Ben Pentreath – författare

‘Eight years have passed since the first edition of this book. It’s wonderful to see it being reprinted again, not least, I think, because it proves the adage that while nothing dates as quickly as fashion, nothing stays in fashion longer than timeless design – which is really at the core of what I try to do.’In this timeless and beautiful book, now reissued complete with a brand-new introduction, renowned architectural and interior designer Ben Pentreath presents an insightful overview of the classic English style. Visiting 12 very different homes, Ben explores and appraises the unique spirit of the English House – restrained and simple yet overflowing with a generosity of touch and a richness of colour and texture. The book is divided into three sections: London, Country and Country House, and the interiors featured range from a 1930s pied-a-terre in London's historic St James to designer Veere Grenney's tiny Palladian Temple folly in Suffolk and Wardington, a 16th-century stone manor house in Oxfordshire. Ben’s own homes in London and West Dorset are also included. These homes vary in architecture, size, shape, and age, but they all have in common a peculiarly English style – richly-layered rooms that deftly intertwine colour and pattern and a mix of old and new furniture to create timeless and comfortable places to live. First published in 2018, this new edition has a brand new introduction.

Pentreath is renowned as one of the foremost designers of new traditional buildings and country houses in the world. In celebration of his London-based firm’s twentieth anniversary, Pentreath presents his authentically, yet playfully, classical approach.This is the first of Pentreath’s books to present his own output in its entirety—from his personal residences in Dorset, London, and Scotland that brought him international fame to many old and new houses that he has designed and some of the larger, town-scaled projects that make his practice unique in the world of traditional design. Although the results range from his colorful and romantic versions of the English country cottage to traditional splendor, there are underlying ideas that inform the breadth of his output—a sense of scale, proportion, craft, detail, sustainability, and appropriateness—that have a universal relevance today.Pentreath has authored as well as taken all photographs in this book, which looks at some thirty case studies, large and small, including many previously unpublished works. The designs encompass an understanding of materials, texture, classical and vernacular detail, color, richness, and simplicity by turn—as exemplified in both sumptuous and honest interiors, grand country houses, and pragmatically organized town plans. While being steeped in a learned classicism, Pentreath’s work is celebrated by young and old around the world, as exemplified by his coverage in major media outlets.

Sick of McMansions? Marianne Cusato, creator of the award-winning Katrina Cottages, is a champion of traditional architectural principles: structural common sense, aesthetics of form, appropriateness to a neighborhood, and sustainability. She presents the definitive guide to what makes houses look and feel right, revealing the dos and donts of livable home design. Hundreds of elegant line drawings--rendering the varieties of architectural features and displaying “avoid” and “use” versions of the same elements side by side--make this an indispensable resource for designing and building a timelessly beautiful home.

In this timeless book, now reissued with a brand-new afterword by the author, renowned architectural and interior designer Ben Pentreath presents a survey of the best of the English style.‘Ben Pentreath is the master of classic English interior decoration’ The TelegraphIn English Decoration, eighteen homes, many of which have never been previously photographed, provide the source material for architectural and interior designer Ben Pentreath’s wide-ranging investigation of the classic English look. The houses include Ben’s homes in London and West Dorset alongside those of Earls and artists, writers and architects, book designers and gardeners. The book is arranged room by room and Entrance Halls, Living Rooms, Kitchens and Dining Rooms, Bedrooms and Bathrooms are each considered in turn, together with simple Rooms of Utility and spectacular Rooms of Display. The book begins with an essay on the English style in decoration and ends with an essential style directory, helping you to achieve the look wherever you live. First published in 2012, this is a new edition.