Finally we have managed to put up new curtains in the redecorated Room 2. The choices of colour and pattern have been very, very deliberate for reasons of both usability and aesthetics.

The pattern on the fabric is a gothic cross…

…a direct draw from the inspiration of the wallpaper

The material chosen reflects the scheme’s queues taken from the framed piece of wallpaper on the feature wall, itself of a colour dictated by the wallpaper sample. We decided not to paper the whole wall in this bedroom because of the small size of the wall and the fact that we wanted the curtains to be one of the main features.

The fabric grade is high quality and the pattern contains a small gothic cross-like symbol, reminscent of that in the wallpaper (an 1880’s heritage design called ‘Bayham Abbey’). We felt the subtle allusion to gold would raise the feel of this small bedroom tastefully and brightly, enabling the characteristic original sash windows to stand out, framed by coherent colours.

Our housekeeping staff decided that we did not want clutter on the walls,  so we have deliberately shied away from further framed pictures on the walls. The mirror is now large enough for practical use and we have tried to optimise the ergonomics of the space.

Room 2 now tells a story of a later 19th Century design influence. We still have the carpet to sort out, but that will come after we have carried out work on the entire wing (bedrooms 1 through 5) – the oldest part of (and actually in some respects predating) this 1828 building.

We hope that the thought we have put into this is appreciated by those who stay in this room, which, we hope, now feels a relevant part of Higham Hall.