
There are no boundaries and no rules really when it comes to designing interiors, only guidelines that should always remain both flexible and practical. And, if it is for yourself, then its decoration must come from the heart.

The Raphael Cartoons were made up of a mosaic of hundreds of sheets of paper glued together and then fixed to the wall. Raphael and his assistants would have painted them before they were transported to Brussels to Pietr Van Aelst’s studio, where they would have been cut up into strips for use by the tapestry weavers.

A commission of six tapestries for William Knox D’arcy’s Dining Room at Stanmore Hall in Middlesex illustrates the story of the Holy Grail quest, as told in Sir Thomas Malory’s Morte d’Arthur. They took five years to weave and are considered among the most significant works made during the nineteenth century when romanticism was at its height and they paint a beguiling picture of lovely maidens and dashing knights in a style that was very appealing.

In England, during the second half of the nineteenth century, painter, writer, textile designer and social activist William Morris (1834-1896) became the spiritual leader of a revival in arts and crafts that encompassed all the visual arts, including architecture and interiors.

Opus anglicanum, or English work is very fine needlework carried out for ecclesiastical or secular use on clothing from about 1100 – about 1350. It was all about reflecting ‘the beauty of holiness’.

Residence splendidly showcases the ability of Sydney based international designer Thomas Hamel to produce an interior that accommodates the needs of the client in a timelessly elegant and unforgettable way. This beautiful illustrated volume provides an insight into some of his favourite projects. Chapters are accompanied by a description of the design process used in each transformation