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BORED WITH

BOARDS?
‘We’re increasingly asked to use carpet by
clients,’ says the designer Ben Pentreath. ‘I
think they’re bored with floorboards.’ This
trend no doubt informed Ben’s decision to
design a collection of carpets for Alternative
Flooring. The range was launched at Decorex
in September and is the second wave of
Alternative Flooring’s ‘Quirky B’ designer
collaborations. The starting point for Ben’s
designs was the stone flooring patterns
used by the eigteenth-century landscape
and garden designer Batty Langley. Three
geometric designs have been enlivened with
a fresh colour palette to give them a modern
feel. ‘I think that they’re subtle enough to
act as foil for other rugs and furniture rather Webwatch
than dominate the scene,’ he says. ‘Interior
design is influenced more and more by the MUSEUM SHOPS
Seventies. It won’t be long before we are all
carpeting the walls and ceiling.’ Far more than souvenir stops, the best
Prices start at £95.85 a square museum shops are great destinations for
metre. alternativeflooring.com unusual and intriguing gifts. Not surpris-
Jessica Doyle ingly, New York’s Museum of Modern Art
(moma.org) boasts a selection of mod-
ern home accessories, many of which are
designed exclusively for its shop. It also
ships internationally. Closer to home, the
V&A shop has over 1,000 products, books
and limited-edition prints by contemp-
orary artists, with the proceeds of the on-
line shop directly supporting the work of
the museum. Sir John Soane’s Museum
(shop.soane.org) provides a more
intimate online shopping
REGENCY RAZZLE-DAZZLE The output of Paul Storr experience with a good
(1792–1838), the greatest silversmith of the Regency period, selection of ceramics and
was dazzling in both technique and volume, as an exhibition at decorative accessories.
Koopman Rare Art, WC2 (October 13–31) demonstrates. Much Rose Dahlsen
on show is related to dining (the candelabra centrepiece pic-
tured left is from 1822-23), specifically wine, since accessories FROM TOP Red Myrtle
were used as status symbols at the time, when vineyard and by Petra Börner, print,
£75, from the V&A.
vintage were yet to be appreciated. koopmanrareart.com JD
Architectural bookends,
£150, from Soane. Pine
‘Blockitecture‘, by
James Paulius, £25 for
10 blocks, from MoMA

Pottery à la mode

We’re accustomed to fashion brands trying to muscle in on the interiors world, but it’s refresh-
ing when one does so with more imagination than the development of a scented candle. The
150-year-old English clothing label Sunspel, whose polo shirts have been worn by Daniel Craig
as James Bond, has worked with Leach Pottery to create a small tableware collection that JOAQUIM BARRETO
‘celebrates the beauty of everyday objects’. Made from translucent porcelain, the collection
comprises two bowls, three jugs and two mugs, finished with a dipped-effect cobalt rim. From
£18 for a pourer, from its Chiltern Street shop, W1. sunspel.com JD

36 NOVEMBER 2015 HOUSEANDGARDEN.CO.UK