House Notes #8
This month: the founder of design studio A New Day shares his Interior Life, we discover the best-kept secret on the high street, a new sofa company – and a gorgeous Welsh Terrier.
HOUSEKEEPING: My month this month
Hello hello, this month’s edition comes to you from the house in Italy, which we have returned to for the last few days of February. From here I am going to Palma in Mallorca to oversee the final stages of a hotel I have been working on, which is due to open in October. I know – it all sounds very glamorous, doesn’t it? In reality it’s about trying to fit 18 pots of moisturiser into a 20x20cm clear plastic bag and wondering if it’s worth sacrificing a deodorant to do so.
It’s been a busy month for which I am very grateful. First of all I wrote a piece on the joy of a brightly coloured bathrooms for Red magazine. I was particularly taken by this quote from the Twyford brochure of 1934:
“The bathroom is now recognised as one of the most important features of the modern home and is consequently receiving the consideration it rightly deserves. Bathrooms of mere utility and cheerless aspect no longer satisfy… they must [have] an inviting atmosphere of comfort and colour,” it said, to launch its new colours including primrose, jade, lavender, pink and black. By the 1950s peach and coral had arrived – followed of course by that 1970s staple, avocado.
Now while I think coloured bathrooms will alway be a niche idea, it does segue neatly into a talk I gave at the Surface Design Show a couple of weeks ago. One part of which was about how to spot trends. It was a coincidence that I chose bathrooms to illustrate my points, although perhaps this proves there is no such thing. Anyway, my point was that if you want to know what is coming, you should look at print adverts.
Below on the left and right are two adverts for tiles. So the green basins are not actually the point – and I am convinced that two or three years ago they would have been white. The middle picture is The Rose hotel in Deal, Kent.
I always panic about doing these talks, but the room was full and I’m very grateful to anyone who came along. I based the talk on a piece I wrote last year. It’s for paid subscribers only and you can upgrade here if you want to know more.
In addition to writing and talking I also did some styling. I have known the team at Smeg for many years and worked with them on a number of occasions. This time they asked me to style two kitchens for them for a two-day event designed to showcase their appliances, with the chef and author Clodagh McKenna demonstrating.
At 7am that morning none of the kitchen above existed! It was an empty room that is used as an overflow for a successful restaurant. The Howden units were installed in front of a fake wall with the shelves bolted to the joists and the tiles (these from Ca Pietra ) stuck on a piece of wood that was then propped up against the fake wall. The hob and ovens were wired in so Clodagh could cook. Around 100 guests attended three events and 48 hours later the room was completely cleared.
The second kitchen I styled was in another room where two experts from the Smeg cooking team also demonstrated the appliances. This kitchen was made by set builders but the cupboards were covered in Eggar Board in Apricot Nude, should you wish for a similar shade. We weren’t allowed to touch the walls which already had that slightly sponged effect.
I wasn’t asked to discuss the appliances but I was intrigued by (and somewhat desirous of) the Omni Chef, which combines the functions of a traditional oven, a steam oven and a microwave all in one – which means you can roast a chicken (with a crispy skin) in 30 minutes. I’ve linked to it in case you want to know more. Part of me just wants a simple mechanical oven that you turn on with a single knob, and part of me thinks this is extraordinary and if it encourages you to eat better and cook more then that’s no bad thing. The Smeg expert assured me it’s the most intuitive oven she’s ever used.
Finally, I was thrilled to note that the first Mad About The House book, which was written in 2017 and published in 2018, is on its 10th reprint. My publisher, Pavilion, now part of Harper Collins, assure me it will continue to be printed for as long as it continues to sell. You know what to do…
I should also take this opportunity to remind you about this year’s interior design retreats at the house in Italy. There are three weekends available with a few places left on each so be quick if you don’t want to miss out. I will be there with a team of experts in colour, styling and architecture to guide you through the process, whether it’s a whole house project (in which case, June is best for you) or discovering your own style and colour palette (October is a shorter retreat for the time-pressed) with time to explore the elegant and still largely undiscovered city of Turin (come in September for that). I will need a 25% deposit to secure your place and you can read more about it all here.
STOP PRESS: At the time of writing, Open House Turin has just announced the dates for its annual weekend which coincides with our June retreat. This is an opportunity to visit some incredible private houses that aren’t normally open to the public. On the Sunday, there will be free time to explore the city after our trip to the vintage market, so that would be the perfect opportunity to spend an afternoon with incredible access to places you wouldn’t otherwise get to see. This was one of the private apartments that was opened last year. The sitting room is on the other side of the green partition with bookshelves on it. I’m hoping it will be listed again this year but there are hundreds to choose from.
MY INTERIOR LIFE: Andrew Griffiths
About six years ago, at the invitation of a high-street brand, I went on a press trip to a Paris trade show. At dinner that evening I sat next to the head of their PR firm, who told me he was about to leave as he was going to complete his interior design studies and would be launching his own studio. It has been genuinely thrilling watching Andrew’s business grow over the last few years, and seeing one of his most recent projects at The Barbican appear in Elle Decoration.
It’s also a little known fact that Andrew came to view my house in London before I did, but fortunately for me, decided not to buy it. Although that doesn’t stop me wondering what it would look like if he had.
Who are you and what do you do?
I’m Andrew, an interior designer and owner of A New Day Interior Design Studio. I live in South East London with my partner Luke and our dog Oattie.
What’s your trade secret?
A beautiful home is about 80% in the planning and 20% the fun stuff. It’s unsexy, but getting the layout, flow, lighting / electrical plan and storage right is what will make your home feel wonderful when you then layer on the fun stuff.
What would you rush to save from your burning house?
People and pets aside, it would be a vase we have by John Booth. It was one of the first pieces Luke and I splurged on and it makes me happy looking at it.
What’s your (current) favourite Instagram account?
I’m very drawn to the Australian interior design scene so lap up anything from
Flack Studio, YSG Studio, Arent & Pyke and Simone Haag
If I gave you £150, what would you buy?
Can I add £30 of my own money and get this Candelabra by Six Dots Design? I’ve been eyeing it up for far too long.
What’s your favourite style of furniture/decor?
The joy of my job is that I get to play around with lots of different styles. At the moment we’re working on an Arts & Crafts-style family home, where we’re fusing playful contemporary forms and furniture with mid-century pieces. In another Grade II-Listed home, the clients love clean and classic Danish design, but we’re pairing that with some beautiful modern British craft pieces to reflect the context of the house. We always set out to guide clients beyond their initial comfort zone to create something they couldn’t imagine, and a big part of that is often about how we mix and play with different styles and periods.
What is/are your most visited interiors websites/stores?
So many, when people see the number of tabs I have open, they gasp. 1stDibs and Vinterior for antique or vintage pieces, and a long list of London sellers like The Peanut Vendor. I often go to Chiara Colombini, Modern Metier and Monologue for lighting. And I love The Oblist for emerging makers and brands.
What’s the best thing you ever bought?
A mid-century leather and chrome cantilever desk chair, it was a steal on eBay and it’s so comfortable, which is good as I spend a lot of time in it.
What’s your cocktail of choice?
A dirty martini (vodka) please.
What’s the soundtrack to your favourite room?
There is a constant soundtrack in our house, my partner works in the music industry so it’s quite eclectic. I find myself putting Barry Can’t Swim on a lot at the moment.
Confess – what’s your screen-time total (so far) this week?
An average of 6 hours a day, which is terrible. But there’s a lot of work time in that, not just doomscrolling.
What do you wish you had designed, or could own?
I covet a Finn Juhl Chieftain chair, and most of the Apparatus Studio lighting.
What’s one thing you do for your mental well-being?
A good run or a spin class – either clear my head like nothing else.
What’s the ugly thing in your house that you can’t bring yourself to throw away?
The overflowing toy basket belonging to my Welsh Terrier, Oattie. A sea of frayed edges and clashing colour. Try as I might, she wants a neon turtle toy over the chic rope options I’ve bought her.
Plan B. If this wasn’t your job, what would you be doing?
Before retraining as a designer I worked in brand communications for interiors and property, so I’d probably be back doing that or creative direction in some other form. Though I have romantic and probably wholly unrealistic visions of running a kind of wine bar / florist hybrid that also sells furniture and homeware.
DESIGN DISCOVERY - Boura & White
Set up by two women who have been in the furniture business for 25 years, Abi Boura and Katie White have pared back the often bewildering range of sofas on offer to just six (and one “perfect” chair). But once you have found your classic shape, the possibilities for personalisation are endless; fixed back (cocktails and gossip) cushion back (beer and telly), fixed cover (elegant) loose cover (relaxed) with a ruffled, or a pleated, or a plain pelmet.
All six designs work well together, although you could have a matching pair and change the upholstery and cushions to suit. There is also a generous ottoman which offers you the possibility of a fixed cover for every day and the chance to slide on a loose one for a party. Or the other way round.
Abi, a former stylist, likens the styles to the key elements of the classic wardrobe. Myrtle is the perfect white shirt while Cavendish (no arms so perfect for a bay window or a bedroom) is a really high quality t-shirt (apparently Victoria Beckham’s are the best). You might prefer the more traditional lines of the Radnor – a trench coat with the sleeves up or down, the belt loose or looped at the back. Fanshawe, which comes in a corner version, is a classic contemporary – think the perfect pair of straight jeans that work with a trainer in the day and a heel at night.
Everything is made in the UK, and what’s more, if you order a sofa, the same seamstress which work on it from start to finish – which Katie and Abi believe gives a greater sense of ownership of the work and pride in a job well done.
The company is very new, the website is coming but they would be delighted to see you at their Hampshire Showroom for a sit and a try. So everyone who rushed out and bought a new sofa in lockdown (without sitting on it) and is regretting it now, why not have a go on these?
Like a menu that only offers three really good choices for the main course, Boura & White has taken the agony out of vacillating between 25 different shapes. The arms come off so you can get them into small houses (Katie lives in north London and talks knowingly about the narrow Victorian terrace). Abi wants the Cavendish in her bay window “so you can reach your drink on the table at the end and also turn the light on and off without having to scramble over the arm”.
Both are enthused about their perfect chair whose personality changes dramatically depending on how you cover it. Cleverly, it has a small footprint and a generous seat, while the sofa version would be perfect at the end of the bed.
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