SOFT TOUCH
Above, S arah
Vanrenen. Right, her
bedroom in Wiltshire.
Below, Vanrenen’s
Aspa wallpaper in
her mother, Penny
Morrison’s house1 Always look at a room as a whole. See where the light is coming
from and maximise it. Curtains and window dressing should obscure
as little natural light as possible while still looking full and luxurious.
2 Think big. Even if a space is not enormous or has low ceilings, generous
lamps and overstuffed sofas and beds can make a room feel inviting.
3 Try not to make everything match. Mixing colour and pattern can be
daunting, but too much matching tends to end up looking contrived.
4 It’s worth spending money on good low-level lighting. It’s much more
atmospheric than fixed overhead lights, and lamps can travel with you
throughout your life. They add so much character to a room.
5 If you see something unusual that you love, buy it. If you have no place
for it, you can always sell it or give it to someone who does.SARAH VANRENEN HAS STYLE WOVEN
into the fabric of her DNA. As
daughter of the world-renowned
interior designer Penny Morrison,
Vanrenen grew up in a beautiful
Chelsea townhouse surrounded by
a cornucopia of her mother’s offbeat
colours and textures.
So perhaps it was only natural
that, when the time came, she would
forge an impressive career of her
own as an interior designer – and
that she, too, would create fabrics
so sumptuously rich and bright
that all of Instagram, from Lady
Rothermere to Christopher Kane
would swoon.
A recent post of a Vanrenen sofa
(covered in Kinaara, her Moroccan-
patterned fabric, and brimming
with cushions) was an Instagram
sensation and perfectly sums up hertheinsiderSarah Vanrenen’s sofa
caused an Instagram
society storm: Lily Worcester
investigates how to achieve
a dazzling country styleSarah Vanrenen’s edicts for a seamless modern country house lookhouse rulescountry style: her delight in mixing
colour and pattern, old with new,
and plump upholstered furniture
that elicits come-hither appeal.
‘I like to add something interest-
ing into the mix. I crave things that
are a little bit different – traditional
chintz fabrics look wonderful with
something modern and sharp next
to them,’ she says.
In tandem with Louisa Greville
Williams at Vanrenen GW Designs,
when it comes to decorating the
homes of her clients – an exclusive
list that features dukes, duchesses
and A-listers – she is always on the
lookout for unusual objects. She
makes buying trips to Ardingly
Antiques and Collectors Fair in West
Sussex, Sunbury Antiques in Surrey,
as well as Kidson-Trigg, her local
Wiltshire auctioneers.
Local is the Cotswolds where
Vanrenen lives in a farmhouse with
her husband, financier Grant Barker,
their newborn son Alfie and a
Bedlington-Italian greyhound cross
named Fly. Meanwhile stepsons
Fred and Arthur often come to stay.
Any overcrowding, though, is
down to the antiques. At markets
she can hardly resist the odd object- or three. ‘My house is pretty full
now,’ she laughs. ‘My husband has
said that I’m not allowed to put
another thing in without something
else coming out.’
Luckily they have a second house
in north Kensington for the over-
spill. It too is resplendent with her
eclectic, rustic aesthetic. Because even
in the city, Vanrenen is queen of the
country house.
PHOTOGRAPH: TIM BEDDOWLIVING
90 Tatler October 2019 tatler.com10-19LIV-ProfileSara.indd 90 19/08/2019 15:43