Philippa Thorp was asked by her London-based American clients to design the interiors of their new-build holiday home in the Hamptons, including this bright, airy dining room. The house was built on a greenfield site in the typical Long Island vernacular of a cedar shingle façade with generous amounts of glazing. On one side, the dual-aspect dining room looks over the swimming pool and, on the other, it links to the garden, which is accessed through French doors that are left open throughout the day during the summer months.
Fabrics & furnishings
From almost every seat around the dining table, there are views of greenery and sky, providing a palette that informed Philippa’s choice of fabrics and furnishings. At the far windows stand a pair of metal serving tables that she designed and were made by Lamberti (0039 089 461681; www.lambertidecor.it), inlaid with coppery blues and greens in a nod to the curtains, whose fabric is Smokebush, a linen by Galbraith & Paul in frost on white available in the UK through Tissus d’Helene (020–7352 9977; www.tissusdhelene.co.uk).
Wallpaper
The walls are covered in a white cotton batting fabric by Claremont Furnishing (020–7581 9575; www.claremontfurnishing.com), which gives the room a serene air—important in a dining room.
Final touches
With its fluted edged detailing, the oak dining table is a bespoke design made in England. Philippa sourced the Regency dining chairs - chosen for their beautifully aged patina - through an antique dealer. Adding drama is the chandelier by Stilnovo that’s made of black enamel with gilt-edged glazed tubes.
For more information about Philippa's work, visit: http://thorp.co.uk; 020–7235 7808
Regency dining room design ideas
A look into how an interior designer achieves a certain look or atmosphere. This week: the Regency dining room.
Credit: Strutt & Parker
Dining rooms so spectacular, you’ll be entertaining every night
Feast your eyes on these stylish spaces.
Credit: Designer Susie Atkinson
Designer secrets: Susie Atkinson on the keys to perfect lighting
Susie Atkinson, a designer whose projects include Soho House, shared her best lighting tips with Country Life.
-
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.
-
The best interior designers in BritainOf all the decorating trends that have been in vogue over the last 50 years – be it Scandi, Minimalism or Industrial – none has been as powerful or as enduring as that of the English Country House.
-
The chimneypiece by Sir John Soane that still inspires designers to this dayThe reductivist simplicity of a chimney piece designed 200 years ago by Sir John Soane explains the architect’s reputation as a founding father of Modernism.
-
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.
