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We were delighted to see the cool North London pad belonging to Jane Hilton, Johnny’s sister-in-law-once-removed was featured in The Times this weekend.

 http://thetim.es/11J1uPO

We do get to see the inside of a lot of houses in our line of business. Un-altered Georgian survivals are a rarity these days, but so too are houses from a not-so-distant era. This one in Kensington is a 1970’s gem, which we thought worthy of record before it all gets ripped out.

Oh the parties……if only the walls could talk!

Cinzano anyone??!!

Anna Smith from John Boyd Horsehair Textiles dropped in to the office recently. What a fabulous company!  They are one of two manufacturers of horsehair fabric in Europe and have been operating from the same mill in Castle Cary since the 1850s. The traditional techniques still employed to manufacture the fabric are so unchanged that even the looms in the mill are listed. Horsehair is both beautiful and extremely hardwearing , and is highly favoured here at Hackett Holland. It has featured in many guises in our projects.

Hackett Holland designed bed entirely finished in a mixed-weave horsehair and linen.

Hackett Holland designed footstool and bed headboard upholstered in John Boyd horsehair fabrics.

Horsehair lampshades

 even Nike trainers! (Ok, so that’s not Hackett Holland …….)

No animals were harmed in this production!

Construction is progressing apace at the heart of the new S-W Quadrant at Poundbury, where a number of our buildings are sited. Here is a rather grand apartment building going up.

The secret staircase we designed for a London house in the festive edition of House and Garden

A rather ambitious but really fun Hackett Holland project in one of the largest gardens in Notting Hill.

 We were all very excited here at HH to see that the lovely Melissa White   has been shortlisted for the Elle Decoration British Design Awards 2012 for her gorgeous new range of wallpapers and fabric for Zoffany.

In one of our recent projects we were faced with the no mean feat of finding something to cover a monster wall measuring 9m high and 15m long.  Our extensive search finally led us to Melissa and an exciting collaboration with her to create an enormous Fresco Secco.  Melissa uses a unique technique of water based paints and natural pigments in her designs, then the final piece is finished with bees wax for an intriguing, rich patination.  The end result was not only stunning but completely original and sits very nicely in a contemporary setting.

Go Melissa!  Very well deserved!

Leafing through World of Interiors this month I noticed one or two products custom made for us – this one being a riveted copper planter which graces the balcony of one of our London Projects.  Can’t find an old copper cauldron to use as a planter? Try ‘Bronzino’,  http://www.bronzino.co.uk/ . Any size, a wide range of patinated finishes. Owner Kenneth has a good eye for quality and detail.

Here is a round one at the front of the same house:

We are also nearing completion of this refurbishment and extension to a big family house.  A lot done for a (relatively) little.  From the outset we agreed with our client to concentrate resources on the ‘bones’ of the house. Get the ‘body’ right and the ‘clothes’ can be changed, upgraded, altered or added to as time goes by. Neglect the body wrong and ‘sows ears ‘spring to mind. Cute children’s bathroom with a touch of ‘Locker room’.

Landing – BEFORE