With two young children and busy careers, the owners of this house, which stands on the edge of farmland above the Somerset Levels, wanted interiors that were sympathetic to the architecture, yet also relaxed and easy to maintain.

The centrepiece in the main bedroom is the four-poster bed that is part of the designer Nicola Harding’s furniture collection, NiX.

The simple frame, made from timber and bronze railing rods, can be dressed up or down. Nicola has added drapery made from her Checkmate cotton fabric with ticking stripe bedlinen. ‘The curtains have basic slot headings that anyone with a sewing machine can run up,’ she explains. ‘Here, the canopy is open, but you can, of course, cover it with fabric to create that room-within-a-room, cosy sleeping chamber. The proportions also work well in a small room when you don’t want to fill up the space too much.’

She feels that juxtaposing a bed style that is often seen as the preserve of large country houses with a utilitarian fabric, such as a check, gives the room a more relaxed feel. ‘It looks as if it has evolved organically, rather than being overly laboured. I liken it to wearing a pair of trainers rather than heels with a summer dress, it knocks back the look and makes it more accessible. As the designs aren’t based on motifs, your mind doesn’t get tied up reading the pattern.’

A Georgian-era chest of drawers and a vintage wicker chest, found in a flea market, add visual interest and help counter-balance the new elements in the room.

In an era when space is a valuable commodity, a four poster might seem an anachronism. However, when the interior designer James Thurstan Waterworth was asked to breathe new life into Templeton Garden, a revamped hotel in west London, he decided scale was the secret to injecting drama. ‘The aim was to refer to the history of the building, as well as introducing a contemporary, simplified look that felt young and fresh and wouldn’t detract from the garden views.’ A pared-down four-poster bed was the obvious choice; its crisp, clean lines and classic form strike a balance between modern and traditional. Designed in-house and crafted from blackened metal, it features a straight box pelmet with smart corner pleats in a honey-toned linen and cotton-blend fabric.

Increasingly, four posters are being reimagined as viable options for almost any shape and size of bedroom. ‘I’m a great believer in four-poster beds,’ says antique dealer and interior designer Max Rollitt, who has owned some glorious examples and has often taken the opportunity to template them before they pass onto their next owners. ‘The beauty is that we can take inspiration from these grand forebears, but they can be made to contemporary proportions. This way, you get the fantastic form and ornament of an antique in something that’s slightly more practical for a 21st-century home.’

Interior designer Henriette von Stockhausen of VSP Interiors says that each of her projects has at least one, if not two four-poster beds. ‘I love using a four poster in guest bedrooms in particular. It’s spoiling for any guests, who feel cosseted and protected.’ In her view, the beds add drama to a room, regardless of how much space there is. They also add interest to a room that lacks personality. ‘I have a friend who inherited a heavily carved Jacobean four-poster that just about squeezed into their spare bedroom with only a yard or so around it. It’s transformed what was previously a nice, but not remarkable room into a special and cosy space we all love to stay in.’ Nicola Harding, another interior designer who champions four posters, agrees. ‘The vertical posts can draw the eye upwards, creating the illusion of height in even the most diminutive of spaces,’ she says. ‘Using them in small bedrooms gives the space an identity: the eyes are drawn to the frame that fills the room and you quickly lose sight of the area around the edges.’

Restraint is the key to ensuring that a four poster is relevant. ‘I don’t like anything too frilly,’ says Henrietta. ‘I think everyone is more comfortable with a more streamlined look.’ Her designs tend to involve layering fabrics, always with an antique element, even if it’s only on the headboard or braid — to ensure the overall result isn’t completely new. There’s also the option of dressing all four corners, the sides alone or going without entirely. In a project in a Grade I-listed house, she used a four poster clad in antique mirror panels with the inside of the canopy lined in a simple silk and an antique suzani at the back. ‘The juxtaposition between the old and new injected great energy in the room,’ she says. ‘A number of my clients have moved into their parents’ houses and want to refresh the interiors to feel a little cleaner and less formal and a more modern treatment of a four-poster bed is one way to address that need.'

Stork wall light

In Antique Brass, £188 from Pooky.

020–7351 3003; www.pooky.com

Hanson wall light

In Beeswax, £122.03, and Candle Clip shade in Royal Oyster silk, £20.55, from Jim Lawrence.

01473 826685; www.jim-lawrence.co.uk

Medway reading light

£495, in Brass, from Vaughan

020–7349 4600; www.vaughandesigns.com

Bobble table lamp

In Strawberry and Blush Pink, £294, with bespoke 40cm (16in) Pleated Gathered shade, £177 from David Hunt Lighting.

01295 672628; www.davidhuntlighting.co.uk

Hanover table lamp

In Black Bronze, small, with Nut Brown Rabanna lampshade, £250 from Neptune.

01793 934011; www.neptune.com

The Wilted Lotus lamp

From £2,900 at Soane Britain.

020–7730 6400; www.soane.com

The true secret of great interior design, according to three of Britain's greatest designers

For those seeking to update their homes in the New Year, Giles Kime collates some truly on-the-nose insight from three

Credit: Sim Canetty-Clarke

How a chance discovery of a wallpaper fragment inspired the look of this country house bathroom

A fragment of hand-painted chinoiserie set the scene for the decoration of this bathroom at Keythorpe Hall, Leicestershire.

Four ways to give your bedroom the luxury hotel treatment

Giles Kime explains how hotels can teach us to be ahead of inspirational design trends and how we can make

Bright and beautiful

The Wrought Iron and Brass Bed Co’s collection is handmade in Norfolk and includes the Grace bed in sunny yellow, £1,108 for a double. 01485 542516; www.wroughtironandbrassbed.co.uk

Classic good looks

This daybed features hand-carved posts, mahogany-framed double rattan panels and two roomy storage drawers. It costs £2,465 for a small double with mattress, from £815, Brights of Nettlebed. 01491 641115; www.brightsofnettlebed.co.uk

Sustainable sleep

British bed-maker Hypnos has launched its Origins Organic collection of handmade mattresses, made with Global Organic Textiles Standard organic fibres, including wool from British farms. For added reassurance, the range is also certified by the Soil Association and endorsed by the Eden Project. The No. 1 king-size mattress with Alice headboard and pocket-sprung divan set here costs £6,959. 01844 348200; www.hypnosbeds.com

Beautifully bespoke

Luxury furniture specialist Modern British offers fitted wardrobe, bedroom and dressing-room designs, such as this chic unit in limed oak with brushed-brass inlay and handles, with soft grey-pink painted drawer fronts. A similar design would cost from £15,000. 0800 038 5245; www.modern-british.com

Modern elegance

Classic meets contemporary in the clean-lined design of the Wardley four poster bed in Oak, from £1,795 for a king size, with customisable upholstered headboard, from Neptune. 01793 934011; www.neptune.com

Focal point

Eye-catching fabric is sure to enhance the headboard’s role as a focal point. Creeping Trellis heavy linen in Wedgwood Red costs £170 per m from Parker & Jules. www.parkerandjules.com

Buttoned splendour

Sofas & Stuff also offers a collection of British-made upholstered beds, including this winged and deep buttoned Rouen king design in Soho Vintage Rose linen, £3,188. 0808 178 3211; www.sofasandstuff.com

Making space

Complete with storage drawer, the Harris daybed, from £1,699, is a versatile choice for lounging and sleeping, from The Headboard Workshop. 01291 628216; www.theheadboardworkshop.co.uk

Spoilt for choice

Willow & Hall offers an impressive selection of divan beds, bedsteads, storage beds and headboards, including the elegant Widham bed, shown here upholstered in House Collection Broad Weave linen in Wolf Grey, £1,674 for a double, Willow & Hall. 020–8939 3800; www.willowandhall.co.uk

Credit: Ed Sheperd / Sims Hilditch

A calming bedroom with light and height — and a bathtub with a view

When Emma Sims Hilditch converted a 17th-century barn, she created a bedroom with both light and height. Giles Kime takes

Four ways to give your bedroom the luxury hotel treatment

Giles Kime explains how hotels can teach us to be ahead of inspirational design trends and how we can make

A perfectly-formed small bedroom, as designed by Nina Campbell

If you're looking for inspiration on how to make a small bedroom both beautiful and comfortable, take a look at

A Nina Campbell-designed bedroom where comfort and beauty go hand-in-hand

Nina Campbell combines comfort and calm in this harmonious bedroom scheme. Amelia Thorpe takes a closer look.

Confused between decorative and architectural lighting? You're not alone, but help is at hand

At last, says Giles Kime, help is at hand for anyone blinded by the byzantine complexity of architectural lighting.

The great advantage of a hotel is that it’s a refuge from home life,’ wrote George Bernard Shaw. There’s no doubt that there should be a clear distinction between the two; hotels shouldn’t be too homely (otherwise why bother forking out?) and homes shouldn’t evoke hotels because therein madness lies - mini fridges, trouser presses, ‘statement wallpaper’ and the mysterious practice of piling industrial quantities of cushions on a bed.

There are, however, lessons to be learnt about why we love hotel bedrooms. One is a sense of order and tranquillity that is perhaps the lowest-hanging piece of fruit. The enemy of tranquillity is too much stuff; clothes, books (except the ones you are reading), dust-gathering clutter you bought on holiday because you thought it would add character.

Four luxury hotel bedroom touches to add to your bedroom at home

Reading lights

They allow you to read as your bedfellow snoozes (or vice versa)

End-of-bed benches

Vital when packing/unpacking/putting on shoes

Towering headboards

The perfect way to create drama (and inject pattern and/or glamour)

Shaving mirror

Why, oh why, don’t more people have these at home?

However, devoted you might be to the cause of unhinged eclecticism in the rest of the house, it makes sense to channel your inner minimalist in the bedroom. As well as self-discipline, there’s no doubt that a dressing room will help, ideally en suite to the bedroom or bathroom — or, at the very least, within easy-hitting distance.

The other great joy of hotel rooms is that they are a world in miniature, not least because you’re far less of a bother to the staff if you rarely set foot out of the door. As exercises in multi-function, they can be exemplary, often serving as bedroom, bathroom, sitting room, dining room, home office and cocktail bar, where you can exist in a parallel universe. Again, don’t try any of this at home; too much fiddliness can be too high maintenance in a domestic context. Moreover, the rise and rapid fall of the Teas-made demonstrated that Heath Robinsonism doesn’t work in a bedroom (an early incarnation, the early morning waiter, designed by Ron Grumble in 1930, featured a naked flame).

The really important lesson to be learnt from good hotels is less to do with multifunction and more about how forensic attention has been lavished on every last detail; the extra reading lights, the end-of-bed stools for luggage or for putting on shoes, the small, but perfectly formed pieces of furniture, such as console tables that serve adequately as desks, the scaled-down upholstery that creates a feeling of comfort and which, together with heavy curtains and blinds, serves to magically absorb sound.

The other thing that luxury hotels understand better than anyone is comfort. Founded in 1904 (and a Royal Warrant holder since 1929), Hypnos is run by the fifth generation of the Keen family, who have built a client list that ranges from snazzy names such as The Goring, Browns and The Lanesborough in London to more modish newcomers, including Soho Farmhouse, Oxfordshire, as well as established country retreats, such as Calcot Manor near Tetbury, Gloucestershire.

Carolyn Mitchell, director of interior design at Hypnos, says that there has been a growing desire among its residential clients to take inspiration from hotel design. Popular features include large, shaped headboards, a look pioneered by Firmdale’s Kit Kemp, as well as high-quality, handmade mattresses, deep divan bases and features, such as wool or Alpaca mattress toppers.

As well as wool, the company also puts a strong emphasis on natural materials, including cotton and hemp. ‘With almost 120 years’ experience in making beds using traditional craftsmanship and natural materials, we’ve realised that they are the key to comfort on so many levels,’ she says.

Yet, however influential interior hotel design might have been over the past decade, the wilder extremes should probably stay there. Rooms that look arresting in an Instagram post tend to be an aesthetic construct that has no real place in everyday life, like a tasting menu at a Michelin-starred restaurant. Luxury hotels are a fantasy created to spirit us away to a world of power showers, aromatic unguents and miniatures of craft gin, with unseen beings who turn back covers, replenish water bottles, dim lights and pick up discarded clothes when you aren’t looking. If that was ever reality, fantasy would never be quite the same.

Credit: www.100handpicked.co.uk

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The special magic of rattan, the furniture which almost forces you to recline languorously and have fun

A new book extols the virtues of rattan — and Giles Kime is absolutely sold.

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When a 30-year tenancy on Cyder House, one of the properties belonging to Frampton Court in Gloucestershire, came to an end, the Clifford family, who have lived on the estate since 1730, set out to transform it.

‘Having established a successful business hosting weddings and letting both the main house and the Orangery, we decided to turn The Cyder House into another holiday let that sleeps 16 people,’ explains Charlotte Clifford.

Each of the bedrooms is named after pear varieties grown on the estate. This room, known as Gypsy Red, is at the top of the house in a space that had previously been used for storage.

‘I decided to install four cabin beds to create somewhere magical to sleep,’ says Mrs Clifford. ‘I designed the outline shapes of each bed and then cast around to find someone who could paint them.’

The answer lay with the decorative artist Tess Newall, who used colours inspired by traditional painted wagons with motifs taken from a tapestry in the main house.

To soften the space, Mrs Clifford added frilled cushions on each bed by Alice Palmer and curtains in a pink and white ticking from Painswick Fabrics in Stroud, Gloucestershire. ‘I was worried about how children were ever going to get to sleep, but it turns out that drawing the curtains in the cabins works perfectly.’

The Cyder House at Frampton Court, Gloucestershire — www.framptoncourtestate.co.uk. Tess Newall — www.tessnewall.com

Tess Newall: 'People working from home want to feel that they are in a place that is inspiring and thoughtful'

Tess Newall has taken time off from painting murals to design a collection of wallpaper and lampshades, finds Eleanor Doughty.

From steam trains to ocean-going liners, the innovation that defined Victorian manufacture was propelled by an ability to hand craft iron, a skill that relied on the human hand and eye to create possibilities that could never be achieved by a fully mechanised process. Two centuries later, behind the round arched facade of a Grade II- listed steam engine shed in St Austell, The Cornish Bed Company is keeping this tradition of Victorian manufacturing alive, creating beautifully designed and crafted beds made in the last working foundry in the UK, still using authentic hand pouring techniques.

Frames and moulds are set out on a jig and then, from the bubbling vat of molten metal, zinc is heated to over 500°C, carefully poured and then left to cool, setting the components in place. Next, the frames are knocked out of the moulds, cleaned, fettled, polished and powder-coated to meet a customer’s choice of finish and colour.

Bedsteads from The Cornish Bed Company are made in precisely the same way as they were 150 years ago. They owe their extraordinary rigidity to a magic ingredient — a hand cast Victorian knuckle joint that fuses the head and foot sections of the frames, creating a level of stability and longevity that could never be achieved with a bolt, screw or nail. The two components of this joint slot together and are then tapped in place with a rubber mallet.

No two beds made by The Cornish bed company are alike; each one is individual, bespoke and made to order. Once complete, a unique number is chiselled onto the knuckle joint and every bed is delivered with a signed certificate of authenticity. No two beds are alike, even if made from the same moulds, as the craftsmen fettle the intricate details by hand, rendering each tiny imperfection a mark of originality. These unique and distinctive characteristics can only be achieved with skilled craftsmanship and materials of the highest quality.

While the beds have a nostalgic charm that complements both classic and contemporary interiors, at their heart is a capacity for longevity that meets a growing demand for products that are naturally sustainable and can be repaired, updated and refurbished to prolong their lifespan. It was not long ago that the idea of passing furniture down from generation to generation was presented as impractical, expensive and esoteric. ‘Fast furniture’ made from inferior materials and designed for the convenience of the factory created a fashion for self assembled furniture that lasted, on average 4-8 years and is destined for landfill.

This thriving British-owned business with showrooms in London, Devon and Cornwall is employing craftsmanship, quality materials and time honoured construction techniques that is preserving natural resources and creating furniture that will become much loved heirlooms for future generations.

See cornishbeds.co.uk for more details and showroom locations.

There are few hard-and-fast rules of decorating, but simply following your instincts can be both time consuming and expensive.

One rule is that comfort and practicality are the foundation of every successful room; after a lifetime of projects that have included everything from decorating Annabel’s and a box at Ascot to English country houses and apartments in Manhattan, I’ve learnt that decorating relies on anticipating the needs of clients and their guests. No detail is ever too small to be overlooked and, when they have all been properly considered and planned, the whole will be infinitely greater than a sum of the parts.

What the past 50 years has also taught me is that, as well as being comfortable, the best rooms are also fun, interesting and memorable places to be. Get that right and you’ll never want to leave.

A few eternal truths

Rooms should be as comfortable as they are stylish

John Fowler told me never to plan a room completely. Sort the bones and then walk into the room and it will tell you what it wants

The excitement in a room is when it contains a combination of things: some new, some that have been in the family for ages and some unusual finds

Wit is important: have something in a room that is a bit quirky

You can get away more easily with a bad design in a good colour than a good design in a bad colour

Scale is vital; avoid the middle road and remember that contrast is king

Don’t coordinate things too much — you always need a spark of something unexpected to make it look as if you haven’t tried too hard

Shop around; it may be more difficult than buying everything from the same place, but it’s much more interesting and satisfying

A room needs time to settle into itself and it often looks better a few weeks after it’s been finished, so don’t pass judgement on your efforts too soon

Husbands can come and go, but whatever you do, hang on to your curtain-maker

Sitting comfortably

Be sure to choose a piece of furniture that suits everyone —you don’t want older guests to sink into a deep armchair (together with the dog)

If you’ve fallen for a fabric you can’t afford, have it made up into cushions rather than curtains or a sofa

Think of conversational possibilities: you never want anyone to be stuck on a chair by themselves

Club fenders are wonderful, but, in my view, they are only suited to English fireplaces. They don’t tend to work on Continental styles

Remember to tint your ceiling to a colour — a dead-white ceiling will look grey

Don’t be afraid of strong colours. If considering Hermès orange, for example, remember you’re going to cover it with paintings

Have occasional chairs that can create a triangular arrangement

Always consider the possibilities of corner seating; it offers the ideal set-up for conversations or games of backgammon

A beautiful bathroom

For those with hectic lives (particularly those with children) a beautiful, calm and spacious bathroom is pure luxury

Try to have an armchair in a bathroom; bath time is a good opportunity for a chat and a glass of Champagne

To avoid accumulating things in bathrooms, steer clear of too much storage. A surface next to the basin will keep paraphernalia to a minimum

Carpets are fine in bathrooms as long as they only have a bath or basin; those with a shower need stone or ceramic floors

If a bathroom is small, try to have some elements with legs, such as the bath or basin. It will help to create the impression of space

Never put the loo directly in front of the door — hide it around the corner

Bedded bliss

The most important thing is to keep bedrooms calm with a walk-in closet, so that clothes are kept out of the way

To avoid bedroom joinery looking too much like a fitted kitchen, replace the central panels of wardrobes with chicken wire over pleated fabric

In small bedrooms, if there isn’t room for a bedside table, consider building a niche into any adjacent joinery

Lightweight piqué covers are particularly useful on beds if you have dogs as they can be easily thrown into the washing machine (the covers, rather than the dogs, that is). Antique tablecloths make wonderful covers

Put baffles on central ceiling pendants so you’re not lying in bed looking up at the glare of a naked lightbulb

Much as I love blinds, there are some occasions when a bedroom calls for curtains. There’s nothing more comforting than shutting the world out at the end of a long day

Always have a bookcase in a bedroom. There’s something deeply pleasing (and soporific) about being surrounded by books

In my view, bedrooms — rather than sitting rooms — are the ideal place for family photographs and watercolours

Hang wallpaper on the inside of wardrobes so that they look pretty when you open the doors

I don’t have any rules about colours for bedrooms; I once stayed with a friend who had lined the walls of their spare room in a deep burgundy cloth. I have never slept better in my life; it was like being back in the womb

Bedroom lighting should be multi-layered: you need lights to read by, lights to wash by and you should be able to control them from the bed

I have to have a television in my bedroom and don’t see any reason to disguise it

Be a host with the most

Make sure to have nice hangers in cupboards; beware of dry cleaners’ hangers creeping into the mix. I like to have soft, upholstered ones for dresses and shirts and wooden ones for everything else

Keep a lavender sachet on the pillows of your guest bedroom. They can be a great way to induce sleep

Display an up-to-date selection of good books

Spend a night in any spare bedrooms you have to make sure they’re comfortable for visitors

It’s no longer enough to leave a hairdryer in a drawer — keep a phone charger ready for use in the spare bedroom, too

A radio is always a good addition, especially for insomniacs

Fun with friends

Is there anything nicer than the sight of a heavily laden drinks tray with an ice bucket filled to the gunwales?

Dining rooms that are rarely full of people become sad and musty. Find another purpose for them, such as a billiard room

Antique plates were made to be used, although make sure you wash them yourself rather than entrust the job to someone else

Linen sheets that have tears or have been damaged can be cut up and hemmed into napkins or dishcloths (glasses should always be dried using linen)

A thoughtfully laid table is a joy to behold; I have lots of china ready to create different table settings

I only serve Champagne and wine at parties; cocktails can get incredibly complicated when people arrive at the same time

Keep the hors d’oeuvres simple: cheese straws, served in glass ice pails with silver tops, go very quickly

I’m not keen on ordinary water tumblers — they remind me of boarding school. I love having a mix of different types and scour antique markets for them

Credit: Joanna Wood

Beautiful bathrooms: How to design your lighting, draw the eye and make the most of your space

Bathrooms are typically the smallest room in the house - interior designer Joanna Wood shares her top tips and tricks

Six top tips on how to 'upcycle' old homeware, creating stunning original pieces and safeguarding the environment

Sustainable interior designer, upcycler and self-proclaimed ‘warrior on waste’ Lynne Lambourne offers her expert tips on how to upcycle items found in your home

Country Life's 10 best interiors articles of 2020, from baths in bedrooms to colour schemes for Georgian country houses

Enjoy our list of the most-viewed interior design and decoration articles from Country Life in the last 12 months.

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In this bedroom of an 18th-century manor house in Dorset, ‘there was no cornice, no dado, no chimney — nothing at all,’ explains Edward Hurst, an antique and interiors consultant who specialises in 18th-century furniture and art. ‘I found a neo-Classical chimneypiece and built it up from there.’

The backdrop to the scheme is a botanical wallpaper that has been hand-painted onto individual segments. Named Botanical Studies, the wallpaper is part of a new collection designed by the American decorator Michael S. Smith for hand-painted wallpaper specialists de Gournay.

The large-scale renditions of passion flowers, gardenias and heliotropes reference the 17th-century home of the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus.

‘I immediately thought of my client when I saw it,’ explained Mr Hurst. ‘When I unrolled a section of it, it was clear to us both that we had to use it.’

Softening the overall look is a blind made in Flora Soames’s Honeycomb fabric, a lozenge weave inspired by an 18th-century ornate French silk damask. The furniture is all sourced by Mr Hurst; at the window is a George II tripod table with a pair of English elbow chairs.

On either side are a veneered marble-topped side table and a splendid Chinese lacquered cabinet on Chippendale Rococo gilt stands. ‘I like mixing periods and styles — it helps to ground a room,’ he explains.

Mr Hurst believes that every decorating project should begin with what he calls ‘listening to a house’. ‘It almost tells you what to do. Rather than bulldozing through and identifying palettes, it’s important to do the right thing for the house.’

Edward Hurst — www.edwardhurst.com

Credit: Andrew D Steel

Susan Deliss's fresh country-house drawing room that shows how to be smart without being stuffy

Susan Deliss used a simple, but uplifting mixture of colours to transform a country-house drawing room.

Curious Questions: Why do leaves change colour in Autumn? And why do some go yellow while others are red, purple or brown?

The riotous colours on the trees around us are one of the highlights of the year — but why do leaves

Credit: Cobblers Cove, Barbados

Cobblers Cove, Barbados: A paradise of palms and pastels, with sparkling beaches and British interiors

Mary Miers visited a beautiful Caribbean oasis, designed by a theatre designer and Lulu Lytle of Soane Britain.

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Curious Questions: When were dogs domesticated?

Dogs have never been more popular — as soaring puppy prices (and the worrying number of scams) show. But our

You don’t fully appreciate a really good bed until you’ve slept on one that has seen better days (and nights) or has a mattress as thin and unyielding as a slice of white bread.

Yet there can be a degree of quackery in the claims made for expensive beds that play on our fears that we’re not getting a decent night’s sleep and which promise all sorts of life-changing qualities. Then there’s that well-worn piece of rationale that ‘you spend half your life in bed, so you’d better invest a small fortune on a mattress’, which, you then discover, has to be changed every 10 years.

Therein lies the knotty problem. How much do you spend? A tidy sum for one you might not be able to afford to change very often or a modest mattress you can upgrade every few years? In either instance, the answer is to spend as much as you possibly can (one customer of a well-known manufacturer took this to a remarkable extreme of inconspicuous consumption by asking that all the springs should be gold plated).

A new generation of mattresses has now entered the market, offering the convenience of a mattress that springs, as if by magic, from a cardboard box. Brook + Wilde has a luxury mattress that combines 3,500 springs with memory foam to create a wonderfully supportive, cool environment, from £899 for the Elite single mattress (£1,199 for a double). The result is a brilliant balance; succour for tired limbs and enough room in the budget for things that also really matter, such as high-thread-count bed linen, a down duvet and hotel-style headboard. And if you do wish to push the boat out a little further, the Brooke + Wilde Ultimate mattress (at £1,799 for a double) has 6,000 springs and 10 different layers, one of which apparently cools the fabric by two degrees.

But there’s surely a caveat in all this: how much of a good night’s sleep relies entirely on your mattress? What contribution is made by sheets with a thread count that reaches stratospheric heights, a duvet, an upholstered headboard, a cosy topper and pleasing bedside lights? Is it worth sacrificing one option for another?

The best strategy, perhaps, is to spend as much as you can on the mattress, but leave a decent contingency for cosseting accoutrements, such as the highly desirable range of headboards at Ensemblier (www.ensemblierlondon.com).

As you might imagine, there’s a lot of room between the budget end of the market and ‘money won’t stand between me and the transformative possibilities of a good night’s sleep — not even the price of a small car’.

The latter is well catered for. The Savoy Bed, designed for the Savoy Hotel in 1905 (and still made by the legendary Savoir), was commissioned by the impresario Richard D’Oyly Carte because he couldn’t find anything else that suited his vertiginous expectations. More than a century later, the bed still sets the standard for nocturnal luxury. In the early part of the century, the likes of Vi-Spring and Hypnos joined the fray in making beds for the well-heeled.

Credit: Ed Sheperd / Sims Hilditch

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Credit: Brent Darby Photography

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Pascaline wardrobe

Made from solid oak with a lightly brushed finish, the Pascaline wardrobe, £1,395, from Loaf, is a classic piece and features antique-style bronze handles. 020–3141 8300; www.loaf.com

Bayuban Cabinet

This chic cabinet, £2695, from Oak, comes in two colours — 'Natural' and 'Ebony' and features three removable shelves, deep drawers, and best of all — internal hidden mirrors. 0333 004 2042; www.oka.com

Linen Cupboard

This hand carved and hand painted linen cupboard from Chelsea Textiles, £3235, is finished in a distressed, French-chic style and comes in a range of muted colours, including 'Provence green' and 'seafoam'. Chelsea Textiles 020–7584 5544; www.chelseatextiles.com

Chichester Grand wardrobe

We've never known anyone to complain of too much wardrobe space — which is just as well, as this beautiful wardrobe, £2,850, from Neptune is classic, simple and spacious. Made from tulipwood with an exposed internal timber rail, it comes in an array of soft colours. 01793 934011; www.neptune.com

Dolls House cabinet

This sweet cabinet from Andrew Martin, £2950, is both playful and practical and will surely delight your youngest critics. Not to be confused with one of our property pieces, with its brick facade and wooden oak door, inside reveals two adjustable shelves above three drawers. 020–3887 6113; www.andrewmartin.co.uk

Paolo Moschino Armoire

Falling into the higher price category, this Armoire, £7,200, from Paolo Moschino for Nicholas Haslam is a bespoke piece, and is created to your custom size and design. 020–7730 8623; www.nicholashaslam.com

Chateauneuf Rustic French two-door armoire

This utterly charming armoire from the French Bedroom Company makes you feel like you're living in a vineyard in the south of France, with its reclaimed wooden finish, exposed grain and elegant curves. Yours for £1,475 — but be warned: they weight up to 150kg and the company delivers to ground floor rooms only... 01444 415430; www.frenchbedroomcompany.co.uk

Gustavian wardrobe

This simple yet timeless wardrobe from Gustavian for £3,400, is made from Birchwood and features hand carved detailing on the doors and can be completed in a custom paint finish. 020–7060 2680; www.gustavian.com

Camille Limewash Oak Double Wardrobe

Blurring the lines between armoire and wardrobe — if indeed, there are any lines to be blurred — is this elegant piece from Cotswold Company for £1250. With soft curves and a weathered look thanks to its limewash finish, this oak wardrobe is destined to inject a bit of French style into any room. www.cotswoldco.com

Flame Mahogany wardrobe

Living up to its name, this Flame Mahogany wardrobe, £4,950 from Brights of Nettlebed is as beautiful as it is bold. Featuring a classic shaped top and cabriole legs, it comes in bespoke sizes. 01491 641115; www.brightsofnettlebed.co.uk

Frey armoire in Black Out

This stunning armoire would be just as suited to a kitchen or dining room as it would a bedroom or bathroom, with its minimalist exterior of lacquered panelled doors and large, interchangeable interior storage options. £7,980 from Pinch. 020–7622 5075; www.pinchdesign.com

Gustavian armoire

Hand crafted in Northern India, this beautiful armoire costs £2,850 from Susie Watson Designs. Made from weathered acacia hardwood, the refined and versatile piece comes in two sizes and would work as both a television cabinet or in a bedroom as a wardrobe. 0344 980 8185; www.susiewatsondesigns.co.uk

Credit: Alamy

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A stunning country kitchen, which draws inspiration from the late Victorian kitchen at Lanhydrock, Cornwall

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Sweat Pea, by Cole & Son, has long been a favourite of interior designer Charlotte Hughes, of Sutton House Interiors. In this bedroom, its busy, unstructured pattern is not only pretty and classically English, but also provides a perfect mask for the awkward angles of structural beams (www.cole-and-son.com).

‘Treat anything you want to hide in the same manner as the walls,’ she recommends, either by wallpapering beams or by painting radiators in same shade as the background colour of the wallpaper. The remaining woodwork here was painted in another reliable hue: Old White by Farrow & Ball (www.farrow-ball.com). ‘It goes with everything.’

Charlotte transformed the layout of the space by removing access to some of the storage cupboards that run along the wall behind the bed; it meant that the bed could be centrally placed facing the dormer windows, to make the most of the views.

The bed itself is one of her own designs, based on a French 19th-century style in walnut; it, together with her other locally made pieces and hand-picked antiques, are available from her newly launched online store.

In contrast to the wallpaper, the other elements are kept deliberately plain, with fresh white linen and sheer curtains.

The Gustavian-inspired painted bedside tables are from Chelsea Textiles (www.chelseatextiles.com). Standing on them are Merton lamps by Vaughan, with pleated cream shades (www.vaughandesigns.com).

For comfort and better visibility, she added some simple reading lights in a discreet satin nickel finish by John Cullen (www.johncullenlighting.com).

Sutton House Interiors — www.suttonhouseinteriors.com

A perfectly-formed small bedroom, as designed by Nina Campbell

If you're looking for inspiration on how to make a small bedroom both beautiful and comfortable, take a look at

Credit: Tom Mannion

Beautiful bedrooms: How to tell a tale with your choice of antiques

Max Rollitt has lent a distinctive, period feel to a farmhouse bedroom.

To create this stunning bedroom, Emma Burns, one of the principal design directors at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, took the unusual step of blocking off a south-facing window in the sitting room of her 19th-century townhouse and replacing it with a fireplace. ‘Although it was sad to lose the light, I felt it was important to create a focal point,’ she explains. ‘Architecture is critical to grounding a room.’ 

The deep hues of the colour scheme were inspired by the crocodile leather strap of Emma’s watch. ‘It’s my daughter’s room and, when I asked her what colours she liked, she drew a blank before pointing at the brown strap of my watch.’ 

The walls, woodwork, curtains, bed head and valance are all in the same colour: a delicious dusty-chocolate colour. Paint was sourced from Papers and Paints’ collection of 1950s colours, 5-063, and the fabric is Nicky Haslam’s Chocolate Glazed Linen. 

The roller blinds in Wildflower from Chelsea Textiles add a touch of prettiness; Emma first spotted the pattern on a dress worn by Keira Knightley in the film Pirates of the Caribbean.

In the small space between the windows stands a handsome semainier (a tall, narrow chest of drawers), on which Emma has placed a 1960s Murano glass lamp with a pin-prick shade from Robert Kime. 

The bedside lamps are Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler’s classic Queen Anne design with flattened oval shades and the white bedspread — sourced in Delhi — provides a crisp counterpoint to the browns.

Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler — 020–7493 2231; www.sibylcolefax.com 

Credit: Simon Brown

The dovecote which became a delightful country home

A long career at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler was the perfect preparation for Emma Burns’s greatest design challenge yet:

Credit: Andreas von Einsiedel

How to make your bathroom feel luxurious

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This bathroom is in a barn that adjoins the designer’s converted schoolhouse in Wiltshire. Emma spent two years transforming it with her husband, John, co-founder of Neptune. They took inspiration from buildings they had seen in Provence and, to create a similarly rustic feel, they used Douglas fir timbers for the beams and soft wood for the rafters, whitewashed with half water and half Silver Birch emulsion from Neptune.

Emma had always dreamt of having a bath tub with a view and she found the perfect spot in the corner of the bedroom. In order to lend a calm, restful feel to the space, she kept the palette quite neutral, with some stronger tones, including on the outside of the cast-iron bath, painted in Farrow & Ball’s Pigeon, and the headboard, which has a monochrome floral print.

A transformative decision was to open up ceilings to expose the rafters, thus making the most of the building’s height. Taps from Perrin & Rowe were fitted to the wall to create a pared-back feel.

In keeping with the rustic look, the walls were finished using a rough lime plaster and painted in Neptune Silver Birch and the woodwork in Dove Grey. The bed is hung with sheer curtains that create a light, breezy feel and covered with a combination of both angora and cotton throws, to create a luxurious layered look.

Sims Hilditch — www.simshilditch.com

Credit: Getty

Britain's best interior designers on the paint colours you just can't go wrong with

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Credit: The Fabric Collective

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Credit: Simon Brown - via Papers and Paints

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Credit: VSP Interiors

How to blend ancient and modern in historical bedrooms

A bedroom in an historic Oxfordshire house has been brought to life by the designer Henriette von Stockhausen.

Credit: Tom Mannion

Beautiful bedrooms: How to tell a tale with your choice of antiques

Max Rollitt has lent a distinctive, period feel to a farmhouse bedroom.

With its Grade I-listed status, there was very little elbow room available to make any major alterations to this house in Oxfordshire. Now, following a full programme of restoration, this bedroom is one of several guest rooms used to host shooting weekends.

‘My client knew what she liked: she wanted the design to work with the original features in the room without the end result being too busy or stuffy,’ explains interior designer Henriette von Stockhausen.

'A four-poster bed has the cosseting effect of creating a ‘room within a room’

The first step was to install a four-poster bed, a common feature in Henriette’s schemes for large bedrooms as they have the cosseting effect of creating a ‘room within a room’. This example is one of her own designs, clad in antique mirror panels. The top is covered in a simple silk by Pierre Frey and a rope trim by Samuel & Sons.

Henriette likes to use antique fabrics, often sourced through 1stdibs, in many of her projects. The back panel is upholstered in an antique suzani, which she has bordered in Ralph Lauren’s English Riding Velvet. ‘This sets the colour theme and creates a focal point; everything else in the room remains in the background.’

Roman blinds were chosen for two of the windows and curtains with a bespoke pelmet dress the main window: all are in Woodville by Zoffany, also trimmed with Ralph Lauren velvet. The chairs and bed bench are covered in an antique linen sourced through Susan Deliss.

To find out more about VSP Interiors and to see more examples of work, visit www.vspinteriors.com

Bathtub in the bedroom: Should you try it at home?

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Credit: Tom Mannion

Beautiful bedrooms: How to tell a tale with your choice of antiques

Max Rollitt has lent a distinctive, period feel to a farmhouse bedroom.

Credit: Butson

A stunning country kitchen, which draws inspiration from the late Victorian kitchen at Lanhydrock, Cornwall

The kitchen of Lanhydrock House in Cornwall provided the inspiration for a stunning new kitchen, designed by Bruce Hodgson of

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Jaunty accessories are a key tool when it comes to conjuring up decorative schemes, believes the interior designer Penny Morrison: ‘They offer the opportunity to make rooms feel instantly younger and fresher with minimal effort.’

This bedroom at her country house, just across the Welsh border, is a great example. Having underpinned the space with some classic elements – antique furniture, a half-tester bed and a backdrop of floral wallpaper – she then introduced unexpected splashes of colour and vibrancy with a few carefully chosen items. ‘Take these away and the room is returned to something more formal.’

All the fabrics are from her collection – she is a textile designer, as well as an antique dealer and decorator. The walls are covered in her double-width Begum wallpaper, which was inspired by an antique piece of embroidery and features detailed floral illustrations in a muted vegetable-dye-style colour palette.

'A bedhead should be large or distinctive enough to be noticed, but not enough to overpower'

The half tester and bedhead are in the designer’s block-print style Killi fabric in duck-egg blue and the inside is lined with a plain silk. ‘For a lighter, more contemporary look, I’d recommend using a fine linen lawn, perhaps even with a smaller print in a contrasting colour.’

Raising the profile of the bedhead so that it rises above the height of the pillows frames the bed; her mantra is that a bedhead should be large or distinctive enough to be noticed, but not enough to overpower.

The cushions are one-off pieces, made from her vast catalogue of vintage fabrics sourced from around the world, and the woven bedspread is backed in a pretty block print. The lamp bases are new to her collection and encrusted with shells; the lampshades are made from saris. ‘I like the mismatch of the table and the chest of drawers instead of a pair of nightstands in old country houses—it looks less balanced and more personal.’

For more information on and designs by Penny Morrison, visit www.pennymorrison.com

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Credit: Harry Lowther/Lewis & Wood

How large-scale wallpaper can transform a space beyond recognition

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Credit: Paul Craig

How to transform the interiors of a derelict barn into a beautiful holiday let

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Structured fabric has existed since twigs were woven together, but Tielle Luxury was born only five years ago. Then, Tradelinens, the business Mr Lancaster Gaye had founded 30 years before with partner Joe Molloy, was already supplying fine hotels – the Ham Yard Hotel, Piccadilly, W1, is his favourite.

Enquiries from guests eager to enjoy similar quality at home were flooding in. ‘If you pay £15,000 for a suite, you expect an exquisite standard’ and the bed is crucial – it leads to sleep, something of which many of us need more.

‘The textile industry is the most important in the world. Everyone on the planet uses it’

The duo decided to start stocking bed linen under the (quite fabricated… ahem) name Tielle (TL, for Tradelinens) and selling to individuals. Actual linen is rough in texture, now it’s not laundered in the old-fashioned way of keeping it damp so it irons flat, so although the crumpled-linen look is fashionable, smooth cotton makes for a better night’s sleep.

Egyptian cotton is no longer ‘a thing’, he insists, so don’t be duped by offers – ‘there is more Egyptian cotton sold online than is produced in Egypt’. It is all about the quality of the yarn, not the thread count.

‘The thing about bed-linen quality is that people get confused with numbers. They think the higher count the better – this simply isn’t the case ’

‘If you get in and feel good, the serotonin release makes you happy,’ enthuses the perfectionist. His postman deemed down-filled pillows too expensive, until he tried one. He bought 12, stating:

‘I didn’t understand, but now I do.’

Robert Lancaster Gaye’s tips for looking after your linen and cotton:

• Spend as much as you can on pillows and duvet. You’d happily spend £45 on dinner, but you can’t put a price on a wonderful sleep
• Synthetic pillows and duvets aren’t breathable, so store more dust mites – in fact, they are worse for allergy sufferers
• Do not dry clean bed linen if possible – the chemicals aren’t good to sleep with
• Eco-friendly washing powders work just as well, the more simple the better – clean smelling doesn’t always mean clean
• Wash sheets at high temperatures with fewer chemicals or lower with more detergent
• Do not use fabric conditioner. It coats towels with a residue, which you then rub onto your skin
• If you like fluffy towels, but don’t want to waste energy, pop them in the dryer for five minutes once they’re almost air-dried
• Sheets will last 20–30 years – if left for 100 years, a cotton sheet would tear like tissue, but linen would be exactly as you left it The optimum thread count for price, wearability and comfort is 400–600; most hotels use 300. Pillow cases with a 400 thread count start at £20, full sets from £126.

Tielle Love Luxury was the first UK business to join the Better Cotton Initiative in 2016, which trains farmers in water efficiency, caring for Nature, reducing the use of harmful chemicals and respecting workers’ rights. For more information, visit www.tielleloveluxury.co.uk.

Create your own rural oasis: Five bedroom furniture tips

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When Melanie Phipps and her young family left London for North Yorkshire, she was drawn to the idea of merging upmarket glamping with B&B. After much research, she decided to install two shepherd’s huts from Dorset-based manufacturers, Plankbridge. Fitted with bathrooms and woodburners, one stands in a field under an oak tree, the other in the walled garden.

When it came to decorating them, Mrs Phipps opted to include all the comforts of a full-sized house, within the limited space at her disposal. With this in mind, she ensured that the king-size bed is extra-long ‘for tall guests’.

An eye for tiny details is clearly a forte, too. A quiet stripe in rust-red on oatmeal, sourced locally through Waltons Mill Shop, was used for the window blinds and the bed valance; the latter is on a swing arm to access storage underneath the bed. The bed linen was sourced from Cornwall-based Antique Designs.

The walls are covered in tongue-and-groove and painted in Farrow & Ball’s All White and the oak floors are covered with a lime-washed harlequin pattern. Mirrors, sourced from Dairy House Antiques in Wiltshire, have been strategically placed to bounce light around the space.

Meanwhile, Mrs Phipps’s husband, Jake (a respected furniture designer), made the breakfast table, which is supported by a reclaimed hayfeeder bracket.

For more information about The Hut B&B, visit www.thehutbandb.co.uk.

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It may be in west London, but interior designer Rosie Bossom wanted her apartment bedroom to feel as if it was in the country. With this in mind, she decided to make the most of the large windows, natural light and garden view: ‘I wanted to create a sense of calm.’

The quiet backdrop is composed of plain, painted walls and white bedlinen, with neutral linen curtains framing the windows. The curtain track is concealed by a dropped ceiling, with acoustic insulation installed to prevent sound travelling from the flat above.

Simple blackout blinds have been trimmed in green grosgrain ribbon from V. V. Rouleaux to echo the colour of the leaves seen through the windows.

Against this tranquil background, Rosie added a layered scheme. ‘I like to create a sense that a room has been pieced together over time,’ she explains. An overscale headboard is covered in deep-olive-green mohair from Claremont. ‘I drew different possible shapes and sizes on the wall, so that I could be sure that the headboard would look in proportion to the height of the ceiling.’

The bed is dressed with a large cushion made from an antique suzani panel. The dressing table, which was once a child’s desk, was spray-painted in a burgundy that complements the intricate embroidery of the cushion.

A mix of printed linens and cottons has been used to make the valance for the bed, to cover the stool and for the lampshades. ‘They make a light contrast to the strong colour of the headboard. In a bedroom, which needs to be calm, it makes sense to add the pattern with cushions, rugs and lampshades, then they can be swapped out if you find them too much.’

Rosanna Bossom – www.rosannabossom.co.uk

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Credit: Kitchen by Victoria Meale

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Credit: Chris Warren / Marston and Langinger

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Classic English elegance may be the hallmark of an interior by Nina Campbell — but so too is superb comfort, as this bedroom in a Knightsbridge town house suggests.

Nina’s starting point was to line the walls in a specially woven chocolate damask, which helps to absorb sound. ‘Fabric introduces a sense of quietness and luxury,’ she explains, ‘and neither paint nor wallpaper gives that same richness of colour.’ The fabric disguises a door to the bathroom, beyond the bed, and is balanced by off-white painted walls below the dado rail.

The fabric also serves as a sumptuous backdrop to a combination of gentle textures in white, off-white and china blue. Soft cashmere curtains are trimmed in embroidery from Holland & Sherry (www.hollandandsherry.com), the armchair upholstered in chenille and the bed dressed in crisp white linen. ‘The mood is calm,’ notes Nina.

Credit: The Interior Archive

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To create the background lighting, Nina specified small bedside lamps, a floor lamp and a pair of wall lights from Soane Britain (www.soane.co.uk). Lights on flexible arms, mounted behind the headboard, are for reading in bed.

It may be tranquil, but there’s interest, too — from the antiquarian maps that hang on the walls to the 1950s side table and the marble fireplace with brass slips, dating from about 1870 and chosen to suit the age of the property.

‘The excitement in a room is when there’s a combination of things: some new, some that have been in the family for ages and some unusual finds,’ says Nina. ‘A clever mix also brings a classic look up to date; it may be more difficult than buying everything from a catalogue, but it’s much more interesting.’

‘Nina Campbell Interior Decoration: Elegance and Ease’ by Giles Kime (Rizzoli New York, £45)

Antique dealer and interior designer Max Rollitt employs his deep knowledge of antiques and furniture restoration to create spaces that blend timeless elegance with an artistic sense of scale, colour and pattern.

'The formality of the French 1810 guéridon table is contrasted with a hand-painted Bloomsbury-style lampshade'

He puts a particular emphasis on comfort, however, ‘that doesn’t mean compromising on quality, but instead softening a traditional, formal look to create something joyful’.

‘Antiques have a rich story to tell’

Asked to create a warm and invitng bedroom as part of a project to renovate a 17th-century farmhouse in Hampshire, Max employed this distinctive approach, combining smart antiques with interesting fabrics, wallpapers and furniture. His starting point was a large-scale wallpaper, Adam’s Eden, from Lewis & Wood, designed by artist Adam Calkin. The formality of the French 1810 guéridon table and the 18th-century mahogany lattice-back chair, after François Hervé, are contrasted with a hand-painted Bloomsbury-style lampshade hanging from the ceiling.

'This layered look, created by mixing pieces from different periods has long been a cornerstone of English country-house style'

More softness and informality are offered by cushions made from an old Kashmiri wedding cloth and Kantha quilt used to dress the bed, an antique Persian carpet and a painted faux-bamboo stool from the designer’s own bespoke-furniture collection.

'The designer’s distinctive approach succeeds in bringing them to life'

The simple linen-covered headboard has a scalloped-side detail. To create a sense of balance, he injected a solid teal colour in the curtains and wing chair.

Although this layered look, created by mixing pieces from different periods has long been a cornerstone of English country-house style, the designer’s distinctive approach succeeds in bringing them to life. ‘Antiques have a rich story to tell.’

To find out more about interior designer Max Rollitt and his company, visit www.maxrollitt.com

Credit: Joanna Wood

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Credit: Gavin Houghton - designer's room

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‘Walking through the rooms of the high-Victorian Castle Leslie in Co Monaghan is like turning the pages of a book recording the passion for Italian art harboured by Sir John Leslie.’ So says Jeremy Musson in Country Life magazine on the 15th July 1999, following a visit to the fine establishment.

‘The chapters in his life can be read in the paintings and furniture throughout the house he built and furnished after he inherited the estate.’

Born at Leslie and educated at Harrow and Oxford, it is surprisingly unsurprising that Sir John’s taste swung so far south from his Irish home. Resigning his military commission for a career as an artist, his four-year Grand Tour ( beginning in 1844) saw him pass through many of Europe’s cultural hotspots, including Seville, Madrid and Rome, where he found furnishings so to his taste that he brought them home with him.

Musson continues. ‘His rebuilding of Castle Leslie was completed in 1878. The furnishing and decorating of his new home gave Sir John full rein to indulge his passion for things Italian.’

The Red Bedroom (pictured in this quirky photograph by Paul Barker from the Country Life Picture Library) was not exempt from Sir John’s Italianate influence. Having acquired many furnishings from Florence and other parts of his muse-like country, he sought places for them in his new abode, finding a home for a carved bed and chimneypiece from Perugia in this fine room.

A letter to his wife Lady Constance hints that Sir John was aware of the single-minded nature of his vision: ‘'The Florentine Furniture looks very fine – such grand frames – a splendid table for the Gallery – We have more than I thought.’

Flying directly in the face of less-is-more, every inch of the room screams of dedicated decoration, pairing blue walls with red carpets, curtains and upholstery. The windows which face the bed would've then (as they still do now) offered a contrastingly-serene view, as after Sir John's renovations he writes to his wife 'gymnastics are positively required not to see the lake for a view of it appears in every room.'

A review published in the magazine in 1996 by Rupert Uloth (who writes for Country Life to this day) lists eccentricity as the minimum requirement needed to open up a family home to the public as a hotel ‘in the heart of so-called bandit country'. Rupert then goes on to describe the Red Room as having ‘a thunderbox that would put Caesar's throne to shame’ perhaps similar to the red lacquered room at Upton House.

The castle remains a hotel today and in the now-dubbed 'The Red Master Room', Sir John's decorative skills have pervaded through the ages (although the velvet throw has been replaced with a rather more muted alternative). Referred to as 'the centre of family life at Castle Leslie Estate for centuries', the room is much the same as Paul Barker captured it 20 years ago. Whether this be a positive or negative thing is not for us to say.

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Credit: Nick Smith Photography

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In any conversation about interior design with Nina Campbell, it’s never long before the word ‘comfort’ crops up. Throughout her 50-year career, she’s been driven by her belief that rooms should be as comfortable as they are stylish.

This bedroom is no exception; the dual-aspect windows, which enjoy far-reaching rural views, have generous, full-length curtains with elegant square-edged pelmets. The colour palette combines both pale and dark greys with a subtle pink in the form of Le Castellet fabric by Schumacher, sourced from www.turnellandgigon.com; the walls, meanwhile, are hung with fabric to create a cocooning effect.

Nina draws these colours together by using pink piping on the grey-linen headboard, as well as on the chair. ‘They’re easy colours – I don’t think a man would have an issue with sleeping here.’

'I find it maddening not to have somewhere to put a glass of water, a clock or a book'

The problem of limited space was resolved through the use of bespoke joinery. Either side of the bed are full-length wardrobes – one with shelves, the other for hanging clothes – and, above, there is further storage space for spare linen and extra blankets.

In order to root the scheme firmly in the country, Nina chose to hang a gingham fabric by Cloth & Clover behind chicken wire on the wardrobe doors. ‘This is a useful technique, as, otherwise, fitted cabinetry can end up looking too much like a fitted kitchen.’

In the absence of any room for bedside tables, Nina has created shallow niches – about the depth of a paperback book – on either side of the bed. ‘I find it maddening not to have somewhere to put a glass of water, a clock or a book, so have done this a few times in smaller bedrooms,’ she explains.

This image is featured in ‘Nina Campbell Interior Decoration’ by Country Life's interiors editor Giles Kime, (£45, Rizzoli). Find out more about Nina Campbell at www.ninacampbellinteriors.com.

Credit: The Interior Archive

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Given his designs and his diction, anyone who’s met Veere Grenney might be surprised that the London-based decorator didn’t spend his formative years skipping along the flagstone floors of an English country house.

In fact, he was born in New Zealand, from where he travelled to London in the 1970s.

On arrival, he established an antiques stall on the Portobello Road that was so successful that he traded up to a small shop and he soon caught the eye of the legendary decorator Mary Fox Linton. Before long, he was offered a role at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, where he spent eight years. He left in 1996 to establish his own practice in Chelsea, which designs homes all over the world that are distinguished by a distinctive mix of modernity and a timeless English classicism.

Integral to the look is furniture that’s not just good to look at, but is also supremely comfortable. Beds, in particular, are a big feature of his new book A Point of View. ‘I love high beds, particularly four-posters or those that are built in. There’s something so comforting about sleeping 30in off the ground, cocooned in womb-like space. I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t sleep better in one.’

Many of the bedrooms in the book have tailored bed-curtain pelmets that, although unquestionably grand, are refreshingly unfussy. To the bed in an apartment on London’s Chelsea Embankment (allegedly, the former home of Hitler’s foreign minister Joachim von Ribbentrop), he added some bows to the pelmet, a detail that, he explains, was ‘an idea borrowed straight from David Hicks’.

A north-facing bedroom in an 18th-century house in Norfolk has been brightened by a joyful palette of sunshine yellow that has just a single hanging at the head end. ‘Not too feminine and yet cosy, it makes it a perfect bachelor’s room for shooting parties,’ he explains.

Veere’s approach to bedroom windows is similarly restrained: ‘Well-made curtains create a lovely feeling of luxury in bedrooms. Also, if you want an eclectic mix of furniture in the room, fussy curtains will distract the eye.’

Where space allows, Veere always advocates creating a sleeping area within a dressing room: ‘It’s practical if one of the couple tends to snore.’ Again, he favours a bed that’s enclosed on three sides, with bookcases in alcoves, good artwork and a TV discreetly hidden. ‘I always make these spaces as charming as possible: not only does it result in somewhere that someone is happy to sleep in, but it adds another dimension and looks good, too.’

Regardless of the size of a house, he believes that every room should work as hard as possible. ‘I don’t like rooms that are underused; even with bedrooms, my approach is highly functional: lots of plugs and a workspace could suit a student working late into the night. When not in use, it’s a perfect display area for pretty objects and fresh flowers from the garden.’

On bedroom flooring, he’s emphatic: ‘My first wish is for wooden floors, second is rush matting and last – reluctantly – wall-to-wall carpet. I like the opportunity that rugs offer to define the space and play with balance and colour.’

Another subject on which he as strong feelings is bedlinen: ‘Linen sheets and blankets are the only option. If a client promises to tuck a duvet in, I might just submit.’

To find out more about Veere Grenney Associates, please visit www.veeregrenney.com. ‘A Point of View: On Decorating’ was published on the 18th September and is avaliable from Rizzoli for £50.

The dos and don'ts of designing your own ideal utility room

From stone sinks to sturdy, Merlin Wright of Plain English offers advice on creating the perfect utility room.

Credit: deVOL

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Credit: Black walls - design by Suzy Hoodless

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Credit: Paul Massey

Six tips to make the most of a galley kitchen

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If you’re having work done to your house, it should be for one clear reason – because you want to make your home .

That said, it’s always reassuring to know that what you’re having done will add value to your house – after all, you never know when an unforeseen change of circumstances will prompt a move.

And although we all know that a beautiful kitchen or bathroom can work wonders, things aren’t so clear with other popular additions. So our News & Property Editor Annunciata Elwes spoke to Britain’s top property experts to get their view on whether you’re better off adding a dressing room, conservatory, party barn, media room or gym.

The answer was clear: apparently, buyers in Britain like their party barns more than any other room, excellent for fun occasions and versatility.

Close second is the dressing room (you’ll need to get ready for the party), followed by the conservatory – another distinctly social space.

Joint last are media rooms and gyms – that’s not to say they’re unwanted, merely that most people’s priorities lie elsewhere. Read into that what you will...

Party Barns: 'If you have a large-ish family, it'll be in use the whole time'

Lindsay Cuthill, Savills

The party barn adds the most value, because it will probably be the largest extra space. We’ve seen them used for shooting lunches, fundraising events, storage etc and they also tend to be rather wonderful buildings in their own right.

Bruce Tolmie-Thomson, Knight Frank

A room that has many uses at different stages of life, the party barn is always there for the big birthday celebrations and weddings.

Alastair Summerfield, Strutt & Parker

Party barns are versatile, dry (and hopefully warm!) spaces that can be used for a variety of purposes, not just celebrations – a gym, a home office. They can also bring in extra income through letting.

Jonathan Bramwell, The Buying Solution

They have so many uses, from parties to table tennis. For anyone with daughters, they can double up as somewhere to hold a wedding reception. If you have a large-ish family, it’ll be in use the whole time. One of my clients uses his for work gatherings. Another went as far as to AstroTurf his and said it was the best investment that they ever made.

Nicholas Leeming, Jackson-Stops

Party barns provide a great facility for entertaining both young and old, while also having longer-term potential as granny or staff annexes.

Adam Buxton, Middleton Advisors

Party barns are a definite bonus – proximity to the main living space will often dictate their function. The closer they are, the more they tend to be used for dining or as a widescreen television room. Further away, they’re more flexible. A large open fire is a must and a small kitchen and loo are good, too.

Louisa Brodie, Banda Property

In the country, a party barn wins every time. Even if it isn’t used for parties, it will certainly add value in terms of further potential development.

Jess Simpson, Jess Simpson Property Search

Having a space to entertain (loudly) separate from the house is a real bonus. But it’s also the flexibility of party barns that my clients like – for children’s parties, or even as a workshop for home-based businesses such as flower arranging, jewellery-making or other crafts.

Dressing rooms: ‘A walk-in wardrobe will seal the deal’

Simon Barnes, H. Barnes & Co

Prospective buyers usually make a decision after seeing the kitchen and reception room. If you can get them to the second floor and there’s a walk-in wardrobe, you’ll seal the deal.

Giles Kime, Country Life

Not only do dressing rooms transform your mornings, but also your bedroom, which will be infinitely more tidy. It’s more than worth sacrificing a smaller bedroom. They are to a bedroom what a pantry is to a kitchen.

Nick Churton, Mayfair Office

A media room is so last year. If you need a party room, hire one. As for a gym… No, the best is the dressing room. This is the inner sanctum, the holy of holies, the most intimate of spaces that is used and loved every day.

Sophie Paterson, The W1 London

A walk-in wardrobe is now an essential ingredient of high-end development. It’s one of the main requests we get, bespoke joinery is a must and we often convert guest bedrooms adjacent to the master into two dressing rooms — they prevent marital disputes!

Conservatories: ‘They’re just so versatile – they can be an open-plan kitchen, a children’s playroom or a chill-out space’

Amy McKinlay, PFK, Cumbria

In the frozen north, a heated conservatory is fantastic. It (and its more grown-up sister, the orangery) allows you to enjoy your garden through all the seasons. It also provides additional living space. Add in a set of French or bi-fold doors and you can enjoy inside/outside living.

Belinda Hutchinson-Smith, Strutt & Parker

Although not quite the same as a conservatory, a garden room (with a tile roof) off the kitchen is easily added and creates a light, spacious sitting-and-dining area, which is the most sought after room in most house sales.

James Shaw, Prime Purchase

A conservatory is just so versatile – it could be an open-plan kitchen, a children’s playroom or a chill-out space for the family. The best examples are timber-framed morning rooms with lantern-light extensions. They can be built in a very sympathetic way to complement old buildings.

Media rooms: 'Buyers, especially those with young families, really love them'

Richard Cracknell, Strutt & Parker

These days, you can buy a large-screen tele-vision or projector for not a great deal of money. With a decent surround sound system, you have created your own movie space. Buyers, especially those with young families, really love this.

Giles Cook, Best Gapp

Media/cinema rooms remain a common feature in smart new developments throughout prime central London. Popular with the sophisticated modern purchaser, the space can be multi-functional.

Gyms: ‘It’s imperative to have a well-designed gym’

Richard Barber, JLL

Definitely the gym, but it needs to be well presented and equipped, ideally with natural light and ventilation. It can’t be dark room in a basement.

Kate Donneky, Rhodium Residence Management

For prime central London developments, it’s imperative that the scheme has a well-designed gym. Increasingly, wellness has become a priority for ultra-high new worth individuals and we have seen developments enhance this, with spas, relaxation rooms and gadget-free libraries.

Credit: Alamy

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After graduating from Stellenbosch University, Hubert moved to London, where he worked at Heal’s before joining antique dealer and designer David Champion. He established his own practice in 2002 and, today, works on projects around the globe, from Moscow to Ibiza and London to Cape Town.

The client specified that she wanted colour in the bedroom of her London town house, so the designer opted for a silk wallpaper in turquoise. The vibrancy was continued on the bed canopy by using a fabric by Tony Duquette (www.jimthompsonfabrics.com; 020–7368 7700) and in the cushions covered in a variety of fabrics by Alton Brooke (www.alton-brooke.co.uk; 020–7376 7008). The bed is bespoke. ‘I love the romance of four-poster beds—they’re a bit exotic, a bit otherworldly,’ he says.

Because the house is listed, there was a limit to what could be changed architecturally, so Hubert has manipulated the space by dividing a verre églomisé screen by Nominka D’Albanella and standing each half in the alcoves on either side of the chimney breast. ‘I wanted to add a “ping” to the room – the screens add depth and movement without taking centre stage.’

Bedside tables were rescued from a jeweller’s in Madrid and ebonised and an existing bench was reupholstered in a metallic fabric to add a touch of rock ’n’ roll. Sumptuous velvet curtains in chocolate brown turn down the colour volume, but introduce another layer of texture. ‘Juxtaposing colours and pattern is great, but you still need to know when to pull back, otherwise the room can turn into a cacophony.’

Hubert Zandberg Interiors (020–8962 2776; www.hzinteriors.com)

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The experience of studying at the Courtauld left Bunny Turner with a weakness for prints and paintings. ‘I’m a real magpie and always keep my eyes peeled—from galleries to church fêtes, nowhere is safe!’

The pictures in her bedroom are favourite pieces: Michael Landy's Nourishment print in the centre of the collection was one of the first pieces she ever bought. It hangs below a Richard Wentworth and beside an Alpine landscape that she found in a junk shop while on holiday in France. ‘The memory of first seeing a piece and of falling in love with it is very powerful,’ Bunny says.

Here, the gallery of pictures accentuates the role of the bed as the focus of the room. The art is arranged in a shape echoing that of the curved headboard and is hung on walls painted in Farrow & Ball Hardwick White, which provides a warm-grey backdrop that offsets the pictures beautifully.

Bunny advises laying pictures out on the floor and shuffling them around. ‘It tends to be best to hang the larger pictures in the centre and then gradually reduce the scale as you move out,’ she explains.

She suggests having some small pieces to hand to fill voids between the larger works. ‘Above all, don’t overthink it – it’s usually much better to trust your first instinct.’

Bunny adds that she likes to move pictures around in her home: ‘It’s amazing how different a picture can feel in a new environment and also how different a room can feel with fresh art.’

Bunny Turner is a founding partner of interior design company Turner Pocock.

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Period bedroom design ideas

From four-posters to lits bateaux via Victorian brass frames, Carla Passino discovers how best to dress a period bedroom.

What is your starting point?

A bedroom needs to be comfortable, calm and warm and the scheme has to work as a whole. I start with the architectural features: I look at any period detailing, the windows, the light and the size and take my cues from there.

How critical is the bed?

Very. When designing large bedrooms, I like making a real statement and often use a custom-made four-poster to create drama and cosiness. When that isn’t appropriate, we’ll go for a fabric half-tester or use a corona. A good trick is to use a darker colour on the inside of any fabric treatment as it has a cosy, enclosing effect. Vispring is one of our favourites and even its basic range is heaven to sleep on.

What about smaller bedrooms?

When four-posters aren’t appropriate, the next option is a headboard. We like winged ones because they cocoon you and give a feeling of being protected.

To cover the headboard, we prefer to use a really interesting fabric: for this, we often turn to Colefax & Fowler (020–7493 2231; www.colefax.com), Guy Goodfellow Collection (020–7352 9002; www.guygoodfellowcollection.com) or the new range from Susan Deliss (07768 805850; www.susandeliss.com). Alternatively, use a plain fabric with a ready-made velvet trim from Samuel & Sons in a huge variety of fabulous colours (020–7351 5153; http://samuelandsons.com).

What about valances?

We prefer fitted ones with box-pleat corners over the ruffled version, but either works well. Rather than a plain fabric, we would usually choose from the wonderful prints by Nile & York (01628 525255; http://nileandyork.com).

Paint or wallpaper?

Wallpaper - even if it’s a textured plain rather than something with a bold pattern —helps to create a warm and special atmosphere and adds an extra level of interest. I love all of Robert Kime’s papers for their faded ‘always been there’ look (www.robertkime.com; 020–7831 6066) and Lewis & Wood has a gorgeous selection of wide-width papers (020–7751 4554; www.lewisandwood.co.uk).

Any lighting tips?

Well-planned lighting is fundamental in a bedroom and should be on a two-way circuit so you can switch all of it off from your bed. If not antique, we often use porcelain and opt for warmer colours for the shades made from antique silk - Irving & Morrison (020–7384 2975; http://irvingandmorrison.com) and Guinevere Antiques (020–7736 2917; http://guinevere.co.uk) or perhaps a pop of colour from Pooky, which has great, less expensive options (020–7351 3003; www.pooky.com). A good reading light is also advisable. We use John Cullen’s LED bedside reading light (020–7371 9000; www.johncullenlighting.com).

Any final thoughts?

Go for the best-quality bedlinen you can afford. Nothing beats that feeling of craw-ling into crisp, cool Egyptian-cotton sheets after a long day. We love Ralph Lauren Home’s Tan Palmer or Bowery (020–7535 4600; www.ralphlauren.co.uk). And to round everything off, a layering of rugs and accessories creates the perfect oasis for the senses.

VSP Interiors (07787 574192; www.vspinteriors.com)

• Check out this guide to the best mattresses.

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On the right lines

Panama-stripe duvet cover, from £119 for a single size, in 100% cotton

Lexington (0046 8 54 55 58 60; www.lexingtoncompany.com)

Whiter than white

Snowflake double duvet cover, £342, and Waves king-size flat sheet, £101, both embroidered on 300- thread-count Egyptian sateen cotton

Peter Reed (01282 616069; www.peterreed.com)

Horticultural heaven

Botanist double duvet cover, £120, and Oxford pillowcase pair, £40, in 100% cotton

Christy (0845 758 5252; www.christy.co.uk)

The lure of linen

Lazy Linen double bundle, including two pillowcases, duvet cover and fitted sheet, all in Belgian linen, £245

Loaf (0845 468 0697; www.loaf.com)

Luxury linen

The new, relocated Monogrammed Linen Shop at 158, Walton Street, London SW3, is also the flagship store for luxury French bed-linen brand Yves Delorme. Expect two floors of luxury bedding, including Roma, shown here, from £325 for a double duvet cover made from 500-thread-count cotton percale

Yves Delorme (0808 234 4609; uk.yvesdelorme.com)

True blue

Astor Denim double-duvet cover, £120, and pillowcases, from £25 each, in 400-thread-count cotton with embroidered detail in denim-blue tones

Designers Guild (020–7351 5775; www.designersguild.com)

The four-poster might be burdened by its associations with slapstick period dramas (Carry On Henry, Blackadder et al), but it’s being reinvented to create a look that’s more relevant to the 21st century than the 16th. In their medieval incarnation, the curtains around four-posters were intended to act as insulation, but even with the advent of central heating, they’re prized for their cosseting qualities.

‘In a large bedroom with a high ceiling, a four-poster bed with silk drapes creates a “room within a room”, offering a sense of cocooning comfort,’ says the interior designer Henriette von Stockhausen of VSP Interiors (020–8995 6684; www.vspinteriors.com), who designed this scheme for a Grade I-listed country house in Buckinghamshire. The secret, she believes, is to modernise the look by choosing plain fabrics: ‘Here, the ivory-silk outer curtains suggest contemporary simplicity and the dark-grey inner ones enhance the enveloping effect.’

However, the drama isn’t just about scale—for those who love the look and feel of luxurious fabrics, four-posters are an invitation to indulge themselves. ‘Elaborate drapes were the highpoint of the whole ensemble,’ says Peter Russell of Stuart Interiors (01935 826659; www.stuartinteriors.com), the specialist in period furniture, doors, staircases and panelling. ‘Sometimes, they could cost 10 times more than the bed itself.’

Like anything swathed in fabric, a four-poster will also absorb external sound, creating a hushed atmosphere that’s ideal for any bedroom sanctuary.

Keraton carved bed, from £1,995 for a king-size

Lombok (www.lombok.co.uk; 020–7736 5171)

Goldsborough king-size bed in Ebony, £5,490

TurnPost (01937 572570; www.turnpost.co.uk)

Tuvalu king-size bed and mattress, £2,590

OKA (0844 815 7380; www.oka.com)

Hoxton bed, from £6,725 for a king-size

And So To Bed (www.andsotobed.co.uk; 0808 144 4343)

Sassy Boo Majestic bed, from £1,299 for a king-size

The French Bedroom Company (01444 415430; www.frenchbedroomcompany.co.uk)

Mayfair super-king-size bed, £4,796

Simon Horn (020–7731 3555; www.simonhorn.com)

There’s a dizzying array of beds on offer from traditional bed knobs and broomsticks to lavish, no-expense numbers, with mattresses crafted from horse hair, silk and cashmere.

But where should you turn for advice and inspiration? Country Life's interiors editor Giles Kime has thirty years' experience in the design industry.

He has used that wealth of knowledge to put together a list of the finest bed companies in Britain. Every one of them offers a range of beautiful designs as well as the expertise to help you make the right choice for your home.

Country Life’s definitive top ten offers everything from stylish, modern creations to four-posters which wouldn't look out of place in a medieval castle. Enjoy.

Country Life Top 10: Beds

And So To Bed

01308 425252; www.andsotobed.co.uk

From classic to contemporary.

The English Bed Company

01619 258503; www.theenglishbedcompany.co.uk

A great source of upholstered designs.

Hästens

020 7436 0646; www.hastens.com

Contemporary looks from Sweden.

Hypnos Beds

01844 348200; www.hypnosbeds.com

A trusted British classic.

Leporello

01483 284109; www.leporello.co.uk

The ultimate in elegance.

Simon Horn

020 7731 3555; www.simonhorn.com

Classic good looks.

Somnus

01132 055200; www.somnus.co.uk

Yorkshire specialist with its own farm.

Vispring

01752 366311; www.vispring.com

An unbeatable range plus bespoke.

Wrought Iron & Brass Bed Co.

01485 542516; www.wroughtironandbrassbed.co.uk

Nostalgic designs from this Norfolk specialist.

Savoir Beds

020 8838 4838; www.savoirbeds.co.uk

The ultimate in stylish beds.

Throughout 2017, Country Life will be drawing on years of expertise and insight to bring you definitive top 10 lists to help you turn your house into the home you've always dreamt of.

It doesn't matter if you're after a modern fireplace or one to fit into a 16th century cottage, or whether you're lighting a loft space in Battersea or a seaside escape in Dorset, we'll have you covered.

More Country Life Top 10s:

Country Life Top 10: Fireplaces – The best hearths and fireplaces you can buy

Country Life Top 10: Lighting – The best lamps, chandeliers and lights you can buy

You might associate the River Tamar with all sorts of things— Cotehele, otters or the Endsleigh estate, for instance—but perhaps not gilded bed springs. The million or so springs made each year at Vispring’s factory on the outskirts of Ernesettle in Devon are steel but one customer asked for his to be gilded. Others have made similarly unusual requests such as the American (and very large) basketball player who asked for a mattress that was 100in square.

Jim Gerety, the new managing director, who has been with the company for five years, points out that this is one of the advantages of any business that makes almost everything by hand; Vispring’s craftsmen can create virtually any shape, size and specification of bed a customer asks for. ‘It means that there are no shortcuts,’ he says. ‘The only thing we make with a machine are the springs. Everything else—the nesting of the springs, the side stitching, the teasing of the fillings and the tufting—is done by the team of 150 staff at the factory.

Vispring started life in London in 1901 and invented the first pocket spring, which is made by wrapping each one in a calico pocket, allowing them to move independently and be more accommodating. Since then, both the techniques and the materials have hardly changed. ‘We continue to use natural materials for a variety of reasons, including the fact that they offer greater comfort,’ explains Mr Gerety. Unbleached calico is used for the pockets and, depending on the specification, the filling is a combination of British wool, cashmere, alpaca and bamboo. And the company’s name? ‘Oh, that’s a very clever reference to the fact that our springs have six coils.’

For more information telephone 01752 366311 or visit www.vispring.com

Imagine sleeping the whole night through in one seamless, luxurious stretch, neither too hot nor too cold, nor snuffling from irritation, to wake clear-eyed and refreshed. This blissful state may feel like an unattainable dream, but the secret is ridiculously simple: a duvet made of old-fashioned sheep’s wool.

‘It creates the perfect climate for each person,’ explains Bridgett Kelly, interior textiles director of the Campaign for Wool. ‘a duvet containing synthetic fibres doesn’t adjust to the individual, but wool gives you improved quality of deep sleep, which leaves t‘he body rejuvenated.’

Wool in bedding isn’t a new concept, but the arrival of the Continental quilt in the 1970s meant that heavy, itchy, difficult-to-wash blankets were consigned to the airing cupboard. in 2009, Channel 4’s My Dream Farm, presented by Monty Don, showcased Dick and Pauline Beijen’s early attempts to add value to their sheep’s wool by using it as a duvet filling and this helped bring about the resurgence of wool as a bedding material.

‘It was Monty who thought the duvets were a fantastic idea, as we were trying other things at the time,’ reveals Mrs Beijen. ‘Because of him, we put more energy into the duvets.’

Their first challenge was to develop a way of processing the wool to make it fluffy. ‘We worked with a mill in Buckfastleigh, Devon, and found that, by passing the fibres in numerous different directions, we’d end up with a light sheet that was strong and bouncy,’ adds Mrs Beijen, who initially used wool from her own flock. However, as sales soared, the family sold its 200 sheep to focus on the business.

Today, they buy 40,000 fleeces of UK-produced platinum-grade wool through the British Wool marketing Board; this fills the 20,000 products produced every year in their workshops. Obviously, they’re converts to wool duvets. ‘The children take theirs with them when they go on sleepovers. I stayed away from home recently and couldn’t wait to get back to mine.’

Chris Tattersall, co-owner of The Wool Room, met the company’s founder, Jo Dawson, by chance and, before agreeing to join the firm, insisted on trying a wool duvet for himself. ‘Like many people, I slept under a goose-down duvet, but, after trying the wool one, I never looked back.’

Sales have grown by 800% in the past three years, making The Wool Room the market leader. The company’s researchers took 12 years to develop a wool filling that can be washed in a machine and it invited allergy UK to devise a test for allergens. ‘after six weeks, there were no dust mites, no bacteria and no fungus in our duvets,’ confirms Mr Tattersall, who promotes his products as suitable for asthma, eczema and allergic-rhinitis sufferers, although he cautions against buying inexpensive imports. ‘The cheaper wool duvets use synthetic liners, which will defeat the object, plus you don’t know where the wool comes from. The UK has the best wool in the world. We tend to buy from the eastern seaboard. Provenance is important to us.’

Jessica Cross uses the fleeces from her own 129 Southdown sheep and other flocks to fill her Southdown Duvets. ‘Southdown sheep are only just off the rare-breeds list, so I can only just get enough wool. Their fleeces, with their dense, short fibres, are perfect for bedding,’ explains Mrs Cross, who drives all over the country collecting fleeces, which she then ships to Milan for processing, then making into duvets that are sent back to the UK on demand.

Mrs Cross once worked as a mineral economist for Consolidated Gold Fields, but, with her husband, James, a banker, eschewed the London life, bought a farm in Hampshire with 19 ewes and, within 18 months, launched their quality-bedding company. ‘We were like fools rushing in, but I wouldn’t trade my lifestyle now for a second,’ enthuses Mrs Cross.

There’s no doubt that a duvet from Southdown, Devon Duvets or The Wool Room, as well as other quality firms such as Baavet, are an investment. a medium-weight single starts from about £80 (The Wool Room), but the benefits are priceless. ‘A wool duvet can be life-changing,’ believes Mrs Cross and you can’t argue with that.

Make your bed, then lie in it: Where to buy a pure-wool duvet

• Southdown Duvets, Scotland Farm, Upland Lane, Hawkley, Hampshire (01730 827148; www.southdownduvets.com)
• Devon Duvets, 9, Bluewater Estate, Bell Close, Plympton, Devon (01752 345399; www.devonduvets.com)
• The Wool Room (01780 461217; www.thewoolroom.com)
• Baavet Baavet Cyf, Unit 12, Tan y Castell, Harlech, Gwynedd (01766 780780; www.baavet.co.uk)

When Rosie Fisher set up Dragons of Walton Street in 1979, she had no idea she was establishing a new market in high-end children’s furniture. Hitherto, the attitude of most new parents was to ‘make do and mend’ with hand-me-down cots and Moses baskets—and the occasional bottom drawer lined with a blanket, if my mother is to be believed.

‘My mother set up the business because she was surrounded by entrepreneurs at home and was inspired to do something herself—despite having four children to look after,’ explains Lucinda Croft, who today manages the company, following the sudden death of her mother nearly 10 years ago. ‘She started with antiques and it was a struggle, in those days, to find any furniture for children, but what she did find sold quickly and that’s what gave her the idea.’

What began with a few little chairs and tables grew organically as Rosie drew rough pictures on the back of an envelope and teamed up with a cabinet-maker, Stephen (still with the company today), who interpreted the designs. The rush-seated chairs and toy boxes hand-painted with Peter Rabbit or the child’s name grew a fan base. ‘At first, clients were the London cognoscenti, but when the tabloids discovered that the Princess of Wales used Dragons, things took off. I distinctly remember one day when my mother came home from work saying that she’d been kissed in the shop by Dustin Hoffman.’

Today, the company is licensed to use figures from Beatrix Potter, the Flower Fairies, Paddington Bear and—most recently—Brambly hedge and, last year, it moved from its distinctive corner premises on Walton Street to the harrods nursery department. ‘We have a big client base in Russia and a large following in the Middle east, who appreciate the fact that our pieces are built to last and created by talented British craftsmen,’ says Lucinda.

For more information telephone 020–3544 2000 or visit www.dragonsofwaltonstreet.com

We reveal beautiful period bedroom design ideas:

Creating a bedroom that matches the period and decorative style of your country house requires a fine balance—you don’t need every detail to be historically accurate. Instead, suggests interior designer and antique-furniture restorer Max Rollitt, it’s often best to layer pieces that secure a connection to your house’s original architecture with later elements so that it looks as if your room evolved over time.

Georgian bedrooms

The 18th century perfected the design of four-poster beds, with delicate, beautifully ornate pieces replacing both the stark Tudor designs and the excesses of the Stuart era. For this reason, a four-poster is the obvious focal point of a Georgian-inspired bedroom.

‘The bed is the key thing,’ says interior designer and architectural historian Edward Bulmer. ‘Eighteenth-century beds were constructed so you could curtain yourself in for warmth and draught exclusion. The four-poster bed still speaks to people, but you can do it in many ways.’ For example, he says, you could keep hangings to a minimum or even have none at all.

Edward also recommends creating a sense of space and elegance in your room using soft florals or plain fabrics and dressing up your walls with historic wallpapers, such as those by Hamilton Weston. ‘A lot of them have small-scale patterns that can be very effective.’

Try: A neo-Palladian wood frame dates from about 1740, with a 19th- century mercurial mirror plate. £19,500 through Max Rollitt (01962 791124; www.maxrollitt.com)

Empire

The proliferation of French Empire interiors in British country houses is one of history’s greatest ironies: ‘The Duke of Wellington popularised the style partly by defeating the French,’ according to Edward.

The style has its roots in the streamlined architecture of ancient Greece and Rome, reinterpreted in a majestic key intended to convey imperial grandeur. Bedroom furniture should feature strong lines and rich Classical motifs such as laurel wreaths, grapevines, swans and winged lions. ‘It’s a huge style,’ acknowledges Edward. ‘You almost feel as if you have to don a Grecian dress to step into an Empire room.’

Empire-style beds—whether linear and masculine or the feminine, curvy lits bateaux beloved by the Empress Joséphine—are relatively easy to find, and Edward suggests combining Empire pieces with British neo-Classical furniture: ‘They’re not the same, but you can pair them very successfully.’

The colour palette for an Empire room should be bold. Napoleonic interiors often featured black, but if that feels too harsh for a modern bedroom, consider instead rich greens, reds, gold and turquoise. Choose fabric and wallpaper in striped or geometric designs and swooping chandeliers for lighting. A Savonnerie-style rug—which Napoleon loved and almost single-handedly brought back into fashion—is the perfect finishing touch.

Try: An original Savonnerie design, but in modern colours. Aurelie rug from £1,050 per sq m through Loomah (020–7371 9955; www.loomah.com)

Victorian

A private sanctuary devoted primarily to sleep, the 19th-century bedroom was an ornate affair. Describing the beau idéal in From Kitchen to Garret, Jane Panton mentions an iron-and-brass bedstead furnished with several mattresses, a bolster, four pillows, three pairs of sheets, up to four blankets and, in winter, an eiderdown. Although modern hygiene and better-quality bedframes have made Mrs Panton’s recommendations somewhat redundant, a beautifully dressed bed remains at the heart of a Victorian-style bedroom.

Pile layers of bed linen, bolsters and pillows on a bed that can be brass, wood or upholstered and decorate the room with fabrics and wallpaper in historic patterns. ‘Damasks and large floral, bird and animal motifs were popular,’ says Farrow & Ball’s Josephine Rance. Colours, she continues, were often darker, such as rich reds or deep aubergines.

However, counters Edward, ‘there are a lot of good books that show a lighter palette and lighter wallpaper.’ The key is to work with the architectural features of your room: ‘For example, if you have a Victorian fireplace in black marble, make sure it feels an integral part of your scheme.’

An authentic Victorian bedroom would also have an antique or replica dressing table, wardrobe, chests and mirrors, but, for a more modern take, you can team fitted furniture with one or two original pieces.

Try: A Victorian-style ebonised whatnot is the perfect place to keep bedtime books. £2,220 through Jamb (020–7730 2122; www.jamb.co.uk)

French Style

The glamour and elegance of Louis XV’s France was one of the main sources of inspiration behind the French Style that became popular in British country houses in the 19th century, particularly during the reign of George IV. A French Style bedroom calls for the sinuous lines of Rococo—a bed with curved headboard, footboard and legs, for example—and gilded, elaborately carved or lavishly upholstered furniture.

In 19th-century Britain, Rococo-inspired interiors also acquired an additional layer of rich upholstery, so consider dressing your bedroom windows with fringed curtains and, if adding seating, look at buttoned chairs decorated with tassels and braids. Opt for fabrics with floral or Oriental motifs, but keep your overall scheme light: ideally, it should be opulent and ornamental, but also delicate and graceful.

A few Sèvres-style porcelain pieces and gilded or brass wall-light fittings accentuate the French atmosphere.

Try: A three-arm brass wall light, with its stylised leaves, captures the essence of the French Style. £716 through Vaughan Lighting (020–7349 4600; www.vaughandesigns.com)

** See more interiors ideas from Country Life

Atlas print beanbag from ASPACE, available in other prints, £65 (0845 872 2400; www.aspace.co.uk)

Indoor teepee in ‘mist with grey stars’, from Emi & Nell, £98 (www.emiandnell.co.uk)

Scribbler wallpaper from Sanderson’s Little Sanderson Abracazoo range. Available in three colours, £36 per 10m roll (0844 543 9500; www.sanderson-uk.com)

Treehouse bed, available in 22 colours or in bare pine, by Oliver Hayden. From £1,300 (0844 335 0710; www.oliverhayden.com)

Desk by Vertbaudet, £125 (0844 842 0000; www.vertbaudet.co.uk)

La Volière pendant lamp by Mathieu Challières for The Conran Shop, £375 (0844 848 4000; www.conranshop.co.uk)

Kissing horses single-duvet set from Anorak, £45 (020–8299 2416; www.anorakonline.co.uk)

LouaneTree bookcase by Mathy by Bols for Nubie, £565. Available in 26 colours (01825 724160; www.nubie.co.uk)