English houses - Ben Pentreath

In this timeless and beautiful book, renowned architectural and interior designer, writer, shop-keeper and blogger Ben Pentreath presents a fresh and insightful overview of the classic English style.

Visiting 12 very different homes, Ben explores and appraises the unique spirit of the English House - at once 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 pocket-sized Palladian Temple folly in Suffolk and Wardington, a 16th-century stone manor house in North Oxfordshire. Ben's own homes, in central London and West Dorset, are also included.

These homes vary greatly 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.