Pooky lamps end up in all sorts of stylish places, from urban apartments to treehouses. But here’s one place we really want to visit – the gorgeous Painswick hotel in the Cotswolds…
The Foinaven is one of our smartest designer table lamps – modern and angular, and pretty massive too:
Unfortunately the Foinaven is no longer available, but please take a look at our extensive range of table lamps here.
So not necessarily the sort of thing you’d expect to find a cosy rural setting such as, say, a lovely hotel deep in the Cotswolds. But that’s exactly where a batch of them have ended up: in the bedrooms of The Painswick – and thanks to some quite inspired interior styling, they look right at home. Fabulous, in fact.
Originally known as Prospect House, the building itself is a Palladian gem. Built in the late 18th century by wealthy wool merchants and then given some Arts & Crafts refinement during its time as a Victorian vicarage, the exterior is pure Cotswolds, with that lovely golden-coloured stone.
But it is only as recently as 2015, after the building was acquired by Calcot Hotels and given a complete revamp, that the interiors have come up to the same standard. The interior stylist responsible for these wonderful rooms is Nicky Farquhar, Calcot’s Design Director. The company has a string of top notch hotels, spas and pubs across the Cotswolds, all in tune with their rural environments. But for the Painswick Nicky, working from scratch, was given the freedom to create something a bit different, introducing modern elements and colours as well as playful touches. Or as she puts it, the Painswick was to be part of the Calcot family, but perhaps its ‘naughty child’. Nicky says: ‘We felt it important that the interior sat well within the beautiful setting of Painswick and the stunning architectural features of the house – unlike in its previous guise. However, we wanted the overall feel of the design to be colourful and a mix of old and new.’
Gorgeous sitting room at The Painswick by Nicky Farquhar
We think she’s absolutely hit the spot. The bedrooms and sitting rooms combine classic neutral tones with dashes of bright colour and quirky lighting. And of course, we were delighted to make our own small contribution to the ‘new’ bit of the design with the Pooky Foinaven desk lamps.
Bedroom in the main house
Nicky chose these for the bedrooms in the main house, which have higher ceilings and lots of architectural features. She explains: ‘The scale of the lamps add impact to the desk and dressing table, and they were very easy to use with the varying colour schemes. The lamps are wonderful, not at all your average desk light, far more special, and they are also practical as well as looking smart and modern. Ideal!’
The Foinaven in situ
As well as her ongoing work for Calcot Hotels, Nicky does various fabulous interior design projects through her own company, including domestic homes in London. We’ll be keeping a close eye on her work, especially as we’d love to see Pooky lights appearing in more of her interiors. Luckily, Nicky says nice things about us too: ‘When doing a hotel up from scratch, budget is very important understandably, and I found Pooky to also be great value. It was very easy to deal with them – the website is great, the service immaculate and I will definitely be buying from Pooky again.’ Be our guest, Nicky!
The Painswick Hotel, Gloucestershire is a splendid place for a break. It does very interesting food, has a couple of treatment rooms and, of course, has lovely, comfortable interiors.
Browse all our designer desk lamps here.