The Sunday Times - UK (2022-06-05)

12 June 5, 2022The Sunday Times

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Known for her bold hues, Annie Sloan’s

colour card also includes admirable

neutrals. Wall paint in French Linen,

£23.95 per litre, anniesloan.com

KATRINA

BURROUGHS

@Kat_Burroughs

Combining a pretty fluted shape

with tactile natural bouclé upholstery,

the Vivienne modular four-seater sofa,

£4,395, sohohome.com

The Wild Rabbit, Kingham. Interior design by

the queen of natural neutrals, Carole Bamford,

featuring tactile surfaces and flowers and

plants from the garden, daylesford.com

Geo patchwork quilt from Toast

mixes terracotta swatches with

ochre, burnt umber and cream

cotton cambric, £295, toa.st

V

anilla is the

“finest” of the

(ice cream)

flavours,

according to

the band Barenaked Ladies,

and also a disparaging term

for unexciting sex. And that

encapsulates our complicated

feelings about creamy shades

in our interiors. Should you

be tempted by magnolias

and ecrus, and the extended

beige family, here are the

rules for handling this pale,

neutral palette.

Creamy colours do not feel

new, but the ivories, taupes

and honey blond highlights

coming through so strongly

this season mark a departure.

Neutrals never went away, of

course. For several years,

however, what we have

meant by neutrals has been

shades of grey; cold neutrals

that needed to be offset by

robust colours to take the

chill off the room. The beauty

of a beige is that it comes with

its own natural glow. It also

arrives with a heap of

decorative baggage. Those

who remember the magnolia

mania of the 1980s will

probably feel that cream has a

dated, stale vibe and will want

to know how to make this

gentle shade feel fresh for

spring/summer 2022. The

answer, in two parts: 1) hello,

the Eighties are hot right now,

please feel free to google

“synthwave”, and 2) texture

and black.

French Connection’s head

of home, Catharine Denham,

has a particular genius for

taking the traditional look and

feel of neutral, natural

materials such as seagrass,

cane, jute and cotton and

making them into

contemporary designs. She

says of this season’s collection:

“I wanted the naturals to feel

more sophisticated. They

needed some edge to them.

It’s about the texture, isn’t it?

So I’m using lots of jute and

cane. I’m working with really

strong shapes, rectangles and

circles, adding prints and

adding pattern. It’s the burnt

colours, the black and the

burnt brown that feel fresh.

Rust, and the colours

between black and brown,

are so beautiful.”

A standout example from

her latest range is a cotton and

jute geometric pattern rug

named Kudu (£155). Rattan

furniture and accessories are

another way to add warmth

and textural interest to a

creamy neutral scheme.

Sophie Garnier, the founder

of Kalinko, says: “Lampshades

in particular are a brilliant

place to bring in rattan — little

peeps of light filter through

the weave, making beautiful

patterns on neutral walls, and

casting a very soothing glow.”

THE FEELI

The trend for warm and

creamy shades means beige

is now anything but bland

At Nkuku natural materials and glorious

textures are combined in a collection that

runs from chunky wooden bowls to woven

seats and wicker lighting, nkuku.com

Tate & Darby’s

Robertson woven

jute rug, from £450,

tateanddarby.com

Ava, Ange and Avril textured

candle holders, from Graham

and Green, £24.95,

grahamandgreen.co.uk

Reclaimed wood

chest, coming soon

to Cox & Cox, £1,875,

coxandcox.co.uk

TAUPE

TIPS

lTaupe loves

tactile natural

materials such as

rattan, seagrass

and jute

lModernise your

magnolia with

geometric pattern

and stripes; florals

may look frumpy

lBan blush.

Cream shades will

curdle if you add

pastels, so mint

and lilac are out of

bounds too

lBest colour

partners are

darkest charcoal,

terracotta and

burnt umber.

Shades from rust

to black work well

with beige

lMix in a metallic

for glamour, but

make it copper

not chrome

W Pale neutrals

need extra texture

— such as the

slight crumple of

the beige Belgian

linen upholstery

on this Clementine

sofa, from £2,975,

grahamandgreen.

co.uk. Shown with

Graham and

Green’s Adaliz rug,

£475, Amelia large

chandelier, £825,

and Albie iron

and wood shelving

unit £1,095

MARTIN MORRELL; TAMIN JONES; PAUL DIXON