The art of layering

Henriette von Stockhausen believes combining textiles in a variety of different forms is the secret to creating a room that is not only timeless, but also supremely comfortable

- Arabella Youens

ANTIQUE textiles and rugs are often the starting point for Henriette von Stockhausen, creative director of VSP Interiors, whose schemes effortlessly look as if they have been collected over decades. In the case of this principal bedroom in a Georgian country house in Hamphire, it was an antique suzani that acted as the catalyst. ‘I showed it to my client and suggested it could be made into a headboard,’ explains the Dorset-based decorator. ‘She immediately fell in love with it and we built the scheme for the rest of the bedroom from there.’ The client specified that the dominant colour should be blue at the outset of the project, but what the suzani provided was a combination of complementary colours, notably red and cream. ‘It set the scene perfectly and everything else flows from there.’