When Shirley Au purchased a little brick cottage in Sonning, a quaint village in the English countryside, she was initially going to transform it into a residential-style showroom for Another Country, the furniture company for which she serves as a director. But even after she pivoted to turning the former mill into a weekend home for her young family, she still wanted to prominently exhibit the brand’s contemporary pieces alongside charming prints and a whimsical palette of greens, reds, and blues.
So Shirley tapped London-based interior designer Jill Macnair, who was inspired by Kettle’s Yard and Charleston, two art museums set in iconic houses. “I wanted to bring into play that sort of ethos, but I knew the clients wouldn’t want it to be quite as busy or eclectic as either of those projects,” Jill explains. “We wanted to hit a warm minimalism feel. There’s pattern and quite a lot of color, but there’s not lots of stuff. It is such a small space, so each item had to be quite particular.”
Let’s take a tour:
Photography by Beth Evans.
For more, head to Jill Macnair.
And for more color-blocked spaces, see:
- Kitchen of the Week: A Colorful 1951 Belgian Design Classic Masterfully Updated
- By Instinct: A Colorful Project by Designer Sophie Rowell That Follows No Rules
- Kitchen of the Week: A Zesty Colorblocked Cook Space (and Bath), Before + After
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