When designing or refurbishing a room, inspiration often comes from a singular object. (Need we remind you of The Big Lebowski when our slovenly protagonist is on the hunt for his stolen rug because it ‘really tied the room together’.) The Italian bedroom at Eastnor Castle is one such space – although on first glance it’s hard to tell precisely which artefact the scheme is built around.
The answer is a large, ornate plate that sits on the marble fireplace. It’s an antique majolica dish, a type of tin-glazed pottery popularised in the 15th century by the Italians at the height of the Renaissance (was developed by ancient Assyrians in the Middle East and made its way to Italy via a trading route that passed through Majorca, Spain – hence the name). Majolica pottery is characterised by its vibrant colours and intricate detail, and should certainly be used purely for decorative purposes rather than decanting a can of Pringles into – even if you do top them with caviar.
The Italian bedroom is situated on the first floor of Eastnor Castle, overlooking the battlements and the drive up to the main castle. It’s spacious and grand, with an en suite bathroom ensconced behind a jib door. And as with every room at Eastnor, the devil is in the detail.
When the Hervey-Bathursts moved into the castle in the ’90s, and subsequently took on the bulk of the refurbishments, they picked a distinctive sepia tone for the bedroom walls – inspired by the erstwhile 3rd Earl and his moonlit Italian landscapes. Charles Somers-Cocks, AKA the 3rd Earl Somers, resided at Eastnor Castle around 1850-1870. As well as being a keen traveller and collector of art and antiquities from around the world, he was something of a frustrated artist at heart. Many of his (really very good) paintings still hang around the castle today.
Alongside Italian antiques, the bedroom features watercolours of scenes around Mount Athos (an autonomous, male-only Orthodox region in northeastern Greece), a Syrian bridal chest at the foot of the blue silk bed, and an exquisite French armoire of epic proportions. And yes, there are a couple of decorative Persian rugs to bring it all together.
At Eastnor Castle, a surprise lurks behind every door, where instead of cosy country house aesthetics, there’s a spirit of opulence, history and wanderlust – with just a dash of the unexpected.