I have recently been inspired by several new books, including Clive Aslet’s The Story of the Country House , a birthday present from my daughter and a great account of how and why our architecture developed as it did. Recipes for Surfaces , by Mindy Drucker and Pierre Finklestein, a very comprehensive collection of how to create historic paint effects, bought second-hand online, and Ruth Guilding’s delicious Bible of British Taste which I am savouring, slowly, mostly on Sund

One of my favourite memories from my small village primary school was going off on long walks, collecting treasures from the nearby...

We recently visited a very nice garden centre that was recommended by a friend (thank you Edward). Housed within a Victorian walled...

Taking part in a television series is a strange thing. Unless you are a celebrity, it is entirely voluntary; meaning you don’t get paid,...

I have spent a lot of time 'beginning to' restore a garden area to the side of our house. It is about forty meters square and lies to our...

Chinoiserie, from 'chinois' the French for Chinese. I purchased this beautiful little wine table from an auction last summer. It is in...

Nomenclature: noun, the devising or choosing of names for things. I have been pondering on how we should refer to the rooms on the ground...

Decorative features in our renovated Library here at Teindside include our collection of taxidermy, and, what I call my ‘Cabinets of...

Some of the colour schemes we are using here at Teindside are extremely vibrant and take inspiration from the Georgian fascination with...

When we first arrived here in 2023, the house had been empty for quite a while. The gardens and grounds were overgrown, outbuildings...

One of the overarching principles we place at the heart of our renovations here, is to whenever possible, buy second-hand. Whether that’s...