2019-06-01 Homes and Gardens

DESIGN

Q

Mynieceis gettingmarried

thissummerandI’dliketo

givehersomethingspecial.Mysister

hassuggestedcrystal,butI’mnotsure

it wouldsuita 21st-century bride?

Caroline, Surrey

HEAVYcutcrystalis a mainstay

ofmanya weddinglist,butit can

looka tadold-fashioned.Young

peopleentertainverydifferently

totheirparents’generationand

nobodybothersthesedayswith

a separateglassforeverytipple

poured.ProductdesignerRichard

Brendonhasjustlauncheda

multipurposecollaborationwith

wineexpertJancisRobinson,which

looksgoodandwillbeusefulfor

yournewly-weds.Thetulip-stemmed

wineglasshasa handyshapethatis

suitableforwhateveris beingpoured

intoit,fromsparklytoport.There

arealsowatertumblersthatdouble

aslowballsforthemorecouthbeer

drinker.Thedecanter– mouth-blown

inlightandluminescentlead-free

crystal– canalsodoubleasa water

carafe.Justthethingfora cherished

aunt to put her name to.

Q

Thedeckingonmyrearpatio

wastreatednotthatlongago,

butis alreadyshowingsignsofrot.

Istheresomethingmorefuture-proof

thatI couldreplace it with?

Trish, online

WHEnwoodendeckingbecame

a thing,nobodyrealisedquitehow

muchworkwasinvolvedinkeeping

it lookingslick.Whocanbedoing

withallthatannualtreating,sanding

andde-mossing?Thewayforward

liesintheworldofenviro-decking

• compositeplanksthathavethelook
  andfeeloftimberbutarea lotless
  temperamentalinreality.MostDIY
  chainshaveversions,if youcanbear
  totakea look.Otherwise,Composite
  Primehasa goodselection.Regular
  sweepingandtheoccasionalhose
  downis allit needstokeepit looking
  good(tick).It’smadefromrecycled
  plastics(tick,tick),blendedwith
  ‘woodflour’from 100 percent
  certifiedend-of-lifehardtimbers
  (tripletick)– allfactsyou’llnodoubt
  wanttodropintoconversationat
  thefirstmixeryouhostonyour
  new deck. You’re welcome.

Q

I recentlyinheriteda Fifties

PoolePotterylampbase,

whichhasa strikinghand-painted

pattern.Whatkindofshadewould

yousuggestpairing it with?

Kate, Keele

SuCHa lovelypiecedeserves

starstatus,soI’dsteerawayfrom

thecurrenttrendforclashingpattern

andcolour.However,thatdoesn’t

meanyouhavetogoallmixy-

matchy.Lookforsomethingwith

featuresthatcomplementthebase

ratherthanfightwithorreplicate

it tooreligiously.Oka’sEmpirecard

shades(from£75)havefree-form,

hand-paintedlinesthatwouldecho

themaker’smarksofyourbase.

Fora moreclassicapproach,by

allmeansgoneutralbutaimfor

someinterestingtexture.The

LachlandrumfromJohnLewis

&Partners’Croftcollectionbrings

plentyofinterestofitsown,but

won’tcrampthestyleofthehero

lampbasebelow.Sizewise,look

forsomethingwherethewidest

diameteris roughlythesame as

the height of the base.&

TheOldWinedecanter, £125,

Richard Brendon.

Lachlantexturedlampshade, from £45,

John Lewis & Partners.

HDDeckDualdeckingboardsinAntique,

from £52sq m, Composite Prime. phoTographS

(kitchen) kronfoto; (decanter) neil watson

illuSTraTion

ruth palmer