How to get Babington House Style in your own Home
Soho House Design Team get it right every time
There’s something absolutely, quintessentially English about Babington House. From the moment you turn off at Stonehenge onto country lanes with their high hedges and overhanging, arched tree canopies, you’re transported into a world which is undeniably English. Warm, sandy limestone buildings mellow into the landscape and the air smells of woodsmoke and hay bales.
Just as you’re starting to feel a tiny bit lost, the subtle entrance sign appears. Nothing can prepare you for the moment when you turn into Babington’s drive - that long, Beech-lined, slow-paced, ambling entrance. Just long enough for all your cares to melt away and to feel as though you have truly arrived.
I’ve been lucky enough to stay at Babington House many times over the last twenty years and have never failed to be inspired by it. They just get it so right every time. The service is impeccable - helpful but unobtrusive. Anything you could possibly want or need has already been thought through, beautifully branded, labelled and subtly left for you to help yourself.
If you want an example of English Country House Style, done so impeccably that English guests come back time and again, Babington is the one. It’s easy to create Country House style that a non-native will love, but to do it so that a discerning English guest feels completely at home is a skill which takes some mastering. Here’s how I think they do it:
No. 1
Comfort - this feels like a house that people live in. You can chuck the cushions on the floor, stretch out and put your feet on the sofa. And you get the sense that the owners have been doing exactly that for the last 300 years. It’s just a little bit pre-loved, and all the better for it. The best English houses always feel comfortable and a bit used around the edges.
No. 2
Architectural detail - the bones of the house are absolutely key to this look - an English Country House would look fabulous without a single item of furniture in it, without a single colour on the wall. I’m talking about worn slate farmhouse floor slabs; mellow brick walls; beaten-up wide mis-matched oak floorboards; generous 14inch skirtings; wide architraves, dado and picture rails; deep-set sash windows in stone reveals; tall, golden-ratio-arched garden doors; bold, richly detailed cornice; sturdy panelling; wide chimney breasts with substantial working fireplaces that were the only source of heat for 250 years. Colours and furniture and owners come and go but the bones of a house give it soul. Without this you would be lost, architectural detail is everything and Babington has it in spades.
No. 3
Patina - Nothing in this house looks as though it was bought new. I mean nothing. A lot of time and effort has gone into sourcing furniture and lighting that’s had a life before this one, everything oozes heritage, craftsmanship and individuality. But it’s not themed….it’s as though furniture has been gently collected over generations and grand-tour-travels. This patina is unfakeable and utterly, essentially English. If you want this look in your own house you cannot buy it, you have to collect it over time and it evolves with the unfolding life story of you, the owner.
No. 4
Hardware - handles, switches, lampstands, sockets, hinges, mirrors, taps - all tarnished, all antique brass, antique nickel, cast iron. Nothing polished, nothing chrome, nothing shiny.
No. 5
Knocked-back colour - the palette is autumnal, soft, faded, tonal. Washed out blue linen, faded khaki leather, the softest burgundy velvets, sun-bleached russet wool. The house is saturated in colour, but nothing jars or fights for attention, it’s all knocked-back and subtle. But it’s there - colour is everywhere, have another look and you’ll start to notice it. To work this at home you’ll need a really wide palette, lots of colours, but all within that faded, autumnal soft range.
No. 6
Pattern and Texture - similarly There’s a LOT of texture and pattern here, and there’s a sense of heritage - William Morris archive weaves and prints; Lewis and Wood hand-printed wallpaper; kilim rugs with frayed edges, button backed chairs and chesterfield sofas, natural sisal, wool, cotton, linen, woven fabrics; cut crystal glassware, soft stripes, cable knit, and, of course, the essential Soho House ikat-print cushions with tassels, just to mix it up and stop it feeling too tasteful.
To build this look at home will take some time. It will take some courage with colour and pattern. And it will take some serious layering of textures and finishes. But cast an analytical eye over any house that inspires you and you’ll start to see the building blocks of what makes that house work. It’s fascinating once you start to really look.
To me, Babington is archetypal English Country House Style with an edge, and I love it.
The House Editor Blog is independent. You’re reading my opinion, no sponsored posts here.
For the Soho House Team’s guide to Soho House Style in their own words, not mine, I’d highly recommend both their gorgeous books, ‘Eat, Drink, Nap’ and ‘Morning, Noon, Night’. My copies are well thumbed.
