Classic. Beautiful antique cabinet in corner. Love the springtime blooms scenting the air from a wide old basin, with the fire contributing its aromatic woodsmoke--
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This picture above, so typical of the style, got me started. Always have loved the venerable old English country house-- from wee cottage to rambling manor. Like its closely intertwined and overlapping sister style, 'English cottage' style, 'English country house' is warm, forgiving, timeless.
Emerging between the two World Wars, design legend John Fowler, and the very social Nancy Lancaster, are credited with creating much of what we've come to know as "the look". Over time, she popularized the style in her gorgeous historic houses, Haseley Court, Mirador, Kelmarsh Hall. And Nancy Lancaster was an American! One with exquisite taste, in both houses and gardens.
The late, great William Yeoward, who died in 2019, epitomized what you'd call a *modern* English country house style. It was less 'faded', a bit more spiffy, but still with a deep honoring of tradition.
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Everyone loved his large house in the Cotswolds, but his guest house there was a little miniaturized gem. You could live there all year round--
The pocket-sized sitting room is brimming with comforts-- overstuffed furniture, plenty of lamps to read by, fireplace, lovely natural light-- yet it has a dignity conferred by the art and other portraits, fine rugs and antiques, and custom fabrics.
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Here's William Yeoward's charmingly quirky, personality-filled seaside retreat--
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He designed all his own luxe fabrics, much furniture, and fabulous crystal-- all adapted for our times, but based on graceful English tradition.
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Look at the kitchen in his large, main Cotswold house-- country house perfection:
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Everything he put together was magical...
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But let's go on to another practitioner of modern English country house style, youthful Sean Symington:
Here's his sprightly, but classically themed kitchen in his Victorian terraced house in Bath. Those fab cabinets give me a Regency feeling:
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That hearth-like niche, with copper pans hanging above, love!
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Color and humor, just two essential elements of English country house style...
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His enveloping sitting room--
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Symington does lovely, relaxing bedrooms as well-- I think these two are from different clients' houses:
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Really like this airy stair hall he did in a manor in Gloucestershire below. There's a grand perspective in the architecture, yet nothing's stuffy. That's so "English country house". Nancy Lancaster had that gift in spades:
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Sitting room in the same house:
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Now, switching out from specific designers, here are a few more random examples of classic English country house style:
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"Watchwords" for this style could be, let's see: comfort, age, color, warmth, nature, softness, eccentricity, usefulness, print and pattern.
The English country house style can evolve as a more collected look, or, can even be dialed back and more lean and edited. It's more of an attitude, I think! But layering enhances it-- it's never starkly minimal.
Favorite brief introductions to the style:
"The Englishwoman's House". Alvilde Lees-Milne and Derry Moore
"Colefax and Fowler-- The Best in English Interior Decoration". Chester Jones
Edited to add: Both books are super reasonably priced on the secondary market on Amazon.
