Inspiration

While all of the seasons chop and change, week by week, winter often feels like the one that fluctuates most of all. At its advent, when the cold, the dark and the damp are in full force, we respond by wanting to retreat to cosy spots in our homes, drawing the curtains shut, dimming the lights, and favouring lots of deep colours – some dark, some rich and warm in tone. But, as we move into late winter, our feelings tend to change. February and the start of March is a time when those bitingly cold winter days with bright blue skies and crisp frosts don’t feel quite the same as they did in November, December or January. We spy snowdrops, birdsong seems chirpier than before, and everybody starts to say things like ‘spring is in the air’. Even when we’re hit with a spell of rain and murkiness, spring’s promise still stays with us, and we find that we look at our interiors in a slightly different light too.

This bedroom scene encapsulates exactly what we mean. On first glance, it feels light, fresh and airy. Though, when you really start to hone in on the detail, you appreciate its many layers. You walk from bare wooden floorboards onto the thick, woven pile of a pure wool rug – positioned so that, when you roll out of bed, your feet land on something warm. Textiles are in abundance too, all varied in type to create an interplay between cosy and refreshing. The far armchair is upholstered in a natural linen, but with a mohair throw and velvet cushion to remind us that spring isn’t here just yet. The footstool is in wool, as is the headboard, so the bed starts and ends in a quintessential winter yarn. We’ve made it so that it’s purposefully a little ‘unmade’, because it makes it all the more tempting to crawl into, with the crisp cotton covers pulled up close, and the double layer of throws just a reach away. Even the bedside lamps have had careful consideration, choosing a black-painted base which feels far more appropriate in winter months, but pairing it with a lightweight silk shade to pull it out of winter’s depths. And notice how the two bits of trailing greenery each have a candle as their neighbour – because we want to nod to spring’s greens, but also keep one foot in the now that is winter, where candlelight is a need and a must.

For us, this room understands precisely how we feel in these late winter weeks. It comforts, and encourages you to curl up, but it doesn’t dwell on darkness and long days. It doesn’t wallow in winteriness. Instead, it provides a warm spot to watch and await spring.