The return of the drawing room

Lockdown revealed the deficiencies in open-plan living, as well as the benefits of areas dedicated to entertaining. Three designers tell Amelia Thorpe how drawing rooms are evolving into spaces used for both formal entertaining and quiet contemplation

- Amelia Thorpe

Henriette von Stockhausen

IN the same way that clothes have become less formal, nowadays, most people now also entertain a lot less formally. As a result, the drawing room has changed: it is still the place for gathering with friends and family, but it is much less likely to be for perching uncomfortably on upright seating. Although there might be the occasional formal dinner, it is not likely to happen every weekend—and a room shouldn't sit empty for most of the year. Nor do people have staff to wait upon their every need in the way they might have done a century ago, so the drawing room needs to be designed differently, perhaps with a drinks tray so guests can help themselves and a layout with a good sense of flow so that they can move around easily.

‘Good seating is essential, usually grouped around the fireplace. Chairs and sofas should have traditional feather-and-down upholstery to provide superb comfort—of the kind you can sink into and feel well supported. Everyone should have somewhere comfortable to sit, so extra options, such as slipper chairs, provide flexibility. There also needs to be somewhere in easy reach to rest a drink.