Spring 2024

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Pooky.com recently launched its lighting and lampshade collec- tion in the U.S. market, and Little Greene, a paint and wallcovering company based in North Wales, has joined the ranks. David Mottershead, founder and managing director of Little Greene, says the company prepared for two years before its American debut. “We exhibited extensively in the UK and Europe for many years, and there have been consistent requests from U.S. visitors about the

Holland & Sherry, a fabric mill dating to 1836 and supplying couturiers and interior designers. “Even Restoration Hardware has partnered with Holland & Sherry,” she says of the wool-covered pillows now available through the California- based luxury brand. “Their background is in men’s suiting and tailoring—all of the things they’re doing are so hot right now.” Additional British decor brands are making their way across the pond, too.

New Jersey–based designer Sarah Storms, who references English style in her rooms, feels that British design “has a soulfulness” derived from a building’s age, history, and details. But there’s more to capturing the British look. “Typically, there are antiques or vintage pieces alongside a more contemporary item,” she says. “Worn-in leather, rich color palettes and textures, found through plaids and herringbones, echo the aesthet- ics of the traditional haberdashery. This richness is foundational in blending old and new aesthetics for a contemporary approach.” Hicks may have been a genius in mingling styles and periods. However, his spaces were incredibly livable, and that characteristic is universal in British interiors. His work also defied what’s thought of as the British design norm: rooms characterized by only traditional appointments such as chintz fabrics, floral patterns, and elegant antiques; or English country houses marked by paneled walls, skirted tables, and un-kitchens. “Often, British design is thought to be more country in style, but it doesn’t have to be,” Salvesen says. The designer explains that most British homes have been added to, little by little, and like the houses, the decor rarely reflects just one period. “British design is very layered and feels collected over time.” ESSENTIALLY ENGLISH Besides the bones, the furniture layout is the foundation of a room’s decor—and British designers seem to have mastered it.

one might imagine that the interior design wasn’t strategically planned but unfolded spontaneously. “We are less symmetrical and matchy in our designs,” Salvesen says, in compar- ison to Americans. “There is often a piece of art, fabric or piece of furni- ture that is unexpected and throws the perfect nature of the design off to make it feel more authentic.” While Americans have a reputa- tion for seeking immediate gratifi- cation, customarily on a mission to finish a room on schedule, the Brits have a different approach. Along with partner Mary Graham, Salvesen says the duo avoids over-designing houses so their clients can introduce found items in the future. BRITISH ACCOUTERMENTS Any American who’s hired an interior designer likely has British accouterments in their home. US designers source furnishings, textiles, and decorative wares from English manufacturers, and some of the industry’s most treasured products originate in the U.K. For instance, Storms is a fan of Abraham Moon & Sons and Cole & Son; Drake turns to Farrow & Ball and Lewis & Wood; and Proxmire purchases from Osborne & Little, Ben- nison Fabrics, and Vaughan Lighting. Tartt Elias includes Morris & Co. fabrics and wallcoverings in her projects, and she also uses Nina Campbell, Colefax & Fowler, and

availability of our products, along with the regular supply for projects managed by U.S. designers,” Motter- shead says. Similarly, as U.S. designers source furnishings and textiles from British vendors, English design studios mar- ket their brands to U.S. consumers. Salvesen Graham, Martyn Lawrence Bullard, Kit Kemp, and other prom- inent British designers have left an imprint with their unique style, books and product lines. And Ameri- cans are going wild over it all. ■

Maryland designer Kelley Proxmire sees brown furniture as evocative of British design, and she intentionally incorporates it into her English-centric rooms.

“You know you belong and know where to sit,” says Illinois designer Elizabeth Drake. “Part of their success is due to the use of various chairs, not necessarily in pairs—incorporating a place to read, a place to converse, and a place to work at a table.” One can pull up a chair to a conversation group and quickly move the seating from one side of the space to another, tailoring a room for comfort. Proxmire says brown furniture is “synonymous with British design,”

and she intentionally incorporates it into her English-centric rooms. She’s also drawn to antique chinoiserie plates, frames, tables and trays, and larger furniture pieces, including chairs and benches, often dusting the room with one or two, sometimes with a modern edge. “These antiques are included judiciously, not filling the entire room,” she says. “An antique sofa covered in an updated fabric can be smashing.” To step inside an English room,

Illinois designer Elizabeth Drake designed this living room with an English cottage look.

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