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the UK’s plywood and the latter most of our fabrics and steel.
We discussed the wasteful practices of both retail and hospitality sectors, thanks to the perceived need for constant reinvention and refurbishment. Says Penman: ‘I used to do lots of retail. I worked in-house for a fashion brand for some time…We opened 54 stores in one year. T e next year we closed 32. T is was 10 years ago. Rather than up-cycling or recycling furniture, it had to be destroyed
because of intellectual property. T is is endemic in a lot of design industries.’ Just as problematic, Leech feels, is the
‘There’s a whole new strand of people who are trying to influence on Instagram, who are doing what we do. I think people are getting
more confident. But then people want to copy exactly that lampshade.’
diffi culty in persuading customers that a mixture of contemporary and vintage is the ideal choice for both style and sustainability, when the message from the magazines and media their clients follow is all about chasing the latest trend, preferably as quickly and cheaply as possible. How do you reinforce the value of going for something beautifully made, pre-loved or antique when that eclectic look has not received the consumer lifestyle seal of approval? Says Leech: ‘T e majority of residential clients, they are just not interested.’ T is is obviously where the design media can play a vital role. We need a shift in the looks that are perceived to be aspirational – venues which show how, with a little fl air, the re-use and repurpose ethos generates spaces with far more character, more style. For that reason, I was pleased to hear an interior designer friend recently praising T e George Hotel in Rye for its vintage/modern looks. A sprawling 16th century Georgian coaching inn, its recent refurbishment (as well as great food) has drawn rave reviews from travel writers of all kinds – T e Sun as well as the Daily Telegraph – not to mention a top 100 listing in the Sunday Times’ ‘Best UK Hotels of 2022’. But vintage is nothing new for owners Katie and Alex Clarke, who bought the inn in 2014. As the couple say on their website: ‘Inhabiting a 16th Century building means reclamation and reuse are in our blood. Whether restoring salvaged materials or rescuing antique furniture, our ethos has always been to reduce waste and stop beautiful resources from ending up on the scrap heap.’ With the post-fi re refurb, as before, former set-designer Katie worked collaboratively with her long-standing friend Maria Speake of Retrouvius, whose thriving North London business combines salvaging architecturally interesting components and redeploying them to great eff ect. T e resulting blend of periods, colours and styles delivers 41 vibrant
bedrooms: some featuring opulent, hand- blocked wallpapers in deep greens and oranges; others with pale walls they have contrasted with bright, salvaged upholstery on bedsteads and in curtains. For the public areas – equally charming – the standout fi nds this time around are an antique T ames barge sail which now graces the restaurant wall, and a reception desk formed from a repurposed church altar.
Although it’s clearly better for the planet to design this way, was it any cheaper, I ask Clarke? She says: ‘It depends whether you factor in my time. T is was my lockdown project. I spent a lot of time on
Saleroom.com. It gets you into every auction room in the country. I had searches on everything I was collecting. It was a real labour of love.’ She feels good about sidestepping the wasteful cycles of constant renewal in the hospitality sector. ‘I think people refurbish every ten years or so – you need to because the interiors get a lot of wear.’ Most contract furniture can’t take the strain. ‘But because we have lots of antique pieces, we can get things re-upholstered, put new carpets in. You have to keep on top of it. I have three full-time maintenance people and an army of people I use locally, including French polishers.’ As for the response from customers: ‘T ey love it,’ says Clarke. ‘People say it feels like being in someone’s much loved house. T ere’s that sense of care about it. I do genuinely adore everything that’s in here. I don’t like buying new things.’
She agrees there’s a problem with the design media pushing constant newness, but the vintage sensibility is growing: ‘T ere’s a whole new strand of people who are trying to infl uence on Instagram, who are doing what we do. I think people are getting more confi dent. But then people want to copy exactly that lampshade.’ T e fact that Maria Speake was crowned House & Garden’s interior designer of the year in 2019 implies the vintage movement is still gaining momentum.
Left By blending modern tastes with a vintage chic, The George Hotel has a welcoming and ‘lived in’ ambience for its guests
Right The warm-toned upper deck of The George Hotel’s Grill Restaurant
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