Published in the Autumn 2012 issue of Heart Home magazine.
Category Archives: Heart Home magazine
Design Queen
Beside the seaside
Buckets and spades at the ready! 2012 is the year to embrace the Great British summer…
The Lugger Hotel, Cornwall
The Lugger Hotel is the ideal setting for a Frenchman’s Creek-style romantic getaway. Once a smuggler’s inn, the hotel still retains its atmospheric fog-filled history, but now embraces a more relaxed and modern feel.
The boutique hideaway can be found in the delightfully coastal village of Portloe. Think whitewashed walls, lobster pots and fishing boats – and you won’t be disappointed. The hotel clings to the water’s edge, literally a stone’s throw from the Cornish surf. With a heavenly terrace for sampling locally sourced treats when the sun does shine, a cosy and chic interior for less pleasant weather and a luxourious spa for truly disappointing days, The Lugger is a seafront haven whatever the British weather throws your way.
Plus, in Portloe, with miles of rugged coastal path to explore, little mobile phone signal and no street lamps, you can really get away from it all.
Artists’ Beach House, Whitstable, Kent
If you’re dreaming of Great British summer holiday, what could be better than your very own cottage on the beach? Set on the edge of Tankerton Beach in Kent, surrounded by wild woodland, the Artist’s Beach House is an idyllic setting for the ultimate beachside break.
You can spend your days sunbathing on the sand, reclining in your hammock or frolicking in the surf – there’s even an outdoor shower for rinsing off afterwards. The white, wood clad beach house was built in 1906 and retains all of its vintage charm, with a wrap around veranda and chic period features. The veranda is the perfect spot to enjoy 180° views of the ocean, or indulge in some seaside cuisine – fish n’ chips anyone?
The Artists’ Beach House is easily accessible from London, too. After just a 90 minute train ride you’ll be able to hear the sound of the surf and sink your toes into the sand.
Titchwell Manor, Titchwell, Norfolk
Set above the North Norfolk coastline in the pretty village of Titchwell, Titchwell Manor is a perfect bolthole from which to explore Norfolk’s sweeping stretches of sandy coastline.
The county’s beaches will delight bird watchers, sand castle builders and sun seekers alike. Marshes and woodland sit alongside miles of sand that are just crying out for a picnic blanket. When you’ve selected the perfect sun-soaked spot indulge in a lunch of local crab and deliciously salty samphire.
Titchwell Manor itself is an elegant Victorian manor. Simply designed, with calm, coastal shades and luxurious fabrics, it’s an ideal place to wipe the sand off your feet and refresh after a day on the beach. With ambitious, bold and eclectic menus, foodies won’t be disappointed by dishes on offer in the Manor’s restaurant either.
This charming hotel, set on the edge of Titchwell Marsh, is the perfect treat for a summery weekend away.
Published in the summer issue of Heart Home magazine.
Flower Power
Clarissa Hulse is well known for her lively and vibrant botanical designs. The exciting prints, which capture the colours and shapes of the natural world, can now be found in hundreds of department stores and exclusive boutiques across the globe.
We meet Clarissa in pretty North London at her studio. The building was once home to the chauffeurs who worked in Islington’s grand houses, but it now it serves as Clarissa’s studio, and will soon be converted into her family home, too.
‘I started my business in 1994 completely by accident!’ says Clarissa. ‘I was hand printing scarves and I got an order from Liberty and then Barney’s in New York saw my scarves in Liberty – then I had an order from Neiman Marcus and before I knew it I had orders coming out of my ears. All of a sudden I had to employ people and get a bigger studio. I had a business before I knew what I was doing!’
Clarissa’s business was a challenge to begin with. ‘We had a lot of ups and downs,’ she says. Now though she employs 3 full time and 3 part time staff to help her manage the ever-increasing work load.
In 2002 she expanded and launched her first cushion collection. She quickly sold the collection to Heals, The Conran Shop, Liberty and Selfridges. ‘I just knew I was really on to something!’ she says. After that the business grew into lampshades, wallpapers and fabric, before she was asked by House of Fraser to design bed linen.
Although her career really began in fashion, she says: ‘I felt happy with the move into interiors because in fashion everything is very fickle. People are much more conscious of what is “in” and what is “out”. With homeware people just buy what they really love.’
When coming up with the ideas for her designs she sometimes starts with sketches. ‘A lot of my designs originally start from photography or plants that I’ve gathered from trips to the countryside though,’ says Clarissa. ‘Some photographs I take in situ, but other plants I’ll take home and press. I also might take a picture of an amazing sunset or beautiful flower for colour and inspiration.’
‘For the next fabric and wallpaper collection I’m doing I’ve actually done a lot of research online, which I’ve never done before,’ says Clarissa. ‘It’s a very different way of working. On the one hand it’s very frustrating because you’re sat at a computer and it doesn’t affect you in the same way that being out there experiencing nature does, but at the same time the enormous breadth of what you can find is just mind blowing. I think it’s good to change the way you work and challenge yourself every now and again.’
She also finds inspiration in the area around her. When she is in need of a little natural inspiration, Highbury Fields, with its vast expanse of green grass, is a must-visit. As is Angel’s Camden Passage, bursting with quirky shops and cafes. It’s a little haven of creativity – and only a short walk away from Clarissa’s studio.
A favourite haunt of hers is The Elk in the Woods, a cafe and restaurant with impeccably designed, wonderfully eccentric interiors. After seeing the plush fabrics and bold prints for ourselves its clear why it’s one of Clarissa’s favourites! While visiting Clarissa we popped into nearby Thomas Kleibrink, where Clarissa bought a cute vintage cup and saucer and Annie’s Vintage Costume and Textiles where we couldn’t help but try on some hats – we also stumbled upon a newly opened shop, Folklore, which Clarissa loved. ‘What I love about London is that you come across new things all the time!’ she says. Clarissa also showed another of her favourite places, the Little Angel Theatre – a puppet theatre for children which showcases amazing puppets and props.
Before we left we asked Clarissa what she hoped to achieve next. ‘Life is totally nuts at the moment – I feel like I’m spinning hundreds of plates!’ says Clarissa. ‘But I’ve got a great nanny and a great team and because this is my own business there is a lot of flexibility. Travel is the one thing I really miss since having children. I used to go to India all the time. Now they are getting older though I hope I’ll be able to start travelling again.’
‘I still feel like really I’m an artist. I want to work with new techniques and new fabrics and I’d like to do more arty projects. Most of all though I do miss doing scarves and I’ll definitely go back to that.’
Published in the Summer issue of Heart Home Magazine. View the magazine here.
A Touch of Flock
For our Spring issue, Heart Home were lucky enough to spend some time with bespoke furniture maker, Johnny Egg. We found him with wife Lucy in the aptly named Egg House. They share their Essex home with two dogs, one cat, a handful of chickens and hundreds of furniture prototypes…
Read the article at Hearthomemag.co.uk.
Published in the Spring 2012 issue of Heart Home magazine.
Lee’s London
Heart Home had the pleasure of spending one cold November morning with Lee Broom, ELLE Decoration’s newly proclaimed Designer of the Year…
We met at Lee’s studio gallery which is located in the middle of Shoreditch, London’s mecca for young creatives. His studio is the place where Lee turns his fantasy into reality. For him, making his concepts real and allowing other people to experience them is the best part of being a designer. In his studio there are no limitations. “We do what we want. And when we’ve got exactly what we want visually, then there is the laborious task of working out how we do it” says Lee. In some cases, his creations are about “doing something that seemed perfectly illogical”. The results are neon edged dining chairs, studded footstools and vintage decanter light shades – wonderful collections which bridge the gap between interiors and installation art.
Unsurprisingly Lee’s creations are inspired by fashion; he studied Fashion at Central St Martins and has since worked under the legendary Vivienne Westwood. But he is also influenced by London’s architecture. He says “I’m just always looking up in London. Sometimes you’ll see the side of a building and I can see a coffee table instead…”
Read the rest of the article here or view the whole magazine at Hearthomemag.co.uk
Published in the Winter 2011 issue of Heart Home magazine.
Cosy cottages and hidden hideaways…
Leave the stresses and strains of everyday life behind and retreat into the countryside this spring. Whatever your budget, we’ve found three of the best secluded spots for a weekend away…
Read the article at Hearthomemag.co.uk.
Published in the Spring 2012 issue of Heart Home magazine.
Cover image © Unique Home Stays www.uniquehomestays.com +44 (0) 1637 881942)
Baby, it’s cold outside…
Come in from the cold and prepare for a weekend of countryside comfort. Heart Home has found three of the best British rural retreats… Set in the heart of the New Forest, the ultra trendy Pig hotel is the perfect place to escape the niggles and … Continue reading
House of Memories
It’s no surprise that vintage lover Claire Morgan fell head over heels for a period house with lovely exposed floorboards and charming original features. But turning this house into a home has truly been a labour of love…
Under Claire’s watchful eye, the terraced London house has had a complete makeover. When she moved in “it was a blank canvas”, so it has taken a little TLC to put her stylish stamp on it.
Though Claire did bring on board a team of local builders to do much of the revamp, she says she “likes finishing it off and adding all the final touches”.
Claire describes her style as “eclectic, sometimes a little bit romantic but always personal.” When transforming the property into the quirky and homely haven she envisaged, being a stylist has certainly been an advantage – “My house is my props cupboard!” says Claire….
Read the rest of House of Memories here or view the magazine at Hearthomemag.co.uk.
Published in the Winter 2011 issue of Heart Home magazine.
The Weird and the Wonderful
Bored of identikit interiors and characterless hotels? Heart Home takes a look at London’s most eccentric and ludicrously luxurious places to spend the night.
Just a hop, a skip and a jump across St John Square from the Zetter Hotel, the brand new Zetter Townhouse is following it it’s older sister’s ultra cool footsteps. Sat on top of an exclusive cocktail lounge, which serves pioneering drinks and delicious British cuisine, the townhouse consists of 13 lavishly designed and eccentrically decorated bedrooms (from £246). Paying homage to London’s rich heritage, displaying exotic oddities, and providing the ultimate in luxurious bathrooms, the Zetter Townhouse is a million miles away from any hotel you will have stayed in before….
To read the rest of the article go to www.hearthomemag.co.uk and flick through the autumn issue to page 152.
Published in the autumn issue of Heart Home magazine.
I contribute to Interior Design magazine, Heart Home… inspiring readers to create their own great British Homes.