Inside designer Cath Kidston's Cotswold home
Cath Kidston's exuberant, chintzy prints have won a firm place in the nation's hearts since she launched her first shop ('a glorified junk shop', as she once called it) in 1993. Her own home in Gloucestershire is the subject of her book, A Place Called Home, in which she tells the story of finding the house and setting about its decoration.
Looking for a home that was above all light and airy, Kidston found Paradise, as her house is called, on a rainy and unpromising day. The one-time farmhouse, originally built in the 17th century and subsequently enlarged by a wealthy merchant and later owners, immediately captivated her. "When we walked in I had that heart-stopping moment when I felt I could have been at home, and the feeling completely overtook me," as she says in the book's introduction. After some essential renovations, Kidston began to make both the house and the garden her own, and her design decisions, based around her love of colour and pattern, are detailed in the rest of the book.
Ultimately, the house has become a comfortable, cheerful place to be, with its blend of classic features, contemporary design, and of course lots of pretty florals. Scroll down to find some of her most useful insights into making the various rooms of the house feel like home.
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Christopher Simon Sykes1/6The sitting room
Kidston wanted the sitting room to be a calm space, so she painted the walls pale blue, an almost accidental choice she made when faced with a deadline for a photo shoot in the house. Faded colours create a gentle atmosphere in a room, and this rug from a local auction house was chosen not to be too noticeable. Colour is still essential for Kidston, however, so brightly patterned cushions keep things from feeling fusty.
Plenty of seating was a must for this room, which plays host to gatherings. The main group of sofas and chairs are at the end of the room nearest the fireplace, as that is where people tend to gravitate. The huge ottoman in the middle is a perfect place for books, which help the room feel lived-in, but it's also a handy place for people to perch and put their drinks down.
Christopher Simon Sykes2/6The kitchen
Having previously owned a house with a large kitchen/sitting room which meant that the family never used the rest of the house, Kidston was keen to prevent the kitchen here from becoming a sitting room as well. Nevertheless, it needs to be a cosy room, and it has all of the elements of a classic country kitchen: an Aga, flagstone floors ('one of the reasons I fell in love with the house'), a stone fireplace, and big, comfortable Windsor chairs handmade by a craftsman in Devon.
Painting both the units and walls in white gloss gives the kitchen the clean and simple feel favoured by Kidston, and honed Welsh slate countertops are also a classic choice. For colour and pattern, she prefers to simply change the china and tablecloths on the generous scrubbed pine table.
Christopher Simon Sykes3/6The TV room
This is one of the most-used rooms in the house, where the family can lounge around, read and watch TV. Friendliness was the effect that Kidston wanted to achieve here, and has done so by piling on the colour and pattern, with yellows, reds and blues predominating. These colours were taken from the artworks, mostly painted by her great-aunt Corise, and from the rug, which Kidston bought for her husband when they first met and she was employed as his decorator.
Lively mixing and matching of patterns, like the painted red and white lampshades atop blue and white ceramic lamps, also helps this room to feel cheerful and inviting, but white walls are the essential canvas to keep this room from looking too busy. Making use of treasured, older pieces is also key to making your house feel like a home, and this is a room where Kidston ended up putting a lot of the stuff she had accumulated in previous houses. "I have enjoyed the puzzle of making use of the things I had, and the chance to move them on a bit and make them look different."
Christopher Simon Sykes4/6Castle bedroom
This room is a masterclass in putting together pieces that have been gathered over the years. Random pieces of fabric can be wonderful for an upholstered headboard: this one, a printed fabric from Pondicherry, was given to Kidston by her sister. A very faded large-scale patterned wallpaper is a great way to add pattern to the walls without it clashing with other patterns in the room, and Kidston had this one made by her neighbour Catherine Hardaker.
As the bathroom adjoining this room was very small, Kidston decided to put the bath in the semi-circular window bay, where it has a lovely view out to the chicken house. Elaborate candle sconces on the walls allow the room to be softly lit in the evenings.
Christopher Simon Sykes5/6Spare bedroom
An attic bedroom that doesn't get used constantly is the perfect place to go bold with a large-scale wallpaper, as Kidston has done here in a custom blue and white version of a favourite trellis pattern. Against this backdrop, her chintzy patterns run riot on the sofa and headboard - a simple way to mix and match patterns that works well. White painted furniture and a plain cream carpet help to keep the room from feeling too cluttered.
6/6Cath Kidston, A Place Called Home: Print, Colour, Pattern, (Pavilion Books, 2020), £30
