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Claire Bingham has used her work

for interiors magazines and her

travels to inspire the décor of her

Victorian villa in Macclesfield

Better

WORDS BY EMMA MAYOH PHOTOGRAPHY BY KIRSTY THOMPSON

DESIGNby

HOME LIFE

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C laire Bingham has enjoyed some great experiences in her career. She once worked for the renowned antiques dealer Christopher Howe in

London, before landing a job as homes editor for national interiors magazine, Elle Decoration. She has also worked in Italy and Australia and spent several months travelling around Asia.

But Claire, aged 39, says she is now happier than ever. Gone are the days of packing up her belongings in a van to move onto yet another place. She has put down roots and all her treasured items are getting a well-deserved airing.

In 2010 Claire moved to this classic Victorian villa in Macclesfield that she shares with her husband, Marc Holden, and their one-year-old daughter, Josephine. The couple, then living in Didsbury, fell in love with the property and it took just a short drive to the nearby railway station for them to make their minds up and put an offer in.

‘Our friends in Didsbury raised their eyebrows when we said we were moving out to Macclesfield,’ said Claire. ‘But we

just loved the place as soon as we saw it. Every time we came here we thought it looked great. We were worried when we came back for a second look that we wouldn’t love it as much but that just didn’t happen.

‘We loved the feel of the house. The parquet floors, Minton floor tiles, the ceiling roses and sash windows. In an ideal world we’d love a Georgian house but this Victorian villa had it all.’

Claire, who also works as an interior designer, has drawn on her experiences to build a beautiful home. She has made the most of the opportunities to display all of those beautiful items she has collected over the years. Family heirlooms, including furniture made by her great granddad, Lewis Shaw, sit pride of place in all three reception rooms. A pouffe, which belonged to her nan Peggy Shaw, is also on display in what the couple call the middle room – a second less formal lounge. It was recovered by designer Megan Park for a project during Claire’s time at Elle Decoration. There is also a bust of Claire’s mum, Janet

Hardman, which was done by Claire’s uncle while he was studying at Goldsmith’s. It’s perched on top of shelves in the same room.

As you might expect, a few statement design pieces have also made the cut. A Flos Parentesi suspension lamp adds a contemporary edge to an otherwise

Claire Bingham’s Victorian villa in

Macclesfield

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classic looking lounge. An original 1950s Brionvega smoked glass television, which visitors often mistake for a microwave, is on display in the middle room. There is also an anglepoise lamp and a Unika blown glass pendant light which adds a contemporary touch to the beautifully decorated bathroom.

But Claire has also used techniques to make the most of items she already owned. Materials she had collected over the years have been used to drape the inside of windows on the wardrobe doors in the master bedroom. A sparkly band from her wedding dress has also been cleverly placed on a side table. Photographs taken by Marc, from those

Main image: Walls have been left bare

Below: Muted colours create a relaxing bathroom

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inspiring travels in Asia, can be seen around many parts of the house and a framed horseshoe, found by Claire’s father on the site where the couple married, sits pride of place in the dining room. A cement sink unit, which was made by a local tradesman, was created to reflect designs she had seen travelling in Morocco.

She has also made considered purchases from eBay, including a vintage mirror in the bathroom, as well as items from high street stores like the paint yourself roll-top bath from B & Q.

Claire has not gone for a highly-polished, finished look everywhere. In some rooms, the walls have been left bare

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to expose the plaster underneath, in the hallway the remnants of the stripped wallpaper can be seen and she is in no hurry to repair a water damaged wall in the dining room.

She said: ‘I like the effect it created so I decided to stick with it for the time being. There’s also a strip of wallpaper missing in the front room. I wanted it that way because it showed us just how far we’d come with the house.

‘Marc lets me get on with it, even though I do run everything by him. He doesn’t understand everything I do but he is happy to let me do it in most cases. When it comes to decoration, for me, it’s all very instinctive - what I feel works right proportionally or fits aesthetically - and is a constantly changing thing.

‘There are always ways to improve a space according to how you use it or your taste at the time but it should evolve naturally and with your mood. I have no issues mixing thrift furniture, inherited pieces with design classics or period design with modern. There are no rules. You work with what you have, what you can afford and what you love.’

What is clear is that Claire has enjoyed finally being able to decorate and furnish her own space. She has spent many years writing about other people’s properties and also helping them with their own design ideas. But now, she is able to do exactly what she wants in her own home.

She said: ‘Moving more towards home styling and interior decoration - of our home and for other people - was being able to put everything I’ve learnt over the years into practice and also have a bit of a play.

‘I’ve been lucky enough to gather some beautiful pieces from working at the antiques dealer’s and Elle Decoration, plus there are a lot of textiles and bits and bobs that I’ve accumulated from our travelling too. It is finally lovely to have these installed at home.

‘When you work from home, as I do, writing about design, it is very grounding and also creatively inspiring to have things around you that you love. Here, every room tells a story and it’s nice, for a change, that it’s mine.’

“Here, every room tells a story and it’s nice, for a change, that it’s mine”

Claire used materials she had collected over the years to decorate inside the wardrobe doors in her bedroom

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