Decor 101

[Advertisement – this post is based on a press stay, but all words and opinions are my own.]  I often dream of getting a group of friends and family together for Christmas, a New Year celebration, a big birthday or just a weekend of fun and relaxation. And now I’ve found the perfect venue for it – Tregulland in northern Cornwall. Set in a secluded valley on the edge of rugged Bodmin Moor, Tregulland consists of a five-bedroom barn conversion and a neighbouring six-bedroom cottage, which between them sleep up to 22 people. It’s recently had a makeover and a few weeks ago Chris and I were invited down to check it out – just what we needed to escape the nerves around my then-impending book launch and unwind for a few days. We arrived on a late-September afternoon, the landscape around us getting progressively wilder and the traffic thinning out to nothing as we turned off the A30 dual carriageway onto the A39 and then the single-track lane that winds down to Tregulland itself....

It’s time for my regular round-up of new product launches and minimalist design finds, and there’s a bit of a theme to this month’s selection: the balance between form and function. All the below items encompass practical features or respond to common design problems, without losing any of their aesthetic appeal . There’s everything from customisable storage and made-to-measure rugs to portable lamps and multipurpose furniture – just read on for details. Wardrobes & storage from Reform First up is Danish company Reform, which collaborates with leading designers and architects to create kitchen fronts for both IKEA’s ‘METOD’ system and its own range of cabinets. In its first expansion into other areas of the home, it has now added wardrobes and other storage solutions to its portfolio – and they look fantastic. The modular systems are available in the same collections as the kitchen line, with built-in and freestanding options, and can be used to create anything from walk-in c...

I’ve already shared a guide to visiting La Rioja – the second stage of my recent 12-day road trip around northern Spain with my friend Becky – but I loved one of the two Rioja hotels that we stayed at so much that I couldn’t resist giving it a post of its own. It’s called Casa Grande Hotel, and it’s perfect for anyone who likes great design, great food and great hospitality . I’m always drawn to spaces that blend modern minimalism with period features and a strong sense of place, and Casa Grande does this beautifully. Set opposite the church in the tiny village of Grañón, it occupies an early 18th-century manor house that was rescued from abandon by Mònica and Raúl, who moved to La Rioja from Catalonia in 2019 in search of a slower pace of life. Keen to transform it into a stylish haven while preserving as much of its character as possible, they turned to Barcelona-based architecture and interior-design studio Francesc Rifé for help. The result is a wonderful fusion of old and n...