Inspirational Interiors: Colefax and Fowler - Hardcover

Banks-Pye, Roger

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 190051818X ISBN 13: 9781900518185

Publisher: Ryland, Peters & Small Ltd, 1997

Synopsis

Roger Banks-Pye one of the leading interior designers at Colefax and Fowler for twenty years, created one of the most infludential interior design works of recent times. This book delves behind many innovative schemes to reveal a unique and often irreverent approach to solving particular problems of space with comfort as a top priority.

About this title

Review

Inspirational Interiors offers a delightful view into sumptuous and exclusive interiors designed by Roger Bucks-Pye. He has worked with the design team at Colefax & Fowler for a number of years and his experience is beautifully illustrated in this record of a series of traditional design projects ranging from a small studio flat in London to a large hunting lodge in Scotland. There are sketches of the proposed projects and Roger Merrell has photographed the finished work. This approach offers insight into each phase of the design process.

The book is divided into sections dealing with scale and proportion, colour, furnishings and decorative details. Even though most of the projects are on a grand scale, a well- detailed explanation on how to achieve the desired effects are discussed in each section. This will help equip novices with the necessary skills to tackle their own design schemes. Bucks-Pye offers many interior decoration "rules" which are practical, intriguing, and refreshing as well as comfortable and easy to emulate. Inspirational Interiors offers readers the opportunity to gain valuable guidance on decorating from one of Britain's top designers and design companies.

Review

Love them or hate them, Colefax and Fowler have been one of London's leading interior designers since their inception in 1934. Country style meets late 18th century romanticism, their designs are instantly recognisable. Roger Banks-Pye joined the company in 1977 and soon made his mark as a designer extraordinaire. Injecting his own style and modernism into Colefax and Fowler's more traditional stance, he brought the company uptodate with his novel vision of their future. Up until his tragic death in 1996 he was renowned throughout design circles for his quirky tastes, for his dismissal of antique snobbery and his eye for detail in the most mundane of objects. "Inspirational Interiors" is a testament to his style, his perfectionism and his knowledge, much of which was acquired during his work in an architect's practice. Beautifully illustrated with the photographs of James Merrell, this is not just a work for would-be designers but a bible for all those seeking the perfect match between the architectural and the decorative. His fresh approach to colour and fabric mix opens a whole new exciting world to the uninitiated. His use of material be it as drapes, wallcoverings or even as replacement carpet is inspirational. But throughout the book his solid advice stands out, making sense having had its basis tried and tested by him many times. Theatrical, over the top, cluttered, whatever you call his style, it can only be marvelled at when put in context. As Valentino says in his introduction "Roger had a meticulous eye for detail, a great sensitivity for beautiful objects, a natural instinct for scale and an artist's understanding of light". And, as all good designs should be able to do, he gave Valentino exactly what he was looking for: a "perfect English house - Valentino style". And that perfectly sums up the genius that Roger had.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ryland, Peters & Small Ltd
• Publication date: 1997
• ISBN 10: 190051818X
• ISBN 13: 9781900518185
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 192