Creative use of colour and pattern is the hallmark of interior designer Rosie Bossom and her own sitting room in her London flat. When she bought the Victorian property in Notting Hill, W11, she transformed the spartan, minimalist interiors using a mix of both. ‘I wanted a much warmer, comfortable feel,’ she says. ‘I like inviting rooms that seem as if they’ve evolved through time, with a collection of things gathered over the years.’
‘It adds instant impact and colour and everyone comments on it’
Painting the walls in Setting Plaster by Farrow & Ball instantly adds gentle warmth. The effect is enhanced by the soft neutrals chosen for the plain linen curtains and bespoke sofa. Rosie restored the 1950s Italian armchairs, plating their stainless-steel legs in brass and covering them in Temple by Veere Grenney.
'When everything matches, it looks forced and uninviting’
The focal point of the room is a large, octagonal ottoman, designed by Rosie and upholstered in a silk found at a market in Istanbul: ‘It adds instant impact and colour and everyone comments on it.’
More joyous pattern comes from the mix of scatter cushions in fabrics from John Robshaw and Soane Britain. The effect is offset by a bold flatweave rug from Ikea.
Rosie laid out her collection of prints and sketches on the floor, rearranging them until she was satisfied, before hanging the group on the wall: ‘I still change them around occasionally.'
'There’s interest in the patterns, but not so much that they take over the room.’
‘When everything matches, it looks forced and uninviting,’ she continues, adding that it’s still carefully considered. ‘The neutrals create a subtle backdrop, the pinks of the ottoman are seen in the cushions and lampshades and there’s interest in the patterns, but not so much that they take over the room.’
A living room that’s a calm sanctuary in the midst of the city
Ben Petreath's brief was to create a characterful city sanctuary. Here's how he went about it.
8 stylish ways to update your living room
As the evenings draw in and the air takes on a chill, we suggest some ways to keep the living
-
If heaven is on earth, it might be in this home with a converted chapel that is now a swimming pool5 Wood Barton Town House is part of an exclusive 80-acre development in Devon that also comes with fishing rights on the River Avon and four bedrooms.
-
An Italian-inspired recipe for lemon-butter pasta shells with spring greens, ricotta and pangrattatoSpring greens are just about to come into their own, so our Kitchen Garden columnist reveals exactly what to do with them.
-
Injecting colour, pattern and character into a once-plain sitting roomBooks, art and textiles transformed a once-characterless space into a warm, inviting sitting room.
-
Say no to boring walls: Six choices of paint and paper which will get people talkingAmelia Thorpe picks out some glorious alternatives to just painting everything white.
-
'Not cheap... but cheaper than a divorce lawyer': Why it pays to hire a consultant to choose the perfect paint colourDriven to distraction by paint charts? A colour consultant could be the answer for anyone befuddled by choosing the right hue, says Giles Kime.
-
Room with a cru — how an 'enduring legacy of lockdown' is the latest must have in interior designLong gone are the dusty cellars of the past. Now is the time to make the place you store your wine as pleasurable as drinking it.
-
The secret to transforming an awkwardly shaped roomCave Interiors turned the awkwardly shaped sitting room of an Edwardian house into a warm and welcoming space.
-
A gloomy kitchen entirely re-created as a cosy living spaceWhen Nicole Salvesen and Mary Graham were asked to redecorate a country house in Berkshire, the first task was to turn a dark space into a colourful sitting room.
-
A living room that's a lesson in how to restore lost character in a historic spaceNicola Harding used rich colours and textures to enhance the historic character of a Jacobean house in Berkshire.
-
The slipper chair: How one of America's great designers produced a classic of armless funThe slipper chair might have its roots in the 18th century, but it owes its compact, convivial appeal to Billy Baldwin, a giant of 20th-century American interior design.
