To have and to hold

A collection of much-loved pieces will turn a house into a home

- Arabella Youens

THE English country-house aesthetic, in its most classic form, comprises an evolved interior that is the result of generations constantly adding and adjusting. In other words, they are the product of collecting, but not in the systematic way the word might suggest. Be they of high value or sentimentally valuable, collections can include anything from assorted ceramics or pieces of silver to rare fossils and wax seals, they immerse a space in their owners’ personality.

Will Fisher and Charlotte Freemantle, the couple behind Jamb, one of London’s Pimlico Road’s most celebrated treasure troves (020– 7730 2122; www.jamb.co.uk), have frenetically collected since they met more than two decades ago. The results are displayed all over their 18th-century house in Camberwell, south-east London. Fragments of ancient sculptures, Renaissance vases and antique textiles fill the sitting room. On the chimneypiece is the head of a Roman boy, among other Grand Tour-era mementos. ‘That small landing strip is an important part of our lives: all the objects hold personal meanings,’ says Mr Fisher, who admits to being a compulsive buyer. ‘We have what I’d call an “accidental interior”, filled with things we are drawn to like moths to flames.’

What makes a piece into something you want to live with? ‘Value has nothing to do with it,’ he continues. ‘It’s about being surrounded by things that trigger something deep inside.’