NOTES ON ENGLISH INTERIORS Interiors shaped by time and use The De Rosee Sa director explains how light, architecture and restraint create spaces that feel as though they’ve always been there. Claire Sá Director, De Rosee Sa April 28, 2026 | 4 min read When a project is finished, the question I always ask myself is: Does this feel like it could have been this way forever? If you can’t tell which era it is from, that is a success. This way of working sits at the heart of our interiors at De Rosee Sa. Interiors are a process, something obsessively researched: we are always considering how a space, whether a period property or new, will evolve; how it will absorb new pieces, accommodate change, and reflect the lives lived within it. “When I finish a project, the question I always ask myself is: does this feel like it could have been this way forever?” Claire Sá, Director, De Rosee Sa A reading corner by De Rosee Sa. Photography by Helen Cathcart. Read the light first When we decorate homes, I first think of them architecturally. Even if you can’t necessarily move walls around or radically reshape a space, there are always architectural moves you can make to enhance what’s there. This can mean aligning doorways with windows to direct light into the middle of the floor plan; a small move, but one that changes how the whole space feels. A bedroom by De Rosee Sa, with glazed cabinetry finished in brass and glass handles. Photography by Helen Cathcart. “When we decorate homes, I first think of them architecturally. There are always architectural moves you can make to enhance what’s there.” Claire Sá, Director, De Rosee Sa Different aspects mean you have a variety of light across the day and across the floor plan. But there are in-between spaces – corridors, transitional areas – that tend to always be darker. I like to commit to colour and, in these cases, paint them deeper and richer; suddenly they have atmosphere and intention. Then the south-facing rooms, flooded with light throughout the day, we will treat in a lighter, brighter way. The life of a room A home needs to be lived in. You need to be able to make a mess of it, tidy it up, bring friends around, and add to it over time – and, of course, grow with it as a family. What I aim for is something with enough margin to manoeuvre: materials chosen for their tactile and robust qualities; not precious, and not something you’re going to worry about. Details by De Rosee Sa, from a travertine lamp against terracotta walls to framed prints above a barley twist side table. Photography by Helen Cathcart. “A home needs to be lived in. You need to be able to make a mess of it, tidy it up, bring friends around, and add to it over time.” Claire Sá, Director, De Rosee Sa If you commit too completely to one era, it can be a bit static and you don’t really have anywhere to go – no room for the antique piece you might have inherited, or equally the contemporary artwork you fall in love with years later. Practicality is very important. I think you’ve got to believe that design can fundamentally sit with, and enhance, the way you live. Aimee Betts Ricasso Floor Lamp £3,950 Pelican House Folkloric Kilim VI £876 De Rosee Sa Crescent Sofa £5,613 Galvin Brothers Octagon Side Table £410 Let the architecture sing The details I care most about are probably not those one would consciously notice. Sometimes that means adding wide architraves around the windows and doorways where previously there wasn’t much. The minute you add an architrave, a bit of moulding, something shifts. It’s hard to say exactly what, but the room feels more considered and permanent. We often add texture to a ceiling too. It is not a necessity, but it gives a point of interest that you’d miss if it weren’t there. “In English interiors if you’ve got wonderful mouldings or cornices, you can, in some ways, not do much else. You can let the architecture sing.” Claire Sá, Director, De Rosee Sa A bedroom and kitchen by De Rosee Sa, where patterned textiles, walnut and brass meet a sunny window seat. Photography by Helen Cathcart. Architraves are inexpensive. Paint is inexpensive. The French have always understood this, their boiserie, the incredible commitment to wood, moulding and panelling. The great English country houses have it in their bones. There are lessons in all of those traditions about what it means to commit to the longevity of a building. If you’ve got wonderful mouldings or cornices, you can, in some ways, not do much else. You can let the architecture sing. In the edit LEARN MORE ABOUT DE ROSEE SA Maud Vaughan Early 20th Century French Brass Lantern £840 Jessica Osborne Oscar Mustard and Pink Frilled Cushion £98 De Rosee Sa Half Moon Side Table £2,300 Trove by Studio Duggan Tiger Mirror Large £1,750 Sister by Studio Ashby Odessa in Ember £200 Wondering People Flared Table Lamp £965 Pelican House Cil £2,999 De Rosee Sa Round Lacquer Tray £167 De Rosee Sa The Arc Stool £1,500 Soane Britian David Netto Trousdale Floor Light Enquire Sulis Fine Art Impressionist School Mid 20th Century Oil £450 Axel Vervoordt Wabi Inspirations £45