Pentreath, Ben – The Bell Bookshop

English Houses

Emma — Tue, 08 Apr 2025 00:00:00 +0000

‘Eight years have passed since the first edition of this book. It’s wonderful to see it being reprinted again, not least, I think, because it proves the adage that while nothing dates as quickly as fashion, nothing stays in fashion longer than timeless design – which is really at the core of what I try to do.’

In this timeless and beautiful book, now reissued complete with a brand-new introduction, renowned architectural and interior designer Ben Pentreath presents an insightful overview of the classic English style. Visiting 12 very different homes, Ben explores and appraises the unique spirit of the English House – restrained and simple yet overflowing with a generosity of touch and a richness of colour and texture. The book is divided into three sections: London, Country and Country House, and the interiors featured range from a 1930s pied-a-terre in London’s historic St James to designer Veere Grenney’s tiny Palladian Temple folly in Suffolk and Wardington, a 16th-century stone manor house in Oxfordshire. Ben’s own homes in London and West Dorset are also included. These homes vary in architecture, size, shape, and age, but they all have in common a peculiarly English style – richly-layered rooms that deftly intertwine colour and pattern and a mix of old and new furniture to create timeless and comfortable places to live. First published in 2018, this new edition has a brand new introduction.

An English vision

Emma — Tue, 24 Sep 2024 00:00:00 +0000

This is the first of Pentreath’s books to present his own output in its entirety-from hispersonal residences in Dorset, London, and Scotland that brought him international fameto many old and new houses that he has designed and some of the larger, town-scaledprojects that make his practice unique in the world of traditional design. Although theresults range from his colorful and romantic versions of the English country cottage totraditional splendor, there are underlying ideas that inform the breadth of his output-asense of scale, proportion, craft, detail, sustainability, and appropriateness-that have auniversal relevance today.Pentreath has authored as well as taken all photographs in this book, which looks at somethirty case studies, large and small, including many previously unpublished works. Thedesigns encompass an understanding of materials, texture, classical and vernaculardetail, color, richness, and simplicity by turn-as exemplified in both sumptuous andhonest interiors, grand country houses, and pragmatically organized town plans. Whilebeing steeped in a learned classicism, Pentreath’s work is celebrated by young and oldaround the world, as exemplified by his coverage in major media outlets.

English Decoration

Emma — Tue, 09 Jul 2019 00:00:00 +0000

In English Decoration, London-based architectural and interior designer Ben Pentreath presents a survey of the best of the English style.

‘Ben Pentreath is the master of classic English interior decoration’ The Telegraph

Eighteen homes, many of which have never been previously photographed, provide the source material for architectural and interior designer Ben Pentreath’s wide-ranging investigation of the classic English look. The houses include Ben’s homes in London and West Dorset alongside those of Earls and artists, writers and architects, book designers and gardeners. The book is arranged room by room and Entrance Halls, Living Rooms, Kitchens and Dining Rooms, Bedrooms and Bathrooms are each considered in turn, together with simple Rooms of Utility and spectacular Rooms of Display. The book begins with an essay on the English style in decoration and ends with an essential style directory, helping you to achieve the look wherever you live.