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NOTES ON ENGLISH INTERIORS
Cotswolds-based interior designer Sean Symington explains how place has shaped his approach to interiors.
Sean Symington
Director, Sean Symington Interior Design
April 26, 2026 | 5 min read
I’m originally from Toronto, Canada, and moved to England about a decade ago. I first worked in London, then my partner was relocated to the southwest. We had been to Bath before and loved it, so we ended up moving there. As I explored more of Somerset and Gloucestershire, I stumbled across Tetbury, where my studio is now based; it’s full of lovely antique shops and is a bit of a design hub. English interiors are, to me, more of an approach than a style. In North America, there is often a desire for interiors to be perfect, completely curated and all pulled together. But English country interiors are more inherited – a little bit more thrown together, more collected. There is a history.
“English interiors are, to me, more of an approach than a style” Interior Designer, Sean Symington
“English interiors are, to me, more of an approach than a style”
Living and working in the Cotswolds has definitely affected the way I view design. We’re surrounded by beauty all the time. Even when it’s pouring with rain, it’s so beautiful. I was in Mexico recently and even though it was paradise and the weather was amazing, I couldn’t wait to come back. There’s just something so stunning about the English countryside – the rolling hills, the greenery. And with Bath being a Georgian city, one of the things that brought us there was just the beauty of it. Everything being in the one stone is incredibly calming.
“In the Cotswolds . . we’re just surrounded by beauty all the time. Even when it’s pouring with rain, it’s so beautiful” Interior Designer, Sean Symington
“In the Cotswolds . . we’re just surrounded by beauty all the time. Even when it’s pouring with rain, it’s so beautiful”
There is access here to so many incredible antiques, going straight to the source. Tetbury has fantastic little old mills, fabric companies, and antique shops like Lorfords and Brownrigg. Lewis & Wood and Zardi & Zardi are down the road, and Fermoie is not that far away either – we use them a lot. For antiques and art, the Cotswolds is fantastic.
With English interiors, I find something is often just a little bit off-kilter. It isn’t perfect. Earlier on, I probably would have tried to control things more, but I think I’m hopefully getting better at that. I know that we can pick the perfect curtains, the perfect cushions, and the perfect sofa fabric, but actually it’s the pieces that throw it off that make the room feel inviting. I love it when clients bring in something that I would never pick – like Granny’s old needle point cushion – because that’s what makes it feel like their house. It makes it less decorated.
“The pieces that throw it off . . make the room feel inviting” Interior Designer, Sean Symington
“The pieces that throw it off . . make the room feel inviting”
Bringing a relaxed and layered feeling to a home takes time. It’s a process. We usually start with a concept – a palette, the building, the direction – but we don’t define every single thing at the outset. It is a journey of finding the right pieces. A lot of it is about the hunt. I love that part of the job – going to Paris, going to flea markets, finding things you weren’t expecting. Often the outcome is better because it feels more collected and interesting.
I do think people are longing for warmth in interiors. What makes a room feel warm and welcoming, for me, is personal belongings: somebody’s artworks, their books. I think books are key in every room. They tell you a lot about someone – what they are drawn to, what interests them. A room should tell a story and be a reflection of the people who live there.
“A room should tell a story and be a reflection of the people who live there” Interior Designer, Sean Symington
“A room should tell a story and be a reflection of the people who live there”
A room should evolve. If the bones are good – the kitchen, the flooring – then it can be as simple as changing the colour of an island, or putting a different wallpaper up in one of the rooms, small shifts that keep things fresh. I always like opportunities to style things – even small gestures can keep things feeling alive. That’s really how I think about English interiors: they should feel like something you live in, not a fixed composition.
London-based designer Laura Stephens explains how a bedroom becomes personal through fabric, memory and collecting.
Laura Stephens
Interior Designer
April 26, 2026 | 3 min read
When my eldest daughter left for university, I set about redecorating her bedroom, unchanged for over a decade and marked by all the usual signs of teenage life, including the make up spillages and hair dyeing experiments. It was certainly time for a change. Like many young people, especially those in London, I was aware she would be coming to and from our home, living here on and off for some years. I wanted the room to feel layered and comfortable, not too perfect and matching, and full of charm and character. The room is a delightful space, situated on the very top floor of our London townhouse. It was part of what sold me the house; there is something slightly magical about being up in the eaves. It reminds me of the nursery in an illustrated Peter Pan book I used to read to the girls when they were small.
“I wanted the room to feel layered and comfortable, not too perfect or too matching.” Interior Designer, Laura Stephens
“I wanted the room to feel layered and comfortable, not too perfect or too matching.”
My eldest is quite restrained when it comes to her aesthetic and also quite classic, so I knew I couldn’t go too wild with colour and would need to keep the patterns subtle. She loves blue. I turned to Inchyra – a Scottish maker we’ve used across many projects – and their Jaujac Virelle Spring Blue wallpaper. Covering both the walls and ceiling in the same paper made the room feel softer, more enveloping. For the woodwork, I chose Cat’s Paw, an earthy yellow from the Farrow & Ball archives, that frames the pattern and highlights the joinery. I then set about mixing other patterns into the room. We kept my daughter’s existing bed, but added a padded back cushion in Inchyra’s Waverly Stripe in Vintage Blue – a practical solution for an iron bedstead, and also because I like the contrast a stripe brings against a floral.
““My daughter is an avid reader and loves being surrounded by books.” Interior Designer, Laura Stephens
““My daughter is an avid reader and loves being surrounded by books.”
My daughter is an avid reader and loves being surrounded by books, so we made her bookcase even more of a focal point by lining it with a linen check. A bluebell and basil scroll chair from our Parlour collection fits perfectly in the corner, and small hints of red lift the scheme – like a ceramic base from Pooky on her bedside. Finally, I chose pretty, delicate cream and blue bedding to sit against the wallpaper, with a gingham cushion to keep things from feeling too matched. The best interiors are never entirely finished. There are notes here from the bedroom it was before, and I think that is lovely. Rooms become more interesting when they carry something of their past with them.
IN THE MAKING
with Andrew Jonathan Griffiths and OTZI. Ideas that are sitting in your head. They can feel real but often remain there. We followed Andrew Jonathan Griffiths to Norfolk leather workers OTZI to see how he works with makers to bring ideas to life and explore the beauty of bespoke furniture design.
Helen Westlake
Scheme Editorial
This story was produced in partnership with OTZI as part of our ongoing series exploring British craftsmanship and bespoke making.
Andrew Jonathan Griffiths of London-based studio A New Day has arrived at OTZI’s Norfolk workshop with a drawing – or something in the vicinity of one. “I would be over-selling it by calling it a sketch,” he admits. His idea is for a pair of bespoke bedside tables, based on a piece he’s seen and wants to use as a starting point: OTZI’s taper table, a solid timber form wrapped in bridle leather. It’s very lovely, showcasing traditional leatherwork and lacing, with a hardwood top. “We love collaborating with British makers, where you can see the hand in the product. When you’re putting their pieces in people’s houses, you know the story and resonance behind it,” he says. From there, and as always happens with the best collaborations, the conversation takes over.
“We love collaborating with British furniture makers, where you can see the hand in the product.” Andrew Jonathan Griffiths, A New Day
“We love collaborating with British furniture makers, where you can see the hand in the product.”
OTZI’s founder Otis Ingrams has worked leather for years on beautiful heirloom pieces for, amongst others, design house Chloé. “We will always listen to what the material tells us to do,” he says of his small, passionate team. It’s helped them to push the boundaries of leather, where his workshop pairs age-old techniques with traditional joinery. “For our taper tables, for example, leather was where its character was found,” he explains. Andrew’s idea for the bedside tables is a suede body with a contrast blanket-stitch. Otis works through options, exploring how laminating the drapey suede onto a recycled substrate could give it structure. A leather circle inlaid into the timber top is Andrew’s addition, somewhere to rest a glass and a note of contrast.
“We will always listen to what the material tells us to do. For our taper tables, for example, leather was where its character was found.” Otis Ingrams, OTZI
“We will always listen to what the material tells us to do. For our taper tables, for example, leather was where its character was found.”
OTZI sources their leather from, among others, Billy Tannery, a first of its kind small-batch UK tannery run by a friend, Jack Millington, where wild deer hides – a byproduct of deer culling to prevent damage to native ecosystems – are processed with full-grain integrity. “Most commercial suede is split, but once you start getting to the higher end of suede, you’re using the full thickness of the hide,” says Otis. “You’ve got the full strength of it.” These bedside tables should, in other words, take some living.
Both Andrew and OTZI have done enough of this to know what makes a collaboration work – and what doesn’t. The commissions that land well are the ones where neither party is simply executing someone else’s vision. “Quite often it’s the ideas that come to you in conversation that are better and have a different interest,” says OTZI. “You’re able to pivot and shift – apply slightly different techniques or different materials – and give a piece a totally different feel. It’s incredibly rewarding.” For Andrew, that means coming prepared but not fixed; bringing ideas, and staying open to what emerges. “You’re bringing your thoughts. They’re bringing amazing expertise and skill. Knowing you can create something together – that’s the most exciting part.”
“Quite often it’s the ideas that come to you in conversation that are better and have a different interest.” Otis Ingrams, OTZI
“Quite often it’s the ideas that come to you in conversation that are better and have a different interest.”
The finished bespoke bedside tables will take a taper form in fumed timber, wrapped in full-thickness chocolate suede with a blanket-stitch detail down the side, finished with a red leather circle inlaid in the top – making the conversation part of the object itself. “The level of detail and backstory – like where that hide was from – is what makes it special,” says Andrew. “It makes you think about materials more, and interact day to day with pieces differently than if you’re just buying something off the shelf”. In the maker’s workshop, an idea finds its form.
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