English Country House Style, Chatsworth and for the Love of Dogs and Flowers
Chatsworth House: A Masterclass in the English Country Interior
Nestled in the Derbyshire Dales on the east bank of the River Derwent, Chatsworth House has been the seat of the Dukes of Devonshire and home to the Cavendish family since 1549. Across seventeen generations and nearly five centuries, each member of the family has left their mark on the house, garden, and its remarkable collections, the cumulative result being one of the most extraordinary country estates in the world. It's a place that rewards every visitor, whether as an art lover, a history enthusiast, a designer like myself, OR as was very much our case, a frazzled family in need of strong coffee.
The perpetual toing and froing between the UK and continental Europe means we're forever road-testing new travel routes between the two. This particular trip saw my family, four children and our fox-red Labrador Simba, embarking on a new ferry crossing, bound first for the Lake District to then head north to visit the family in Northumberland. When I realised our route would take us directly past Chatsworth House, I made a plan. The decision to take four teenagers and tweens, dragged from their berths at five in the morning, around one of England's greatest estates was, admittedly, a brave one. But if Chatsworth can win over that particular crowd, it can win over anyone. Five stars, without question.
First Impressions
The estate gets things right from the start. Small coffee caravans near the entrance dispense strong, excellent coffee, a brilliant touch that, under the circumstances, felt like a small miracle. But it is the staff who truly set the tone. Warm, knowledgeable, and genuinely enthusiastic, they have a remarkable ability to bring even the most reluctant visitor to life. Their passion for the history behind every room is infectious, and my zombies, as I had come to think of them, slowly but surely came around.
The Interiors: Art, Pattern, and Glorious Excess
What awaits inside Chatsworth is extraordinary. Room after room reveal centuries of collected art and decorative richness, from Old Master drawings and Elizabethan needlework to contemporary and antique sculpture and even a DNA-inspired wall installation. It's a collection assembled with deep curiosity and no small amount of joy, and it shows.
And then there are the wallcoverings.
The eighteenth-century hand-blocked and painted Chinoiserie papers are absolutely breathtaking, room upon room filled with delicately rendered butterflies, birds, and botanicals, many still being meticulously restored by the estate's conservation team. Alongside these sit seventeenth-century embossed leather wall hangings, quietly magnificent in their texture and age. It was the Chinese wallpaper, above all, that stopped me in my tracks, so much so that I am already turning over ideas of attempting something inspired by them. Ambitious, perhaps. But that's the point of visiting places like this.
The staff were wonderfully generous with their time, walking me through the rooms and sharing the story of each Duke of Devonshire's contribution to the estate's visual identity. It is history told through pattern and pigment, and it's completely captivating.
A Finger Returned to Its Rightful Owner
One of my favourite moments of the day came without warning. As we passed through a room, a member of the conservation team let out a happy shriek. She was measuring the finger stub of a small marble cupid statue and had just found a match. I asked and she generously showed us her bag filled with little marble fingers that had broken away from various statues over the years. She had just now identified the one that belonged to the little figure near us and was beaming. The team, she explained, has countless such body part collections, patiently working to reunite lost pieces with their original statues. "It's a slow process, but we're getting there."
.
The Parkland, the Maze, and a Very Happy Dog
The good spirits that had begun indoors continued well into the 105-acre parkland. Waterworks, a Victorian rock garden, trees just tipping into spring bloom, and a maze we genuinely got lost in meant everyone genuinely enjoyed themselves, including a very happy Simba. We finished in the dog-friendly restaurant with hearty, comforting food before setting on to the Lakes. I did linger rather longer than planned in the gift shops, and I didn't leave empty-handed.
The English Country House Interior: What Makes It Work?
Visiting Chatsworth got me thinking about what the English country house interior actually is and which elements of it can be translated into any home, regardless of its size or grandeur.
.
I think it comes down to three things: dogs, flowers, and personality.
It's not a style that looks designed. It looks loved. It's a home filled over time with layers of pattern, collected objects, and things that carry meaning: flowers in vases and flowers on fabric, dogs in paintings and sculptures and curled up on the sofa. The colours draw from nature and tradition, creating warmth without fuss. Antique and contemporary pieces sit happily alongside one another. Collections of ceramics, plates, curiosities, whatever brings joy, are displayed openly and without apology.
Above all, there is a sense of cosy, confident eccentricity. Good taste with a sense of humour. A home that has grown organically, that reflects the people who live in it, and that never takes itself too seriously.
I'm endlessly inspired by interiors like these. Homes that feel expressive rather than perfect. Rooms filled with colour, texture and storytelling details. It’s an approach to decorating that embraces individuality, layering wallpapers and fabrics with treasured finds, inherited pieces and joyful collections to create interiors that feel deeply personal.
English Country House - @godsavethescene featuring Indienne wallpaper and Serafina Stripe fabric
Interestingly, many of the qualities that make the English country house aesthetic so enduring also appear within American Colonial interiors. Early American homes were deeply influenced by English decoration and craftsmanship, blending practicality with comfort, pattern and tradition.
This influence can still be seen in modern interpretations of Colonial style today, where classic interiors are softened with expressive wallpapers and fabrics that bring warmth and personality to a space.
American Colonial Interior by MNG Designs featuring our Indienne wallpaper, Photography by Kate Leichhardt
A heritage-inspired floral wallpaper can transform a dining room or hallway, while layered patterns and traditional motifs create that cosy, welcoming atmosphere so associated with both English country and American Colonial homes.
Explore our heritage inspired fabrics and wallpapers.