DE S IGN CENTRE
that open-plan living isn’t always the default option anymore. Interior designer Adam Bray cites changing patterns in family life as the main driver for this shift – and it is one he is fully on board with. “I always felt that having massive rooms was complicated and a bit of a fashion thing; being able to break out into smaller spaces is good for your mental health,” he says. “When I’m working on the interior architecture of a country house, clients often ask, ‘shall we smash this out?’ I always think, why? So you can spend life complaining about your wife watching Strictly or your children gaming? It’s nice to partition rooms off.” Co-director
W of architectural interior practice
Golden, Ellen Cumber, whose go-to Design Centre, Chelsea Harbour showrooms include Vaughan and Tissus d'Hélène, believes that ‘broken-plan living’
“I ALWAYS FELT THAT HAVING MASSIVE ROOMS WAS
COMPLICATED AND A BIT OF A FASHION THING”
– creating distinct, flexible zones within an open- plan space through screens, furniture or doors – has multiple benefits. “One of our current projects, a four- bedroom Victorian house in Highbury, has a large set of glazed doors between the dining and sitting room. We are extending the walls and putting in a pair of reclaimed Victorian double doors instead, so there is more capacity to close off part of the space. We want to bring more character and original detailing back into the house but it’s also about adding a sense of mystery.” Similarly, architect Thomas Croft, who recently
collaborated with interior designer Suzy Hoodless on an Arts & Crafts home in Hampstead, feels that the layout of a property should reflect its exterior. “As an architect, I want to be authentic. A lot of money gets spent on making Victorian houses into something they’re not. I’m as guilty of that as anybody, but there’s a fine line between open plan and ensuring the style of the outside connects with the interior.” In Hampstead, he designed a floor plan that meant adding new walls, rather than ripping them out. “Although most of the action happens in an open-plan living space, there is also a separate dining room. With classical or near
hether it’s due to more of us working from home or simply a renewed desire to hide clutter from guests during social gatherings, it seems
traditional architecture, there’s a hierarchy to the rooms, a formality that demands a certain amount of cellular arrangement. To recreate character in a fictionalised way, we dreamt up spaces with a function.” Someone who is well versed in embracing the natural
hierarchy of rooms is Philip Vergeylen, who heads up the interior design studio at Paolo Moschino Ltd (the company’s Design Centre showroom is home to its collection of fabrics, wallpaper, lighting and furniture). “All my ongoing projects in London have a dining room with a certain wow factor, as well as an everyday space for eating in a family room or an extension of the kitchen. It’s something that clients are wanting more and more,” he confirms. “You can see it in the way fabrics are being used: embroidery and silks for more formal spaces, plains for informal rooms.”
At Colefax and Fowler, director Tim Green can
identify different consumer decorating choices for open- plan living and cosy, compact spaces. “With open-plan living, palettes are typically lighter and clearer so the eye isn’t disturbed,” he says. “We’ve seen an increase in sales in patterned designs for a few years now and I think that stems from people wanting, in some ways, to be walled in by where they live. We’ve always designed to that type of market, and been about comfort and warmth, so have benefitted from the trend coming back towards this.” While Flora Soames believes that for some, open-plan living is immensely practical, she also understands its limitations. “I think there is a place for open-plan living, hence we see big extensions in houses that would otherwise be compartmentalised,” explains the interior designer, who sources from Design Centre
ABOVE: Colefax and Fowler’s director Tim Green feels that pattern’s rise in popularity goes hand-in-hand with people wanting to feel more cocooned by where they live. Pictured are the brand’s ‘Belgrove’ fabric on the curtains and ‘Lingrove’ used for the ottoman OPPOSITE: In this West London project by Golden, a sumptuous wool curtain (in ‘Satin Athéna’ fabric by Veraseta at Turnell & Gigon) is a softer way to separate a dressing room and bedroom. The chair is upholstered in Pierre Frey’s ‘Shaolin’ fabric
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