Peter Coats at Albany

I wasn't familiar with Peter Coats until I recently saw a 1960s-era photo of his charming English country cottage. A little digging around on the internet turned up that he was once Gardening Editor of House & Garden (the British edition), an author of numerous gardening books plus two autobiographies, a garden designer, and a one-time paramour of Chips Channon. All of those roles combined make for one interesting character in the annals of design and gardening.

When I recently featured Coats's Essex country house drawing room on my blog, Luke Honey, antiquarian and blogger (see more about Luke in the post below), mentioned that Coats's set at Albany in London was once featured in an old House & Garden book by Robert Harling. I took a stab and purchased a copy of House & Garden Book of Interiors (by, yes, Harling and published in 1962), and sure enough, there were photos of Coats's city flat.

For those of you who are intrigued by Albany and its dwellers, you might be interested to know that Coats inhabited A1, which had once been the flat of Mr. William Stone. (The late Stone at one time owned almost half of Albany, if you can imagine.) Coats's set spanned three floors, with the hall, drawing room, study, and bath on the ground floor, the master bedroom and bathroom above that, and a dining room, kitchen, guest bedroom, and bathroom in the basement. All that said, though, the set was not terribly large. Only the drawing room was spacious.

From what I've read on the internet, Coats died in 1990 at age 80. Though it seems his achievements are little known here in the States (that's an assumption on my part), his legacy lives on in the books he penned, including Flowers in History, The Gardens of Buckingham Palace, and his two autobiographies, Of Generals and Gardens and Of Kings and Cabbages.  They might well be worth looking into. 

In the ground floor hall, both the walls and carpet were green, while the blue curtains were trimmed in yellow and black saddler's braid. The gilt wood chandelier was once located in William Pitt's study at Chatham House.

The largest room in the home, the drawing room was once part of Lord Melbourne's library. (It was Lord Melbourne who built Melbourne House, which, when it was later converted to flats, became known as Albany.)

The study, also on the ground floor, was more contemporary-looking in appearance. The walls, by the way, were raspberry red.

The basement floor dining room had an arched ceiling, a vestige of the room's former use as a cellarage. Coats had the walls and ceiling painted in faux marbre.

Coats hired artist Martin Newell to paint a trompe l'oeil classical doorway on the wall outside of the dining room window.

Nicky Haslam's Folly de Grandeur

I recently spent the most enjoyable evening reading Nicky Haslam's newly released (as in today!) book, Nicky Haslam's Folly De Grandeur: Romance and Revival in an English Country House. As most of you are probably aware, the book profiles the Hunting Lodge, Nicky's enchanting country house that once belonged to John Fowler.  Perhaps it was the allure of these two designers that had me eagerly anticipating the release of this book.  Whatever the reason, the book turned out to be exactly as I had hoped: interesting, inspirational, and hands down a fun read.

Nicky's book is charming and engaging for a number of reasons.  First, he is an excellent writer, one who throws out all kinds of interesting historical tidbits and practical decorating advice along with humorous, and at times naughty, quips thrown in for good measure.  For those of you who are eager to learn about Nicky's thoughts on fabrics, floors, and like, you won't be disappointed as he includes numerous chapters focused on such aspects of decorating.  And if you are a devotee of the country house style, then you'll enjoy reading about the evolution of the house as well as studying the luscious photos of forty years worth of decorative layers.

In fact, even without Nicky's well-written narrative, the book would still be a success, I think, because of Simon Upton's photos.  There are large room shots as well as many detail photos that capture all of Nicky's amusing and entertaining mementos.  There is just so much to look at in this house- and this book- that one could spend hours studying these pictures.  Wait, I did spend hours studying the book's pictures!

I'm not sure what Nicky's follow-up book is going to be, but whatever it is, I am eagerly awaiting that one too.

© Nicky Haslam's Folly De Grandeur: Romance and Revival in an English Country House by Nicholas Haslam, Rizzoli New York, 2013. Images © Simon Upton may not be reproduced in any way, published, or transmitted digitally without written permission from the publisher.

Mr. Adams Goes to Budapest

I've written about London based designer Richard Adams before.  His luxuriously appointed, bijou London flat is a favorite of mine thanks to what is, really, a heady mix of glimmer and glamour.  (Click here to see photos of it.)  Well, I'm back with more photos, but this time, they show Richard's luxuriously appointed, bijou Budapest pied à terre.

Richard now divides his time between London and Budapest, a city that, according to Richard, has a large and interesting expat community.  The designer's new home features the same elegance as that which we saw in his London flat, with some of that home's furnishings having made the move to Budapest.  But I'm not the only fan of Richard's new domicile.  It seems that the editors at Polgari Otthon, a Budapest design magazine, feel the same way.  They are featuring Richard's flat in their latest issue, the article photos which you see here.

All images from Polgari Otthon, September/October 2012.

English Decoration by Ben Pentreath

Last week was mostly a waste for me as I spent it either in bed or on the sofa, nursing a terrible cold. It wasn't a complete waste, though, thanks to my copious TV watching. I learned that Victor Newman had returned to Genoa City (Hallelujah! The Young and the Restless just isn't the same without Victor) and that every episode of Remington Steele included the name "Steele" in its title. Did you know that?

What perked me up immensely, though, was the receipt of two books that were both food for the soul and feasts for the eyes. (Bear with me and the spate of recent book reviews. Just two this week, but I promise that they're good!) First up is British architectural & interior designer Ben Pentreath's new book, English Decoration: Timeless Inspiration for the Contemporary Home.

I have been a fan of both Ben's work and his eponymous shop (or at least its online version) for a few years now. I have to say that after reading this book, I'm even more of a fan now. Although I don't know Ben, I do think that we are kindred spirits as we both find vast inspiration in the past, but we reinterpret it for today. At least, that's the way I view it.

English Decoration: Timeless Inspiration for the Contemporary Home profiles a range of English homes owned by the author himself as well as an assortment of creative types. What makes this book so interesting is that the homes, for the most part, have not been decorated by professional designers, but rather were concocted by the homeowners themselves. And personal looking is what these homes are. There are family portraits, children's artwork, treasures found at country house auctions, and the "accretion of decades." These homes are not decorated to perfection, and yet, a kind of perfection is found in these homes' loosely mannered appearances.

In addition to a very complimentary forward written by the great Nicky Haslam, the book is divided into chapters on Entry Halls, "Comfortable Rooms", Kitchen and Dining Rooms, and even Utility Rooms. Each chapter is filled with lush photographs as well as Pentreath's charming and sometimes humorous captions, all of which go a long way to explaining the essence of English Decoration. And after reading this book, I really do feel as though I have a better sense of what makes up the DNA of this style of decorating. As Ben writes in the book, one attribute of the English style is "the unstudied way in which we have in an instant achieved both comfort and cosiness, grandeur and simplicity, sense and sensibility: in short, a place the English can call home." Sounds like the best of all worlds, don't you think?

After reading this book, I felt both uplifted and inspired. I have a very strong feeling that this is a book that I will return to often, and in my opinion, that's the very best kind of book there is. I hope that you'll give this book consideration, because I really do think you'll enjoy it.

Book number two, Gil Schafer's The Great American House: Tradition for the Way We Live Now, will be featured in the next few days.

All photos from English Decoration: Timeless Inspiration for the Contemporary Home by Ben Pentreath, Jan Baldwin photographer. Ryland, Peters, & Small publishers.

Cotswolds Charm

I'm sure that some of you read Tatler. If you're one of those people, I apologize in advance because this post will be a repeat to you. But if you haven't read the magazine's April issue yet, then I think you might enjoy seeing these photos of the Cotswolds house of designer Catherine Monteiro de Barros and family.

Some of you might be familiar with Monteiro de Barros; she once owned the children's clothing line Papo d'Anjo. The company shuttered operations last year, but fortunately for those of you with young children, the designer now heads up the new Oscar de la Renta children's line. Monteiro de Barros adheres to a traditional, proper design aesthetic, something it is evident in both her childrenswear as well as in her home. Although I usually gravitate towards interiors that have a dash of modernism to them, I have to say that I find the designer's home to be absolutely charming and inviting, not to mention comfy looking too. Can you think of a better home in which to relax and spend time with one's family?



The designer's husband is obviously passionate about hunting.




The Monteiro de Barros sons in the "Nordic inspired" kitchen. The painting is by Argentinian artist Ricardo Wolfson.




The drawing room.




The designer with some of her childrenswear. I think the canopy bed is so pretty!

A guest room with Eaton check curtains.




Another guest room, this one in plaid.





The main staircase. The clock is a Charles X sun clock.



All photos from Tatler, April 2012, Tim Evan Cook photographer.

High Style Tile

A number of readers responded to last week's post on Delft and Portuguese tile by emailing me their sources for antique and new tile. I want to share these sources with you as I'm assuming that decent looking Delft tile is hard to find. I'll split the sources up into separate posts as they each make and sell such beautiful tile that it's difficult to narrow down the number of photos into one post.

First up is The Douglas Watson Studio in Oxfordshire, England. It was designer Christopher Leach who informed me of their work. In fact, Leach used their tile in a London town house project that was recently featured in British House & Garden. Above, you can see a photo of the tiled bathroom that Leach designed. (To see more photos of the project, click here.)

What is refreshing about the work of Douglas Watson Studio is that many of their tile designs are full of whimsy but are fortunately lacking cuteness. There is the traditional Delft style tile as well as the more exotic looking tile seen so often in Italy and Spain. What I am charmed by the most, though, are their series of tiles. Themes include the alphabet, birds, cooking, etc. Can you imagine how lovely a kitchen would look with one of these series featured prominently in the room?

I urge you take a look at the website. Every photo of their tile is more charming than the last!



One example of their Delft tile



Much of their Delft tile is available in blue and white as well as manganese or polychrome.




How gorgeous is this tiled Battle Scene panel?



Or this Balloon panel?



Catchpenny Series



Botanical Herb Series



Old English Alphabet



There are also tiles that are a bit more exotic in design.



An example of some recent work. This might appeal to the gardeners reading this.




I'm not sure to whom this coat of arms belongs, but it certainly looks stunning in tile.

All tile photos from the website of Douglas Watson Studio. The photo of the Christopher Leach designed bathroom is from British House & Garden, March 2012, Simon Brown photographer.