aimee_farrell

“This book is about rooms - and every room tells a story” - @antoniomonfreda ‘Tuscan Rooms: Interiors from the heartland of the Renaissance’ is a rich visual journey into some of Tuscany’s most enticing and evocative homes - captured by @antoniomonfreda , with accompanying texts written by me. From grand Medici villas to secluded country farmhouses - many seen in these pages for the first time - this new volume celebrates an age old Tuscan way of living, but also reveals the deep individuality of each inhabitant. Launching this September, ‘Tuscan Rooms’ is now available to pre-order from @cabanamagazine Photography by @antoniomonfreda Words by @aimee_farrell Introduction by @martinamondadori Published by @rizzolibooks (Sept 16)

It’s been such a pleasure to write the texts accompanying @antoniomonfreda ’s photographs glimpsing into some of Tuscany’s most exceptional interiors and historical homes from palazzos to castellos to Florentine apartments. To mark the publication of ‘Tuscan Rooms: Interiors from the Heartland of the Renaissance’ published today by @rizzolibooks I am sharing an extract… “ @castellosonnino in the hills of Chianti is a 16th century Tuscan time capsule complete with perfectly preserved botanical murals - and its own medieval bell tower. During its renovation inhabitant @caterinaderenzissonnino discovered a collection of antique copper pans hidden in a well during WWII - now decorating the ancient kitchen stove. “It’s still very alive,” she says of the property which as well as producing world-class red wines, serves as an education centre co-run with her children.” The hugest thank you to the @cabanamagazine team and @martinamondadori & @antoniomonfreda for entrusting me with this beautiful project.

Happy to be chatting with horticulturalist author @sean_anthony_pritchard next week about all things botanical - with a focus on colour & flowers. Sean’s flamboyant displays (& wonderful interiors) bring such joy - so we’re lucky to be welcoming him to @kettlesyard for a one-off evening conversation and floral demonstration in celebration of his new book ‘Atmosfloric’ (plus a chance to view ‘Handpicked: Painting Flowers from 1900 to Today’). Monday 11 May 6-7pm (exhibition open from 5pm) - join us!

A most wonderful Viennese whirl of a weekend. It confirmed my love of flea markets, sweet treats - and obsession with lighting. It is a city of cultural riches - can’t wait to return. Ah Vienna!

Paul’s things: A special reunion with @paulsmith last week. His office is a container for all the weird & wonderful objects he has been sent by fans every day over the decades - from stamps and fruit stickers, to bikes, books and matchboxes. A world in a room, it is a brilliantly bonkers celebration of the handmade and the human. Pure joy. Thank you Paul for such a memorable meeting! Go to slides 6 & 7 for the before & after of the space.

The magic of last weekend - a sneak peak of the @bhamroyalballet x @cacostaofficial forthcoming production of the ‘Maiden of Venice’ - beautiful art, surroundings, hospitality, acts of cultural support - & the man himself. #balletmatters #ballet *this is apparently one of Mr Acosta’s fave tracks

There is something very special about discovering treasure close to home: I was shopping for books at a stall outside a local church and picked up a copy of The Children of the Green Knowe. “That house is nearby and very ancient,” said the bookseller. And so my journey of discovery began. Read the story of its inspirational interior and custodian - who was first published at 62 - in this weekends @fthtsi “The author Lucy M Boston first glimpsed the Norman house known simply as The Manor from a punt on the River Great Ouse in 1915. Its somewhat neglected yet deeply romantic gabled Georgian brick façade quietly captivated her. “It was beautiful and right,” she remembered in her 1973 memoir of the hidden riverside dwelling, encased by elms, beyond whose boundaries she frequently disrobed for wild swims. Little more than two decades later, in 1939, it was hers. Built in the early 1100s in the East Anglian village of Hemingford Grey – 15 miles north-west of the city of Cambridge – it is one of England’s oldest continuously inhabited homes. The rare untouched rooms were to become a transformative force in Boston’s life, forming the basis of her Carnegie winning children’s book series.” 📷 @kensingtonleverne

Cairo dreaming: I met up with architect @salemcharabi this summer in Copenhagen as he was about to embark on the next chapter of his design practice delving into Egyptian craft’s riches. Thank you for sharing your experiences so far in Cairo for @fthtsi “I moved to Cairo full-time this summer. There’s an unfathomable vastness to the city that’s not just physical but present in its layers of history and stories. Founded in the Fatimid dynasty in 969 CE, Cairo – then known as Al-Qāhirah (meaning “the Victorious”) – has seen Ayyubid, Mamluk and Ottoman eras. Like a palimpsest, its story is being constantly rewritten. But if you lean into the chaos, it can be the most generous place. It’s pointless to try to work against it or control things. My advice is have a loose plan to get from A to B – then leave everything else to chance.” 📷 @ebrahimbahaa

“On the night before Christmas, all the lights go out in the west London square that the fashion designer Sir Paul Smith and his wife, painter Pauline Denyer, call home. In their stead, the elegant assortment of Georgian and Victorian windows and doorways are illuminated by the flicker of candlelight. “It’s really beautiful,” says Smith of the long-standing ritual, which borrows from Bavarian tradition and for a single evening lends the square’s sloping streets a magical lustre.” What a joy to spend time again with the man himself for ‘At Home with the FT’ - in this weekend’s @ft_houseandhome festive special 🌟 Thank you @royalballetandopera @chloeweguelin for dreaming it up 📷 @kemkaajoku

“Our whole philosophy is taken straight out of the bin,” says Kasper Egelund, CEO of @vipp Theirs is a compelling founding story: @vipp started life in 1939 when a young dance teacher named Holger Nielsen created a pedal bin for his wife’s hair salon. It soon became standard issue in every doctor’s, dentist’s and hair salon in Denmark. It was only in the 1990’s that his daughter Jette Egelund, together with her children, broadened the brand into a desirable homeware line including lighting, furniture, ceramics, kitchens - and now a burgeoning hospitality empire spanning Vipp Shelter in Sweden, to Vipp Loft above their Copenhagen HQ to Vipp Todos Santos in California. Loved checking in to hear their story now on @fthtsi - in the brilliant travel special, bravo @mariashollenbarger

“Pillboxes are completely indicative of personal style - and a reflection of our times,” says Los-Angeles-based jewellery designer @sophiebuhai - who creates the most beautiful modernist pill boxes inspired by her grandmother’s collection. In our medicated moment there is a container for every taste & poison - be it a 19th century Parisian box with a Roman micromosaic scene from @koopmanrareart for your sleeping pill to midcentury silver orbs from @old_jewelry for your mushroom gummie. The satisfaction of the perfect vessel, says co-founder of @old_jewelry Sarah Burns, is that it, “slips into your pocket like a pebble.” What’s your perfect pill box? Read the full story in @fthtsi

Rule number one of renting - make it your own. I spoke to @charu_gandhi @benpentreath @a.prin.art @holliebowden @joshuahale5 @axs_design @beataheuman to glean their tips for doing just that. @a.prin.art likens rental decoration to the Bloomsbury set’s approach at @charlestontrust , he says: “They didn’t spend ages agonising over the kitchen or doing a barn conversion. They found a farm, expressed themselves — and got on with living.” @benpentreath who rents in Bloomsbury and owns in Scotland is similarly laid back: “You’re not going to make expensive changes. It’s closer to how people lived in the 1960s and 1970s — you painted and made it your own, but didn’t do too much else,” he says. “You simply decorate your way out of a problem.” Beyond a healthy dollop of mutual respect between owner and occupier, there’s scope to have fun. See @ft_houseandhome for the full story thank you @beatricehodgkin