Heart and soul

Paula Goodburn's South African childhood has left its mark, and the sights and sounds of the country inform all aspects of her design

- SERENA FOKSCHANER

If Paula Goodburn could bottle up the evocative aromas of South Africa, which she describes as 'the mix of red earth warmed by intense sunshine', she would. For now, the designer, who was born in Johannesburg but moved to Britain when she was five, transports African soul' into our homes via Porcupine Rocks, the textile design collective she founded in 2013. Specialising in work by contemporary South African designers, Porcupine Rocks showcases modern prints that are saturated with the vibrant colours of the southern continent.

Not surprisingly, colour and print play a key role in her home, a wide, red-brick rectory next to the village church and framed by smooth lawns and leaning trees - a vignette that might have come straight from the pages of EM Forster. But while others might have deferred to the history of the house, deploying blowsy chintzes and a muted palette for a classic country-house effect, Paula saw the 'robust bone structure and wonderful light' of its Georgian architecture as an opportunity to let loose with a myriad' of colourful fabrics, wallpapers and paints.