Once upon a time it was quite common for curtains and chair covers in grand houses to be changed seasonally. There’d be a summer set, and a winter set. Wendy Nicholls, Chairman at Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, recalls her first job at Mann & Flemming: “I had the task of ringing the clients’ butlers to ask if we might come and change the covering for the new season.” Between use they’d be cleaned and overhauled, “we’d re-sew hooks, turn in frayed edges, change faded trimmings” and they’d be kept in store until the next season. “Not many people do that now,” remarks Wendy. It’s true, they don’t; as proven by our polling a number of the House & Garden Top 100. “People don’t tend to have the budget,” suggests Mary Graham of Salvesen Graham. However there was good reason for the swap, to the point that seasonal decorating might well be worth reconsidering – and finding budget for.
The first factor is the cost of living crisis, and, most particularly, our rocketing energy bills. Many of us are accustomed to having winter and summer duvets, the winter one, obviously, having a higher tog count. Similarly, good winter curtains are heavier. One inhabitant of a Grade II listed house, where double glazing hasn’t been permitted, has two identical-looking pairs in a William Morris fabric for her sitting room; the summer curtains are cotton, the winter curtains are silk, and blanket-lined. This practicality explains why the examples of seasonal decorating that we have found tend to be in locations where the difference between months is more extreme. The Miami-based interior designer Elizabeth Ghia used to live in Greece, “and people would take their rugs up for the summer and have bare floors” – the tiles or stone being deliciously cool underfoot. Summer slipcovers have a similar benefit – cotton or linen feeling much nicer against bare legs than wool or velvet.
But the slipcovers have another purpose too, which is protecting furniture from the bleaching and fading nature of the sun - and, potentially, if you’ve got a swimming pool or live by the sea, inadvertent contamination by chlorine or salt. Seasonal decorating, points out Wendy, “makes expensive decorations last longer.”
That longevity is potentially two-fold, encompassing both actual durability, and charm in the eye of the beholder. “I think it can keep you in love in with your house,” says Mary. “In the winter you might have a lovely Welsh blanket on your bed, instead of the white cotton bedspread that you had in the summer, and suddenly that room has a different feeling and you are back in love with it.” Susan Deliss has a client in New York “who changes her curtains, sofa covers, cushion covers, and lampshades twice a year – she doesn’t repaint, or move the furniture, but she essentially has two completely different schemes.” Perhaps it is an indulgence – but, bearing in mind just how many exquisitely beautiful fabrics there are out there, doesn’t it also sound a total joy?
But there are, naturally, disadvantages to seasonal decorating, too. Cost aside, there is the issue of performing the whole change-over – not many of us have butlers now, and rehanging curtains can be especially fiddly. The second issue – and it’s considerable – is storage. Chatsworth House allegedly has a curtain room, but that’s one out of 126; most of us are considerably more pressed for space, and then there’s the one-word horror story that is ‘moths’. There is a distinct absence of companies that perform the service that Mann & Flemming did; Sarah Wooldridge of Sarah Woolridge Design, who often makes summer and winter curtains, explains that hers “come supplied in a plastic full-length case – we suggest they’re then draped across a spare bed, or laid down in the attic,” but her company cannot keep them, clean them, or renew them. (She does not, incidentally, recommend dry cleaning, but spot cleaning, and the occasional soft brush to remove dust.)
Happily, there are still ways of affecting a change without either breaking the bank or needing an extra room. For curtains, Susan suggests hanging two pairs at the window. The lighter voiles can be used in the summer to diffuse the sun’s rays, protect furniture, and keep a room cooler, while in the winter the heavier curtains can be drawn to block out any breeze. Elizabeth reminds us that the great American interior designer, Sister Parish, who was Jackie Kennedy’s favourite decorator, thought that slipcovers should look like they’ve been run up on the home sewing machine – so there’s a project for this winter. “Your sofa might be upholstered in a velvet or rich coloured linen, you can do a lovely blousy loose cover to go over the top,” suggests Mary. And don’t forget the power of accessories – cushion covers take up very little space, and lampshades can often be stacked. “Your mood changes though the seasons – from wanting to be feel fresh and light, to wanting to feel cosy – so if you are able to switch stuff up, I really think it can help you be happy at home,” finishes Mary.
