Articles by Sarah Warwick

It may be called wallpaper, but there’s another place this decorative material can work wonders, and that’s on a ceiling. Papering up there is a little trickier than on a vertical surface, but the effects are well worth the extra effort. Wallpaper on the ceiling can add character, visually improve a…

A home that looks old from the outside is often somewhat less revealing of the passage of time on the inside. Period features may be treasured, but the years often change or conceal them. That can’t be said of this Irish coach house and farm buildings, which architect Fintan Duffy converted into a gym…

John Marsh and Eleanor Winn took an active approach to house hunting. As they encountered places during their travels, they noted those they liked and contacted the owners. This Welsh home was one of them. “We wrote a letter, and two months later the owner said, ‘I’m thinking of selling; come and see…

John Marsh and Eleanor Winn took an active approach to house hunting. As they encountered places during their travels, they noted those they liked and contacted the owners. This Welsh home was one of them. “We wrote a letter, and two months later the owner said, ‘I’m thinking of selling; come and see…

A window treatment that turns up the dial on glamour? Velvet curtains are right there at the head of the pack. The soft drape of any curtain could balance a room’s hard surfaces, of course. But the special qualities of velvet make it a star: the reach-out-and-touch appeal, the light-catching nap, the…

“Give me a room I can drink gin in!” was the request to designer Karen Knox from the owners of this semidetached Edwardian house in the North Yorkshire region of England. Despite its fabulous period features, the living room at the front of the home was bland and empty-looking. With building work on…

When it comes to decorating, a large room can be as much a challenge as a blessing, especially when it isn’t going to contain much furniture. With a spacious, high-ceilinged guest bedroom and bath to transform, and directives to retain the lovely period features of the Edwardian house and to create a…

Is your preference for an open plan, but not quite? If you’re in favor of its spacious feel, extra light and views through to the outside but wonder how to subdivide the area, that’s where the half-wall, or pony wall, can come in.
As…

There’s no doubt that adding a headboard to a bed will boost the impact of the natural centerpiece of a bedroom design. Make it a patterned version, and the effect is even bigger. Floral or geometric, small- or large-scale, the prints make these headboards’ presence felt in all the right ways.

Deep greens have been a desirable part of many a home decorator’s palette recently. However, our latest passion is not only for the beguiling shades themselves, but also for their pairing with velvet. And what could be more appealing than a fabric in rich jewel tones that catches the light bewitchingly…