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Upon leaving Oxford, Ros Byam Shaw worked for an antiques dealer in St James's -'a terrifying woman who regularly made me cry'. This was followed by The World of Interiors, where she rose through the ranks to become features editor. She is now a freelance writer and cites 'the fantastic taste' of her grandmother an actress best known for her role as Mrs Bridges in the original Upstairs, Downstairs - as one of her most important influences. She has written a series of books on English design, including Perfect English Townhouse and Perfect English Farmhouse, and has collaborated with Farrow & Ball on their decorating books.
Max Rollitt on using antiques | House & Garden houseandgarden.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from houseandgarden.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Dean Hearne
In a parallel world, the aristocratic Mitford sisters might have set up a highly profitable decorating business. Exhibit A is the transformation of Chatsworth by the late Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire, née Deborah Mitford, from a dark, unlived-in temporary school - the state rooms became dormitories during the Second World War - into one of the finest country houses in England, where simple clay pots of geraniums enlivened rooms furnished with antique treasures. Exhibit B is the trailer for Emily Mortimer’s upcoming BBC adaptation of Nancy Mitford’s 1945 novel
The Pursuit of Love, with a line-up of stars including Lily James, Dominic West and Andrew Scott - and a wealth of covetable interiors, from a gilt-drenched, mirrored drawing room to a gold-tiled Art Deco bathroom.