Beyond florals, eiderdowns and the postcard view

Attaching the word “English” to something is, generally, to make a bit of a statement. Refer to “English cuisine” and you’re probably joking about how bad it is (or asserting that nothing of the sort exists). Say the words “English countryside” and strains of Elgar and majestic rolling hills come to mind. “English humour?” It’s bad puns, Fawlty Towers and jokes about the loo. You aren’t just saying that something comes from England – you’re saying something else. So what do we really mean by “English interior design”? For many, the term will conjure up chintz armchairs and honeyed Cotswold stone. The postcard-perfect country house. Florals, eiderdowns, window seats looking out on manicured lawns. A dachshund curled up on a threadbare Zeigler carpet. Guest bedrooms named after colours or famous visitors.For me, there’s more to it than that.

The English home has also been all about refuge. Think of all the maxims we have: “an Englishman’s home is his castle”, “home is where the heart is”, “keep the home fires burning.” Home in English culture is a sanctuary, a place where, in that rather stirring phrase, “the storm may enter, the rain may enter, but the King of England cannot enter”. It is a haven from the outside world: not just in keeping out the English weather, but also in being a place we can truly be ourselves and relax. In an uncertain, turning world, the home is our still point. A place we can be in control, surrounded by things we’ve chosen (and gifts we’ve reluctantly kept and then grown to love). For design, this means comfort and functionality is all. How a space is going to be used is central: really, we should not be designing our homes until we’ve lived in them for some time. We need to know how the light falls in certain rooms at different times of day, and which rooms we’re drawn towards to relax. We need to know where ‘stuff’ is going to accumulate, so that we can build the right storage – with English interiors it’s all about the right kind of scruff; we want charming disorder, not actual mess.

Above all, English interiors don’t take themselves too seriously. With all the layering of time and evocation of everyday life comes an effortlessness, a natural elegance and flow. English design is rarely about statement pieces (I’m not crazy about “look at me” feature walls). You can’t have style without restraint. A well-designed room should be nonchalant, hands in pockets, a wry smile – the brilliance is there for all to see, just under the surface.