INTERIORS, INTERIORS, INTERIORS
She may have made her name getting Britain hooked on bricks and mortar, but Kirstie Allsopp knows a fair few things about furnishing interiors, too. Not that the Location, Location, Location presenter is the official Chief Furniture Buyer when it comes to her Notting Hill home – that’s the department of her property developer partner, Ben Andersen. In fact, Kirstie confesses with a laugh that he buys almost all of the furniture, leaving her to find a home for it when it arrives (usually on the back of a big truck).
‘I’ve moved that around to five different rooms,’ she says, pointing to a solid wooden table in the kitchen. ‘I think it’s reasonably settled there, but it’s a nightmare to move.
‘Ben said that we spend every weekend moving furniture about, so I said, “Well, if you stop buying it, I’ll stop moving it”.’
Kirstie does, however, take full charge when it comes to the soft furnishings. In fact, she has just released her latest Home Living collections of kitchen textiles, bed linen, and children’s bedding.
‘Designing these ranges is one of the best parts of my professional life,’ she says.
But then it’s the details that can make a house a home. ‘It’s amazing how many people pay mortgages and then don’t look after their homes,’ Kirstie adds.
‘Just go out, buy some new sheets and a couple of extra pillows. Fluff up your cushions every day. Tuck in the corners of your sheets.’
Her latest designs are bright and cheerful and clearly take their cue from Kirstie’s passion for all things vintage and handmade.
The bed-linen collection, which includes quilt covers, pillowcases, bed throws and cushions, cleverly combines the contemporary and the country-cottage look. Think patchwork and florals, stripes and gingham, cornflower blues and shades of pink. The theme is continued in her kitchen textiles range, featuring oven gloves, tablecloths, tea cosies and door stops in four different designs.
The Savannah Collection incorporates strutting chickens and leaf motifs; Ruby Rose binds sweetheart roses into a vibrant pastoral pattern. And with two young boys – Bay Atlas, six, and Oscar Hercules, four – of her own, Kirstie clearly took particular delight in designing her first children’s bedlinen range.
The Alphabet Collection mixes vibrant pattern and hand-drawn vintage lettering; Ship Ahoy and Top Dog incorporate nautical and doggie motifs respectively, while Circus Parade is a colourful jamboree of bright polka dots, bold stripes and, yes, plenty of circus animals.
For details of Kirstie Allsopp’s new kitchen textile range, bed-linen designs and children’s bedding collection: 01707-635201, www.ashleywildegroup.com
‘I’ve moved that around to five different rooms,’ she says, pointing to a solid wooden table in the kitchen. ‘I think it’s reasonably settled there, but it’s a nightmare to move.
‘Ben said that we spend every weekend moving furniture about, so I said, “Well, if you stop buying it, I’ll stop moving it”.’
Kirstie does, however, take full charge when it comes to the soft furnishings. In fact, she has just released her latest Home Living collections of kitchen textiles, bed linen, and children’s bedding.
‘Designing these ranges is one of the best parts of my professional life,’ she says.
But then it’s the details that can make a house a home. ‘It’s amazing how many people pay mortgages and then don’t look after their homes,’ Kirstie adds.
‘Just go out, buy some new sheets and a couple of extra pillows. Fluff up your cushions every day. Tuck in the corners of your sheets.’
Her latest designs are bright and cheerful and clearly take their cue from Kirstie’s passion for all things vintage and handmade.
The bed-linen collection, which includes quilt covers, pillowcases, bed throws and cushions, cleverly combines the contemporary and the country-cottage look. Think patchwork and florals, stripes and gingham, cornflower blues and shades of pink. The theme is continued in her kitchen textiles range, featuring oven gloves, tablecloths, tea cosies and door stops in four different designs.
The Savannah Collection incorporates strutting chickens and leaf motifs; Ruby Rose binds sweetheart roses into a vibrant pastoral pattern. And with two young boys – Bay Atlas, six, and Oscar Hercules, four – of her own, Kirstie clearly took particular delight in designing her first children’s bedlinen range.
The Alphabet Collection mixes vibrant pattern and hand-drawn vintage lettering; Ship Ahoy and Top Dog incorporate nautical and doggie motifs respectively, while Circus Parade is a colourful jamboree of bright polka dots, bold stripes and, yes, plenty of circus animals.
For details of Kirstie Allsopp’s new kitchen textile range, bed-linen designs and children’s bedding collection: 01707-635201, www.ashleywildegroup.com