Fiona McKenzie Johnston

London

Writer and Editor at Freelance

Contributing Editor at House & Garden (UK)

Articles

Dear Fiona: are feature walls really so awful?

3 days ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

Features walls don't need to be ‘naff’, they can be fresh and vibrant as this Studio Duggan example provesSarah GriggsDear Fiona,I know - I know - that everybody hates feature walls; but are they really so awful? Is there a way that they can be done well? Might they come back in fashion, the way that everything inevitably does?
The colourful Hackney workshop of stained-glass artist John Reyntiens

2 weeks ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

'Can you imagine, in the Middle Ages, seeing stained glass for the first time? It would have blown you away,' enthuses the second-generation stained-glass artist John Reyntiens, talking about the period when its installation became widespread in English churches. When John was growing up, his father often took him to visit early examples, which combined chromatic wonder with storytelling.
Why we love decorating for Easter

1 month ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

Bonnie RobinsonAmong the enthusiastic opportunistic decorators are those of us who love Easter – whisper it – maybe even more than Christmas. True, there’s no Nutcracker, and the adherence to Lent makes the run-up shorter – but that takes the pressure off, especially as there are no presents to have to buy beyond chocolate for children, which is a huge relief.
Dear Fiona: how do I cope with my husband's hideous heirlooms?

1 month ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

Antiques can still feel modern and light, as evidenced in this drawing room by Max Rollitt. Mel YatesDear Fiona,My husband has just inherited several pieces of squat, bulbous, Victorian furniture and some dark and depressing oil paintings, which he wants us to incorporate into our house.
A bold of use colour and pattern enlivens a Victorian terrace in London

1 month ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

Curtains in Sarah's 'Sunda' linen in brown frame the doorway to the garden, where the raised beds were planted by Tulip Landscapes. Sarah picked up the antique rug on a visit to Turkey. Tim BeddowThe interior designer Sarah Vanrenen has long been drawn by colour and pattern, as can be seen in her design projects, textiles, and the lampshades and furniture she designs.
What I learned from my mother, by nine major interior designers

1 month ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

The bedroom in Rita Konig's London houseMichael SinclairThere are elements of taste – and therefore interior design – that are seemingly innate. Images, stored in the mind’s eye conjure up an impression of ‘home’, whether that’s the pattern in a hearth rug, the colours of the South African veldt, or a table set with particular china. “For the first three years of my life, I never stopped crying,” says Emma Burns.
Artist Bob and Roberta Smith opens the door of his colourful studio

1 month ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

Bob and Roberta in a jacket made by his wife Jessica Voorsanger, with paintings relating to gigs and concerts he has attended, and also his birds made from scrap wood. Joshua Monaghan'I think of myself as a broadcaster. People intellectualise art, but I think it's something that floats around in the ether - like love - and I'm interested in what you can do with it,' says Bob and Roberta Smith, the pseudonym of Patrick Brill.
An 18th-century artist's cottage in one of the Yorkshire Dales' loveliest villages

2 months ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

The early-18th-century cottage is adjacent to Kitty’s house in the village of Arncliffe and provides additional studio space as well as accommodation for guestsChris HorwoodYorkshire’s striking topography has long held allure for artists and, continuing this lineage, is Kitty North. Her solo show, currently at Salts Mill in West Yorkshire (which has a permanent collection of David Hockney’s Yorkshire paintings) is a reflection of the 30 years she has lived in the Dales.
Is it time to rethink wet rooms?

2 months ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

Yellow tiles from Mosaic del Sur brighten up this bathroom, which has a salvaged ceramic sink and a glass Crittall-style screen for the wet-room shower.
How the ‘monastic’ interior became an object of desire

2 months ago | houseandgarden.co.uk | Fiona McKenzie Johnston

Rose Uniacke's ‘monastic’ bedroomFrancois Halard‘Monastic’ is a term that is increasingly being applied to interiors. Rose Uniacke has used it to describe her bedroom, and it’s also been linked to designs by Axel Vervoordt. It’s an interesting adjective to align with our homes because, defined as ‘relating to monks, nuns, or others living under religious vows, or the buildings in which they live’, it comes with certain connotations.