buster from 1959.
The Klippan from 1980 will be familiar to many of you. I’m not so convinced by the primary red, yellow and blue colour schemes, which feel a little kindergarden to me, but maybe I’m being boring.
AND ANOTHER… SHEEP INC
I was told about this company by a friend and was immediately intrigued. Every piece you buy from them is fully traceable, right from the sheep which provides the wool to the moment it arrives on your doorstep in its fully sustainable packaging. This is via Connected Dot, an NFC tag integrated into the hem. The technology offers full transparency, allowing the wearer to unravel the tale of their garment's creation with a tap of a phone. Sheep Inc is also the first truly carbon-negative fashion brand.
The current collection, for both men and women, comprises scarves, hats, hoodies and sweaters – and a little bird (sheep?) tells me there are plans for expansion, so keep an eye out. There’s also, at the time of writing, a sale on.
Now usually the rest of this post - what I wore, ate and watched etc is for paid subscribers only. This month, in celebration of the piece in AD, I have removed the paywall for a taster of the lifestyle content you can expect alongside all the interior design posts. Paid subs can also access the full archive of some 200 pieces. To upgrade click the link
WHERE I WENT
This year we have resolved to do more in the city we live in. On 2 January we scooped up two cheap theatre tickets to almost the last night of The Lehman Trilogy. It was superb but has now ended, so I won’t go on other than to say if it comes back, or lands where you are, you must go.
I also discovered over Christmas the existence of the Barbican Conservatory in London. It’s free to visit (tickets are released monthly) and it’s a gorgeous tropical oasis set within the Brutalist concrete of this famous residential and cultural complex.
Before our 3pm time slot, we had lunch at the Barbican Kitchen, a canteen-like space where you order at the till and collect (a generous portion) from the counter. It was packed and lively and the food - I had a kedgeree - tasted really homemade. I will definitely go back.
So what’s next. We’re definitely going to at least one exhibition but haven’t decided which yet. It’s a toss up between The 80s: Photographing Britain at Tate Modern (until 5 May) or The Face Magazine: Culture Shift at the National Portrait Gallery (13 February to 1 June). We might even throw caution to the wind and do both!
WHAT I’M READING…
The Wedding People by Alison Espach – funny and sad and full of good one liners. Phoebe books the best room at the Cornwall Hotel planning to commit suicide but she reckons without Lila, the bride, who is not about to have her big day ruined.
The Proof of my Innocence by Jonathan Coe – I’ve loved all his books and this is no exception, although if you’re new to him I wouldn’t start with this as it wasn’t my favourite. I’d probably start with The Rotters Club and move on to Middle England (the follow up). I also loved Bournville.
The Precipice by Robert Harris – I’ve read all of his books, including the brilliant Conclave - do see it at the cinema if you can. At the time of writing I’m only a few pages in, so I’ll report back.
WHAT I’M WATCHING/LISTENING TO…
The Mirror and The Light an absolute tour de force from both Mark Rylance and Damien Lewis. I’m fascinated by this period of history and not only do I now want to watch the whole trilogy again, I’m thinking of buying a book on Cromwell.
Fans of Rylance should also watch Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks.
Traitors – At the time of writing it’s still ongoing, so no spoilers here other than to say it’s somehow compelling and awful at the same time.
Joy – the film about the development of IVF with Bill Nighy, James Norton and Thomasin McKenzie as Jean Purdy – who, incidentally, did not get her name on the plaque commemorating the breakthrough she helped happen until 2015. I can’t even compute this for an event that took place in 1978 – which is not technically speaking, the Dark Ages, despite what my children say.
The Agency is the glossy remake of a stunning French spy series called Le Bureau. I’m never sure about American remakes, but so far this one is shaping up well and there are lots of moody Barbican shots as well, which fits the January mood (and the fact that we just visited).
WHAT I’M WEARING…
Uniqlo Souffle cardigans in cream and olive. My son’s girlfriend turned up in a charcoal one and told me they were on sale. I had previously enabled her new APC sale bag so we are clearly very bad for each other. Anyway these are currently half price (which I immediately negated by buying two) and super cosy.
WHAT I’M EATING…
Frozen parathas with various fillings and Julius Roberts’ “The Sauce”
I’m not sure where we got this from. I think son no1 picked up the idea from the brilliant cookery writer and author Ed Smith and Son no2 said he’d been cooking them for ages. Anyway, frozen parathas from the local shop. Dry fry and fill with whatever you want. We started with eggs and have graduated to fried cabbage (it’s January in England) with a few potatoes and some curry powder.
Slather it, and almost anything else you fancy in Julius Roberts’ “The Sauce” which we spent an afternoon making in December, and you’re good to go.
IN MY BASKET
A roll of insulation foam - I know - how sexy is that? Following a leak on the flat roof of the pantry which manifested in a puddle forming on the worktop every time it rained, the builders came (a week ahead of schedule, praise be) and sorted it all out. Having proper insulation under the new roof made such a difference to the whole house that we immediately resolved to plug all the draughty gaps elsewhere.
So far we’ve done the easy bit - along the top of the pantry cupboards – and are putting off going up a ladder into the roof space above the bathroom.
I’m not as good at hand cream as I should be and I hate the sticky feeling that sometimes accompanies it. I read about Nursem during lockdown – a product developed by a paediatric intensive care nurse and her husband to counteract the effects of constant handwashing on the skin. I’m not sure why it’s taken me so long to buy some but I have and it lives on my desk so I can’t forget to use it. Even better, for every product you buy, Nursem gives a month’s worth of handcream to a working nurse or midwife. So keep buying it. Also the packaging is gorgeous.
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Great post. Thanks Kate! Yes please to a before and after piece on your London house!
Love your comment about the mortgage meaning. I am also learning Italian and l enjoy some of the meanings - table is masculine as an object but feminine when it is laid (good old patriarchy!) and love that Litigare is the verb to quarrel.
Always exciting to see your posts in my inbox :) Your Times piece -- love the pink/brown colors you chose for your kitchen. It looks so much larger than the Before photo, I never would have thought you could fit a table in that corner!