With Spring on the way, what better way to create a fresh new look than by restyling your room with our hugely popular Featherdown fabric in a beautiful new colourway – Duck Egg Blue.

This lovely fabric features the Featherdown’s delicate feathers on a pale blue background, a perfect fit for this season’s pastel trends. Elegant neutrals are here to stay, and this soft blue-grey will blend effortlessly with warm and cool tones, bringing modern country design to both parred back and busier schemes.

Available as a candle shade, cushion cover or cut length of fabric, this natural cotton has a tight weave and uniform appearance which makes a lovely alternative to linen. Offering a pretty country style print and muted colours, this new fabric perfectly encapsulates and celebrates our Great British heritage.

Complement your soft furnishings with our original Featherdown fabric in stone. According to Elle Décor, warmer earthy pastels will be making a name for themselves this year, with colour trends shifting to more organic and earthy tones. With its soft shades of brown, grey and duck egg blue, it has a soft, countryside feel to it that will combine perfectly with your existing neutrals to take you through the year.

Known for its versatility, cotton is one of the most commonly used fabrics for lamp shade making as it is lightweight, durable and has a softness which is ideal for diffusing light evenly around a room. Accessorise with brass accents or gunmetal grey fittings to achieve the most up to date look. Our favourite way to showcase this colourway is as a candle shade paired with our antiqued wall lighting. The Featherdown will bring a little playfulness to the warm glow of your interior…

You don’t have to revamp an entire room for your spring clean! Just switching the materials and colours of cushions in a room can totally transform the atmosphere. As always, no matter the fabric, all of our cushions, shades, curtains and blinds are handmade here in our Suffolk workshop by our talented soft furnishings team. 

For even more homeware ideas, keep up to date by following us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. Don’t forget to tag us in your home updates– we love seeing our products in their new homes!

Jim and Sheena, his wife and business co-owner, began the business you see today from humble roots at their kitchen table in 1994. As time passed and orders increased, business outgrew the farm buildings it was housed in. Customers, staff and delivery men struggled daily down a bumpy farm track to find it. Since most of the staff came from the nearby market town of Hadleigh, Jim moved the company there in 2008, taking over an empty bottling factory on the outskirts of town that came with lots of room for workshops, offices and a warehouse.

We’ve shared a tour of the stunning historic Walcot Street, the location of our new showroom, but realise we hadn’t shown you around our first home. Time to give our Suffolk location a little love…

You will find our beautiful Suffolk showroom in the historic market town of Hadleigh where our shop and workshop is located on Lady Lane just off the A1071 Ipswich Road. Our showroom houses our entire range of over 8,000 products. You can see how stunning our lights look in situ and use our displays to find inspiration for your window, door and bathroom accessories. While you are here you could pop into the centre of Hadleigh for a coffee and bite to eat and wander along the old High Street, marvel at its beautiful old buildings and eclectic mix of shops, services, restaurants, cafés and pubs that are known for their individuality, quality and care.

Hadleigh is an ancient market town full of character and history, set in the lush and fertile valley of the River Brett. Once an immensely wealthy wool and cloth town, the manor of Hadleigh was given to the Priory of Canterbury Cathedral in the 13th century meaning it was under direct control of the Archbishop of Canterbury for hundreds of years. These days you will find many attractions such as local treasure Ferguson’s Delicatessen, go-to brunch spot the Jet Lounge and of course the nearby Marquis Hotel & Restaurant, which features many of our Jim Lawrence lights.

If you want to get your teeth into the local shops, there’s no better place to start than Hadleigh’s Old Bakery, now a vintage Emporium, stuffed to the brim with unique and antique finds. Along the highstreet you will find a selection of independent clothing and gift shops to enjoy too. In the tucked away Maiden Way just off the main thoroughfare you will find The Little Grey Bird,  who are stockists of lovely hand-painted furniture. Here you will also find Mung Bean, Hadleigh’s local organic wholefoods store.

If there’s one place you need to pop your head into, it’s the Adnam’s shop. Adnam’s brew amazing beers and spirits from grain-to-glass in the nearby coastal town of Southwold, and their shop is stocked with their finest drinks and barware. You can even pop in for a tasting after visiting our showroom, why not?

If you’ve come by for the history, Hadleigh retains many of the 15th-century brick and timber framed buildings. Suffolk is famous it’s historic architecture, and Hadleigh has no less than 246 listed buildings; four of them Grade 1 – The Guildhall, St Mary’s Church, the Deanery Tower and the Coffee Tavern in the High Street where you can see beautifully detailed 17th century decorative plasterwork or ‘pargeting’. The town lies in the heart of Constable Country, so called because it produced two of our most famous artists – John Constable and Thomas Gainsborough – who were born and lived nearby and whose paintings celebrate the beauty of our big Suffolk skies and idyllic countryside.

As many of our lighting designs are inspired by our Great British heritage, we feel it’s our duty to appreciate the history of our surroundings. You’ll notice that many of our products are named after nearby locations across Suffolk and Norfolk. From hints of the coastline in our Scallop Wall Light and delicate strands of wheat in our Sussex Lights, the surroundings from which we built our brand upon are ever present in our design work.

Whether East or West, we hope you can visit us in one of our beautiful showrooms where we do our utmost to honour the modern country style we know you love.

Come and say hello to at The Ironworks, Lady Lane, Hadleigh, Suffolk, IP7 6BQ. Feel free to give us a call on 01473 826685 or drop us an email at sales@jim-lawrence.co.uk. We hope to see you soon!

For all of your home inspiration needs, be sure to keep up to date with our Instagram @jimlawrencemade and all of our mood boards on Pinterest. Don’t forget to tag us in all of your interior updates – we love seeing our products in their new homes.

Kay Prestney is an Interior Designer & Stylist working on private and commercial projects as well photoshoot and event styling. She also runs Kinship Gatherings, a business hub teaching people crafts and other creative skills. Not only is Kay’s own home a culmination of these talents, but her scandi-inspired interior is all sustainably and locally sourced. We chat with Kay about her gorgeous renovation and why an eco-ethos matters.

Hi Kay, welcome to the style journal! Your home has a rustic feel with a very neutral colour palette, but your interior is far from plain. Can you tell us a bit about how you discovered and refined your own style?

I have always been drawn to Scandinavian style, using lots of natural materials and a muted palette. As a stylist and interior designer I am immersed in design on a daily basis, I love colourful and playful interiors but always find that I need a neutral, calm interior at home to be able to switch off at the end of the day. I love to use layer textures, to bring the natural world into our home and use vintage pieces to create interesting rooms that tell the story of who lives there, reflecting their life and loves.

You keep to an eco-ethos whilst renovating your own home, is this something you stick to when styling other spaces?

Yes, very much so. I try to encourage clients to rethink their existing pieces, to look at making the most of the natural light and moving things around to get the look they want, rather than getting rid of everything and buying new. There are lots of ways you can repurpose pieces or give a vintage item new life such as adding castors and a linen cushion to a vintage wooden trunk to make it into storage and easily moveable occasional seating in one. Buying vintage makes your home unique and helps the planet, what’s not to love about that!

There is certainly a wave of recognition for sustainable practice rippling across the world – and rightly so – but how can we all implement these positive and conscious changes in the everyday home?

I think we can all start by buying less and if we are paring back then considering how we get rid of unwanted items sustainably by donating to charity, putting on free cycle or repurposing. Its amazing how many creative ways there are to upcycle unwanted things. Try googling ideas before you throw something away and you might find a new crafting hobby!

We love that you champion local businesses in your design. What draws you to Jim Lawrence products in particular?

I feel passionately about supporting small local businesses and Makers. I always try to choose heart-led companies in my work and I love the ethos of Jim Lawrence, the attention to detail and the fact it is all hand made locally. The products are also built to last which helps reduce our throw-away culture.

Of course we love your lighting choices, but where do you find inspiration for the rest of the décor?

I am always inspired by the natural world and try to get outside whenever possible to walk in the woods or over the fields. I forage fallen branches, foliage and dried seed-heads to brIng into our home to create interesting vignettes. I also love the association of fond memories when I see the pieces in my home and remember the walks or family time when we collected them. I subscribe to magazines such as 91, Enki, Elle Decoration and always look at interiors magazines when I am travelling for inspiration. I go to Design fairs and am often falling down an Instagram rabbit hole finding new Makers to follow!

When it comes to designing a room, where do you start?

I always start by taking everything out, this doesn’t have to be done physically, but it’s easy when you live in a room to just accept that pieces have their place. Sometimes just moving a sofa, adding a mirror to reflect natural light into a dark corner, bringing in some plants for colour and their health benefits and having a declutter can radically change a room on a small budget. It’s also really important to think about what a room is used for and to consider storage needs.

What has been your favourite space to design?

Ooh that’s such a tricky one as I have never done a project I didn’t really enjoy! I think it would have to be one of my first commercial design projects helping transform an old run down Barn into a cool Scandi inspired kids play space, cafe and studios. It was all done on a very small budget and I worked with the lovely owner Jo repurposing lots of pieces from a barn on the family farm where people stored things they didn’t want any more. We used lots of natural materials, upcycled most of the furniture and custom made pieces using scaffold boards and other vintage finds.

I have also really enjoyed renovating a holiday cottage on the Suffolk coast where we had to balance design aesthetics with the practicalities needed for a property that is let out. It’s now one of the most popular rentals on the agency’s books which is hugely rewarding.

Why did you start hosting the Kinship Gatherings?

When I started Kinship Creative Design Consultancy I wanted to meet like-minded people running their own small business, to make connections and find ways to collaborate and support each other. I couldn’t find anything locally so I started one myself. We meet every six months and there is now a wonderful network of creatives, Makers, small business owners and people who would like to set up their own business but are not quite there yet. It’s a hugely supportive network and we offer a workshop as part of the gathering as well as coffee and cake to fuel our creativity!

What events do you have coming up that our audience might be interested in?

Our next gathering is on Feb 7th and will feature a workshop about Marketing for small businesses. We also occasionally run pop-up gatherings which have taken place in Bristol and Guildford. We also run creative workshops and have some fun ones coming up in the New Year including Ceramics, Modern Calligraphy and Photography and Styling. I am also planning workshops on sustainable living, plant styling and care, and some new crafting workshops.

Finally, what’s on the cards for you Kinship Creative in 2020?

I am looking forward to some really exciting new interior design projects including redesigning a bridal studio, helping create a series of glamping lodges and some private home projects. I am also looking forward to styling shoots, helping small businesses thrive, expanding our Kinship Community through our Gatherings, working on some content creation with brands that share my values and maybe even finding time to make a few changes in our own home!!

To see what’s on and attend one of Kay’s events take a look here. To make sure you don’t miss out, sign up to the monthly community newsletters. To see more of her interior styling and stunning scandi home, follow Kay on Instagram at @kinship_creativedc. To shop her style, browse our website to see all of our hand forged and finished lighting and homeware.

In our Suffolk workshop we employ a skilled team of 150 engineers, painters, seamstresses, designers, lampshade makers and technicians alongside a full cohort of support staff. As we unpick the Jim Lawrence family and invite you to see a day in the life of our makers, we want to introduce you to a huge part of our heritage: the welders. This is really where it all began, using traditional metal working techniques here in Suffolk. We chat to our Technical Lead, Lee Saxby about this craft and how we create the lights you love.

Firstly, can you tell us who makes up the team?

There are about 20 welders, aged from 18 to their mid 60s, split into two teams, one working with steel the other with brass as they are different metals that require different types of welding.

Talk us through your typical workday in the workshop.

Our working day is generally 8am to 4.30pm but everyone works different shifts within that. We all have our own benches or workstations where the supervisors will have given us our job sheets for the day so that everyone knows what they are working on and how many they need to make by the end of the day.
A typical job varies between 4-5 hours for a large or complicated light, to one every 5 minutes for a simpler design. We have a tea break at 10.30-10.45, half an hour for lunch any time between 1 & 2pm and finish at around 4.30pm.

How many products do you now make in a day?

It depends which products we are making. As a team we can make 2-300 smaller lights like the Thorpe or Cranfield spotlight in a day, but if we’re working on a new Sussex wall or pendant light, we’ll only produce one a day as they are a more ornate so there’s a lot of welding involved.

Can you describe the key steps of the welding process?

The first thing we do is collect the carcass (component parts) for the product we are making. These will have been picked from the storeroom when a customer’s order comes through and passed on to us. We always make products in batches, regardless of how many orders there are so that we have enough kept in stock.

The first thing we do is clean the raw metal with a shot blaster to get rid of any scale that has built up. Then we use a Tig to weld the joints together to build the three dimensional product. When it is finished, we use a circular grinder to clean up the metalwork, going over the joints and edges to remove any rough bits so that it’s sharp, clean and tidy.
When we’ve done, we’ll put the products on the Quality Control shelf to be inspected. If they pass, they will be given to the finishing teams who will paint, polish or antique the products ready to be wired up. If the products don’t pass QC, we have to take them back and continue working on them until they do.

Like many of our makers at Jim Lawrence, it must be rewarding to be making something creative with your hands – though very hard work! With well over three thousand products available, what is the most challenging Jim Lawrence product to create?

Definitely the Montgomery or Sussex lights (shown below) which can take around 16 hours to make and require experienced welders with specialist skills. They are beautiful designs but incredibly complicated to make. The Large Charlecote Lantern is another example. The tables we make are surprisingly difficult because although they look relatively simple, all the legs and edges need welding and the smallest mistake can be very visible.

As a team, do you ever have any input on the design process?

Yes, the design team are always asking us if it’s possible to make the things they dream up. They need to know what is the best way to make it, what the pitfalls are and if it can be made more efficiently.

Do you get to work on any creative bespoke requests?

Not as many as we used to because as demand has risen and the company has grown, we’ve had to stop a lot of our bespoke work in favour of keeping up with our stocked products. I remember having to make two huge wagon wheel style lights for a converted barn in France a few years ago, and we once had a request to make metal flags and flagpoles for a turret on a country mansion, which was quite a job!

Going from a smaller farm forge and expanding to a location where you’re welding for one of the country’s leading lighting and home furnishings retailers, your roles and responsibilities must have changed. How has this effected the craft?

Well, I’ve been at Jim Lawrence for around 20 years so I’ve seen a lot of changes. Back in the day at Jim’s farm there were only five or six of us making about 20 products a month, whereas now there are 15 or 16 of us making 80-90. A lot of what we do now is about constantly asking ourselves what we can do to make things more efficient so we can get them out quicker. We used to have to do everything whereas now we have machinery to deal with repetitive tasks which is great because it means you can get on with the more fun stuff.

We are very lucky to be able to preserve this traditional way of making, including hand finishing our products. Why do you think people love to know that their products are handmade?

You can tell something is handmade by the quality of it. It just looks and feels different which people really appreciate. To us, when you make products yourself, you put your heart into it because you are doing what you love and you want it to be the best example of your work, so it shows in the finished result. It doesn’t matter if it’s a door hook or a glass pendant light, you want people to love it and they generally do.

Finally, many of our employees have been here long term, including most of you! What’s the best part of working for a family business like Jim Lawrence?

To me it’s because it’s personal. I’ve worked with a lot of the team for years so we’ve become good friends and have a great understanding of the pressures of the job. Jim used to work with us in the workshop and he and Sheena are still very hands on and come down all the time. Our managers also worked alongside us once, so you build up good relationships and new people find it easy to fit in.

You can browse all of our hand forged products on our website and enjoy other stylish customer homes on Instagram. Don’t forget to tag us in your own imagery on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook – we love seeing our products in their new homes. 

Did you know you can visit our Suffolk workshop? Our showroom and workshops are located here: Jim Lawrence Traditional Ironworks, The Ironworks, Lady Lane, Hadleigh, Suffolk, IP7 6BQ. Anyone is welcome to enjoy and shop the showroom, but please contact us in advance should you want a group tour of the workshops and warehouses: we are very open to showing you where your products are made, but do require some notice.

Just a stones throw from our Suffolk headquarters in the nearby village of Layham you will find the aptly name ‘Marquis’. Both noble and luxurious, the Marquis is a go-to for fine dining and distinctive accommodation. Overlooking the sloping Brett Valley you can enjoy contemporary British food and drinks in their stylish bar: a perfect place to get a feel for what East Anglia has to offer.

Inside the historic Marquis – a building that has sat proudly in this location for centuries – you will find understated yet charming modern country décor, sprinkled with your favourite Jim Lawrence products. Amongst the beams, original fireplaces and stunning views are a multitude of our finest shades, lights and accessories to make your stay as stylish and authentic as possible.

You can never have enough bedroom inspiration, so here’s a closer look at our Double Gosford Wall Light bringing a soft bedside glow to one of the suites. Bringing a compact, handmade elegance to this modern country scheme, its hand forged solid brass design with low slung curved arms is perfect for framing the most important part of a bedroom: the bed. The Beeswax finish is paired tastefully with our Natural Isabelle Linen Candle Shades for a laid back neutral look.

For something more slimline and simple without compromising on elegance, the Double Classic Wall Light is the perfect choice for complimenting period features. We love the contrast between the sumptous velvet headboard and the hard, more rustic style of this classic blackplate. Again, the natural shades create a subdued glow to add to the calming hotel atmosphere. 

Love velvet? Why not take a look at our Hunstanton range including cushions, shades and fabric by the metre – perfect for inviting some plush texture and jewel tones into your interior.

In order to create an authentic feel in character buildings, we feel it’s best to stay in keeping with their historic charm when it comes to detailing. Using traditionally hand forged hinges, handles and bolts creates a uniform look that helps guests to feel like they’ve taken a step back in time whilst still enjoying the modern comforts on offer. 

To add a textural quality and warmth, turning to Antiqued Brass with our collection of handcrafted cupboard knobs, drawer pulls and kitchen cabinet handles is the way  to go. Our beautifully forged fixtures and fittings help to bring the room together with robust materials that show off our classic modern country style.

Our outside lights will transform the look of any garden, entrance or outbuildings, making the most of architectural features and the natural beauty of your building materials. From period splendour or simple country cottage styles we have a wide selection of outdoor lights to suit a variety of locations. Here the Marquis have included a nautical touch by using our award winning, vintage-look Boathouse Light in Matt Black.

Another nautical inspired piece, this antiqued brass number is a little more industrial. The Ship’s Light has a robust, hand blown glass shade encompassed in a brass cage that is reminiscent of the deck lights you used to find on ocean liners and steam boats. It is also incredibly versatile, making it an excellent choice for adding some coastal charm inside the house too.

If you are coming to visit our showroom then why not stop at The Marquis on your way? With spectacular views across the valley, a bold open kitchen and a seasonal menu inspired by local ingredients, dining at the Marquis is a unique and memorable experience. Book a stay to fully enjoy our local area, and relax in their stylish setting.

You can browse all our gorgeous Jim Lawrence lights and homeware on our website and Instagram. Don’t forget to tag us in your own imagery on Twitter and Facebook – we love seeing our products in their new homes.

At Jim Lawrence we believe that the exterior design of your home is as important as the inside. What you choose to put outside serves as a taster of the beauty within. What better ⁠place to start than the one place your guests reach for first? It can be hard to get a real feel for door furniture from a photo on your screen, but you’ll have to trust us (and our other customers) that you will fall head over heels for the quality and finish. We’ve selected our favourite Jim Lawrence Autumnal door decor on Instagram paired with our knockers, bells, numbers and knobs to inspire you this season.

Serving as a warm welcome, wreaths are a fun and interchangeable way to liven up your home entrance all year round, but particularly enjoyed in the greyer months. And what a wreath this is! Dried flowers give off an antiqued feel, with a crisp golden ‘patina’ that is both seasonal and pretty in autumnal décor. We love the blend of red and pink, creating an autumnal crown for our Heart Knocker in Matt Black on customer Victoria’s pastoral front door.

Another golden tinged adornment for the front door, this colourful homemade wreath bounces off the door furniture beautifully. We love this image inviting us inside to see a glimpse of our Bonham Lantern in Antiqued Brass. Deep blue hues are a gorgeous match for brass hardware. Always one of our go-to shades, customer Jess has mastered this classic ‘blue and brass’ look perfectly in her exterior design.

A successful harvest just in time for Halloween… This magnificent display from customers Pollyanna and Nick embodies everything we love about autumn itself. Crisp scattered leaves, plump pumpkins and another fabulous wreath ticks all our October door decor boxes. A grand entrance with or without the Halloween inspired styling, we always find ourselves admiring the use of our Putney Porch Light in their doorway…it looks like it was made to fit. For similar Antiqued Brass door accessories shop here.

If florals aren’t your thing, but function is…look no further. Minimal but impeccably stylish, our Matt Black door accessories matched with our Newport Downlighter will provide a smart silhouette in the daylight and a neatly illuminated, practical feel in darker evenings. This hard wearing, durable finish is the perfect choice for creating a timeless and sophisticated look all year round.

Our popular Antiqued Brass finish seen on the Melton Door Knocker, Regency Door Handle and Letterplate. A rustic posy of herbs is a lovely way to greet guests in terms of sight and scents, and can be popped into a vase later when you want to change up the display.

We would love to see more of your autumnal door decor, so don’t forget to tag us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. For a wealth of home décor and interior inspiration, view our Pinterest page. To view all of our lighting and homeware visit our website. Happy shopping!

The cosy season is here, and autumnal colours are back on the agenda. Expect to see opulent jewel tones that fade into spiced hues of cinnamon and nutmeg, thick drapes of velvet and wool, plus warm brass accents and accessories ready to ease you into your autumn/winter interior.

We’ve highlighted our favourite Jim Lawrence products to layer up for the season, ensuring your home is not only in style, but ready to truly enjoy as you spend more time inside of it this autumn.

Thinking of using bright reds in the home can seem quite severe, but when autumn comes around dark and faded variations of this bold colour are elegant and a perfect fit for modern rustic homes. Working beautifully with metallic finishes, our Old Red Faux Silk Candle Shades are a great match paired with the Antiqued Brass Double Brancaster Wall Light. Earthy spiced tones are certainly on trend, but can be translated in softer ways like muted and dusky yellows and oranges if you prefer something a little more mellow.

You will be familiar with our popular Antiqued Brass finish, but we are always finding new ways to style and use it. On-trend brass adds a subtle shine to minimal spaces and warmth to neutral rooms, and this can be done so seamlessly with simple but effective additions. We’ve chosen to highlight the gorgeous yet sturdy Peterhouse Desk Lamp, which embraces the classic bankers lamp style but made for modern life. Hand cast in solid brass, this little lamp is ideal for home offices, bedsides and console tables to lift autumnal evenings with its warm glow.

If you want to layer up this finish upon your existing Jim Lawrence lights, accessorising throughout the room creates a cohesive look. These sweet Larder Pulls truly suit any room of the house, thanks to its understated character and design. Try fitting them to any kitchen, bedroom or living room cabinet, chest of drawers or cupboard to instantly boost the vintage charm.

You can’t have autumn without woollen accessories. Our heritage collection is layered with traditional tweeds in granites, checks and heathers: a selection of beautifully textured wool fabrics for your country curtains and cushions. We’ve highlighted the soft Stirling Lovat Wool in Check, a fabric exclusively woven for Jim Lawrence by ‘the home of tweed’ at the Lovat Mill. This predominantly grey colourway is ideal for this time of year, evoking September strolls along the Scottish landscape of rivers and lochs. The 100% wool weight of this fabric is a dream for curtains, framing windows with a sloping drape and lined to see you through winter.

No house is complete without our little Samworth Oil Lamp. No matter your home style, this hand blown glass oil lamp features a hint of brass, and sits comfortably on bedsides, consoles or just about anywhere you like it, really! You can refill it too, allowing you to enjoy its flickering flame across all four seasons.

With our focus on natural materials, it’s only right to include some foliate decoration! Dried flowers and leaves give off an antiqued feel of their own, with a crisp golden ‘patina’ that is both seasonal and pretty in autumnal décor. Softer than vibrant bouquets, wheat, pampas grass and hydrangeas create a delicate arrangement perfect for vintage-inspired homes. Why not add in some poppy pods and cotton for some height? They’re low maintenance and go hand in hand with all of our golden and spiced seasonal tones.

We would love to see how you translate these ideas into your own home this season, so don’t forget to tag us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. For a wealth of home décor and interior inspiration, view our Pinterest page. To view all of our lighting and homeware visit our website. Happy shopping!

Before we say goodbye to Summer, we thought we’d visit our favourite interior style of the moment: “the refined bohemian” home. We have long been enamoured by the beach house look of flowing linen curtains framing a sea view, worn wooden panelled shacks and woven rope and wood accessories. It’s modern rustic at its finest, with a more refined and translatable look that can be worked into homes everywhere. It’s laid back but carefully curated, it’s minimal but with a homely, vintage-inspired edge. It’s new and old in perfect harmony. We’ve selected six of our favourite customer photographs and a few of our own that we think exude refined bohemia, Jim Lawrence style…

We thought we’d kick start this look with a spotlight on our Scallop Wall Lights in Antiqued Brass. Adding an instant update of coastal character, this light has been carefully designed to combine a decorative shade with a subdued backlight, perfect for creating mood lighting in a bedroom, study, cloakroom or open plan living space.

This eye-catching piece was inspired by Jim & Sheena’s holidays to the West Coast of Scotland, where fresh scallops were always on the menu and finding shells on the beach when the children were young was a favourite past time. Lovingly hand forged from solid natural brass that has been lightly antiqued for a subtly aged look, our Scallop has a wonderfully tactile quality that befits its handmade nature.

We couldn’t compile this list without mentioning our favourite stylist Sally Denning. Sally’s latest book ‘Relaxed Coastal’ style was published last year, and has paved the way for neutral toned, modern rustic interiors everywhere. We love this shot featuring our Butler and Barbican pendants. They are right at home against a backdrop of rugged stripped and painted wood with textured blankets. The perfect palette to kick start your relaxed yet refined décor. To find out more about Sally’s gorgeous book, read our blog post about it here.

This bathroom from Kay at @kinship_creativedc embodies our experience of refined bohemian style. Made up of only sustainably or locally sourced items, Kay shows how you can BE a refined bohemian as well as create a room that shows off the style. The light she’s used is our Compton Pendant in Antiqued Brass, blending gorgeously into the earthy colours of this bathroom. The Moroccan-inspired tiles exude the cool Eastern look – a fun alternative to regular metro tiles. Using reclaimed and quality local items will help you keep an eco ethos whilst renovating. It’s amazing what you can achieve.

Customer Maddy from @hutchinson.house has nailed chic bohemian living with her impeccably curated but laid back, comfortably styled home. We love the drama of matt black throughout, offsetting the creamy white and warm teak woods of her beachside home. The Club Wall Light in Matt Black is the perfect lighting choice here: lighting up the shelving display when on, and looking like one of the ornaments when off. Layering rugs and blankets also ramps up the ‘lived in’ feel, making sure it’s all living room, not showroom.

This kitchen space is from Sian of @restored_home. Neutrals, monochrome, leather and rustic woods are all woven though Sian’s home, and when you add in rattan baskets and our brass lighting you’ve got one stylish interior. Using our Thorpe Wall Light and Pendant Lampholders, Sian uses vintage look bulbs to give an industrial edge to her laid back living spaces. In our Beautiful Homes interview, she said: “It’s a good contrast against the elegance of Georgian homes and the rustic nature of country/cottage homes, without being too harsh and conflicting. It also means that the lights and fittings speak for themselves and you can then use other soft furnishings to introduce pattern and texture.” See more of her décor and read the interview here.

Wooden panelling, natural wood and brass make a gorgeous and tactile trio. Our popular Bletchley Bathroom Collection encapsulates a simple, old-fashioned utility style that blends seamlessly with both period and contemporary bathrooms. Ideal for your refined beach style interior, the lightly antiqued finish adds warmth to light spaces, it’s made with modern rustic, refined bohemia in mind.

Do you have a Jim Lawrence home you want to share? Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest and tag us in your interior updates. We love to see our products in their new homes. To view our full lighting collection, visit our website.

Experienced self builder, project manger and interior designer, Sarah Farrington is no stranger to a home renovation. Using Jim Lawrence lights in every room, she has just completed a new build called Gamekeeper’s Lodge, backdropped by its own 3-acre woods and with two beautiful lakes with surrounding views of the Warwickshire countryside.

Naturally curious to see more, we spoke to Sarah about her interior design business Farrington’s Design and her plans for this incredible location.

Thank you for agreeing to take part in our Beautiful Homes series, Sarah! You create many beautiful homes, but let’s start by talking about the extraordinary Gamekeepers Lodge. What inspired you to take on this project?

The stunning location of the plot. It’s idyllic and the thought of owning a woodland and lake with my teenage boys was very exciting. Despite living in London for the last twenty years, I’m a real outdoors girl at heart! The planning permission for the house was already agreed and I could see how the finished house should look and feel as soon as I saw the plans.

I’m a very instinctive person and although the cost of the land was more than I had budgeted for our entire self-build project I knew that the land was right and I was going to pull out all the stops to make it a success. After my previous eco self-build project in London it was the perfect next project for me, with the opportunity to design something contemporary, country and have a lot of fun.

Once the lodge is finished, what are your plans for the property?

I’m so glad you asked me that, as I’ve got some exciting plans for both the lodge and the beautiful woods that surround it. I designed a home to inspire both myself and my clients as I will run my interior design company from here. Seeing the products that I sourced in situ will hopefully help clients visualise how I can help their visions come together. So far, the big talking points include the elegant lighting, the calming effect of the electric blinds, how the porcelain tiles flow throughout and the beautiful bathrooms.

Gamekeeper’s Lodge is not just about the interior though. The views stretch for miles over typical English countryside, there are meadows with a natural swimming lake and a fishing pond with carp, plus a beautiful 3-acre woodland with paths and glades that wrap around the back of the house. I’m looking at ways to provide an inspirational location for groups to come and work, whether that’s a creative workshop for local artists, photography courses or even corporate hospitality events for companies looking for an ‘away from it all’ venue for the day. Essentially, space hosting for groups that want to increase productivity by working in a tranquil and special setting.

Finally, I’ve got a long-term back burner plan to diversify into the glamping business, albeit only on small scale. I’d like to be able to offer romantic, stylish woodland breaks in luxury bell tents. I have a lot of work to do in the woodland before that plan can be put in motion though so for now I’m looking to finish the garden landscaping, build my vegetable garden and get some free-range chickens roaming around!

We are very honoured that you chose to use our products across the whole lodge. What made you decide to do this?

I like to source products that will stand the test of time. Jim Lawrence lights exude elegance and luxury, from the hand-blown glass pendants, to the weight and depth of colour on the Lexington Pendant I used over the kitchen island and of course I love that retro cabling. I also wanted my suppliers to be UK companies where possible, Harvey Jones for the kitchen, Crosswater for bathrooms and Millboard for composite decking on the balcony.

I did a similar thing copying the colour of the Clay Aldgate Wall Light either side of my  “Jono’s Lobster” painting, with a pair of Clay Albion Spotlights either side of the mirror at the other end of the open plan space to unite both ends of this large room. The Aldgate is the perfect choice for task lighting over a kitchen worktop with an adjustable head. The Clay finish is a wonderful colour, really crisp and clean, complementing the colours on my hand painted kitchen in Cornforth White and De Nimes by Farrow & Ball.

When designing a room, at what stage do you first consider the lighting?

The earlier the better. The right lighting literally transforms a house, creating mood and atmosphere. In a new build the wiring takes place early on in the construction phase. You have a clean canvas to work on so the earlier you start to plan the more time you have to go through several iterations and get it right.

I create Pinterest boards for each room and one for lighting, pulling together images that inspire me. I transfer images to a mood board so I can see the overall effect coming together. Using photocopies of scale drawings of the room and the furniture that will be used, I play at moving this around as I think about how and what time of day the room will be used. Finally, I layer the lighting plan on top of that.

For example, I knew our snug lounge would be used for family board games in the afternoons and being East facing it won’t get the afternoon sun so I hung one large and one slighter smaller Balmoral pendant over the coffee table to give this area plenty of task light. Hanging at slightly different heights they cast dramatic shadows against the vaulted ceiling and the brushed brass finish adds warmth to the room.

Clients often say to me that they need to see the finished room before they can even think about lighting but by looking at the natural light, using ceiling heights, thinking about where furniture will be positioned it soon starts to become obvious where the key lighting features should go. Just working through the various layers of lighting and uses of each space helps pull a plan together.

How did you manage to create the depth and comfort of a country home in a new building?

Including features and materials in the building structure that might appear in a more period country property can really help here, the exposed oak trusses were my starting point as they would normally appear in a barn conversion or traditional country house so I was certain these had to be included from the initial design stages. Later I added features such as the painted tongue and groove panelling in the boot room, easy to add, wood panelling adds instant impact and character.

The antique brass finish on the Jim Lawrence lighting adds a period feel. Whilst most of the lighting flows from room to room in beautiful neutrals of slate grey, clay or hand-blown glass for me it’s the four Cranleigh Wall Lights that break up the long line of the upper hall with their soft fabric, Half Shades in Stirling Check Lovat Wool, that exude a very classic, country home feel to me.

A house in an English woodland definitely deserves to include warm colour and texture of oak. It resonates comfort and luxury. I chose solid oak internal doors, window ledges and staircase albeit all designed with a very clean contemporary style and then continued with coffee tables and my new Scandi divine dining table, which sits central to the house and brings all the family together.

It can be overwhelming when looking at a room you want to change, but not knowing where to start. Talk us through your design process. If you want to tackle a single room redesign where do you begin?

How much light the room gets at different times of the day and the view from the windows is my first consideration as it will determine the best room layout and also colour choices. I like to present clients with several room layouts to discuss and see what will work best for how they intend to enjoy the space. I enjoy thinking about the key features of the room, any focal points to restore such as an old fireplace or ceiling cornice which maintain the history of the house. I always think about the existing furniture or art that will stay in the room. It’s not financially viable or eco-friendly to just keep buying new things all the time. Old pieces add character and charm, can be up-cycled to provide a more contemporary edge but are part of the design story. My aim is to design elegant spaces, which are also comfortable and enjoyable. A home has to be approachable as well as astounding.

Of course you have to adapt per project according to the client, but how would you describe your own interior style in three words?

Contemporary. Country. Classy.

What advice can you give to those passionate about interiors wanting to turn their home décor skills into a job like yours?

Definitely do a professional qualification before you start. I did the National Design Academy Interior Design Diploma. It put a lot of what I already understood and practised, for example Colour Theory, into context and it gave me the confidence to move into areas where previously I was lacking technical expertise, such as window treatments. It included research into the history of design which is a great grounding for everything we do in design today. Very importantly it includes marketing and how to start a business. It’s an intensive course and the tutors expect a high standard of work from you but I feel able to offer a more professional and complete service to clients as a result of completing it.

I’m lucky as my earlier working life as a chartered accountant and venture capitalist really helps with managing your own company so I would probably advise them to do some sort of business management course or at least a short book keeping course as it’s not just about being able to design a beautiful room. Budgeting and project management skills help the whole process come together smoothly.

The Gamekeepers lodge certainly looks like anyone’s dream project, but do you have a sort of ‘bucket list’ renovation in mind one day?

I would love to do a beach house in a coastal Hamptons style. I would include large floor to ceiling windows like at Gamekeeper’s but opening out onto the beach with white washed wooden floors. Bright blue hues and crisp cream linens, textures of woven fabrics and distressed wood and of course jars of sea shells. Obviously, my favourite Lobster painting would be at home here too.

Locally I would also love to renovate and restore a Georgian style house, there are so many in Leamington, so that would be a fun project. I love bringing out the history of a house, it’s always exciting discovering what’s behind a plastered over fireplace. The 400 year old farmhouse I restored in Mallorca had a lot of those exciting moments where you find old wooden window ledges or historic stone floors that can put back the history in a room. There are a wealth of tile designs, fabulous wallpapers and paint colours available now that would make a Georgian country home project like that really rewarding.

What will you be working on going forward?

Building my interior design business, so lots of marketing and improving the website. I also want to start a blog to share my experiences during the two years I’ve been focused on the Gamekeeper’s project! September is always an inspirational time with shows like Decorex and 100% Design to attend so it’s the ideal time to be finding new clients, sharing experiences and ideas.

Ideally my next client would be someone who needs my project management skills including budget planning, scheduling deliveries and handling of sub-contractors as well as my interior design experience in sourcing beautiful products to complete a contemporary, country home.

Sarah, can be contacted through her website at www.farringtons.design and more pictures of the Gamekeeper’s project can be seen at www.gamekeeperslodge.co.uk. To stay up to date with Jim Lawrence, follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest. To view our full lighting collection, visit our website.

Aldgate Wall Light, Fulbourn Pendant Light, Lexington Pendant, Bathroom Lighting, Club Wall Light