Holly Armour uses much-loved pieces of art to inform the colour schemes of her antiques-filled home
FEATURE & STYLING NAOMI JONES ADDITIONAL STYLING REBECCA LOVATT PHOTOGRAPHS ROBERT SANDERSON
With wide open rooms that lead from one to the next, Holly Armour’s antiques-filled farmhouse in rural Suffolk really comes into its own at Christmas, when it is dressed for festivities. But with an overall scheme that was designed with elegant comfort in mind, the house is warm and welcoming all year round.
‘The most important thing you can do when designing your home,’ she says, ‘is put together rooms you want to spend time in.’ She adds, warning against the temptation to be swayed by trends: ‘I truly believe you’ll create something far more timeless and meaningful if you decorate your rooms with objects you love, or that are important to you and the people you share your home with.’ For Holly and her husband, Harry, that means the art they’ve been collecting for years (Holly’s mother is an artist, and encouraged her to buy from an early age), time-worn books and colourful and contemporary yet nostalgic textiles that complement the antiques the couple have either inherited or acquired since moving to Suffolk. ‘Several generations of my family were furniture makers,’ Holly says. She worked in the family business before moving to London, so she grew up with an appreciation of fine craftsmanship. She went on to work for Sofa.com and Pooky Lighting, so she’s always been involved in the interiors world. ‘I particularly love brown furniture,’ she says, ‘and I recently spent many months looking for just the right pedestal table to create a centrepiece in the entrance hall.’
The couple moved back to Holly’s home county three years ago, during the pandemic. Luckily, they were slightly ahead of the game, having found their 17th-century house just before lockdown, so the sale of their London house was already well in motion. She used lockdown to come up with the moodboards, explaining how they always started with a piece of art she intended to hang in each room. ‘I’d then spend hours poring over fabrics, soft furnishings and upholstered furniture to tie in with the colours in the paintings, so I had all the layers of colour, texture and pattern pretty much worked out before we even moved in. Once we got the keys, everything was pretty straightforward.’
Luckily for the couple, the house was in good structural order, as the previous owners had maintained the building beautifully. ‘Although
