Decorating for Christmas with Edward Bulmer

Thursday, December 5th – 2.30pm – Decorating with Colour: A Masterclass with Edward Bulmer

World-renowned interior designer, architectural historian and author Edward Bulmer is a master of colour. For 30 years, the accomplished artist has worked in some of England’s finest buildings, including Althorp, Goodwood and Pitshill House. 

On December 5th, Edward will be at Holloways for a 'Decorating with Colour' masterclass where you'll discover the secrets of his 30-year career and the development of his pioneering paint brand, Edward Bulmer Natural Paint. His talk is part of our winter series of Home & Garden Design Events.

Edward lives in an enchanting Grade II* listed Herefordshire farmhouse with his wife Emma and three daughters. Court of Noke, built in 1700, has been painstakingly restored and sensitively remodelled by the Bulmers; the formal gardens and fish ponds or canals, fed by the River Arrow, brought back to their original glory in what has been a 30-year labour of love.

At Christmas, the house is filled with natural glory from the historic gardens. Timeless colours on the walls – from Edward’s own range of planet-friendly paint, which is stocked at Holloways – simple foliage and festive flair is in abundance in the 300-year-old house which the couple have sensitively restored and remodelled. Every fireplace is adorned with bountiful garlands of holly and ivy, and urns filled with pampas grass, Cotoneaster, Photinia ‘Red Robin’ and poppy and allium seedheads.

Paper chains made from leftover paint samples drape from old meat hooks in the kitchen while a favourite antique Welsh tapestry blanket acts as a festive tablecloth for the drinks ‘station’ in the music room. Not a single thing is gimmicky, or wasteful single-use. It’s an eco-friendly Christmas wonderland.

“We treat Christmas like a harvest festival and bring all the natural bounty inside. It’s so beautiful," says Edward.

It's a particularly busy time of year for Edward and his family. Each December, the Bulmers' dining room is lavished with evergreens and ivy – perfectly set off by Edward’s deep blue, jewel-like Azurite paint on the walls. Tablescapes are exquisite – old tomato pots filled with cyclamen run along the centre intertwined with ivy, bay and rosemary. Vintage votives twinkle. Giant vases are filled with clouds of bronzed ferns, dried hydrangea heads, holly and spruce.

“Tuck some sprigs of rosemary, greenery and some small fruit twigs like figs into the napkin rings for a little extra ta dah!” he says.

In the garden hallway, painted in Invisible Green, a traditional crib adorns an ornate console table. In the front hall, mistletoe hangs form a chandelier and the tree, under which sits pretty parcels tied with ribbon, is heavy with baubles collected from the Bulmers’ travels.

“It’s so wonderful to have a tree in your house at this time of year,” Edward adds. “It creates a little bit of magic. The light is a symbol of the winter festival and it becomes the heart of the house. The tree will have been absorbing carbon its entire life and afterwards, we’ll compost the branches and turn the trunk into gateposts of firewood, so it will convert back into carbon.”

Edward advocates adding greenery to bedrooms and bathrooms to take the Christmas magic upstairs, recommends drying plants like alliums and hydrangeas as they go over and warns not to decorate too early, to preserve foliage’s freshness.

“Keep extra foliage and berries in a bucket of water in a shed or garage, and use it to freshen up and top up arrangements over the Christmas period,” he says. "And choose wisely. Cedar drops its needles quickly whereas yew lasts longer and looks dramatic. Removing trailing ivy from trees is good for them, so we see it as a win-win. We like to bring in holly for the mantelpieces, but we tend to leave it where it is if it has berries for the birds.”

Decorating with Colour: a Masterclass with Edward Bulmer

Edward's knowledge of historic decoration, art and colour is unrivalled. He will be at Holloways on Thursday, December 5th to share his 30 years of design experience in his masterclass 'Decorating with Colour'. The third in our series of Home & Garden Design Events, the event will see Edward share some of his favourite design projects, the art and history of colour, and how he uses colour to create schemes which are historically resonant, yet comfortable for modern living.

Decorating with Colour: A Masterclass with Edward Bulmer – Thursday, December 5th, 2.30pm. Tickets £15

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Edward Bulmer Natural Paint

Awarded the Responsible Designer Award by House & Garden magazine, Edward designs, creates and manufacturers his paint using just 12 natural earth and mineral pigments. From Chequers to the Tower of London, his technological knowhow and practical experience translates historic colour references into paint shades perfectly suited to contemporary living.

Each tin of toxin-free Edward Bulmer Natural Paint is inspired by nature, and offers unrivalled pigment-rich paint colours and superior breathable coverage. You'll find sample pots of his whole paint collection in our Interior Design Studio, from which you can order 1l, 2.5l or 5l tins of emulsion, water-based eggshell or water-based gloss.