Q&A With Ruth Crilly of A Model Recommends

Not everyone is brave enough to endure such a bold striking pattern in their house but Ruth Crilly from 'A Model Recommends' fell in love with our Timorous Beasties range as soon as she saw it. We chat with her about it...

Tell us a little about yourself

I’m Ruth Crilly, I’m a full-time beauty and lifestyle writer and vlogger under the name “A Model Recommends”. I’ve been blogging for over eight years and before that I was an international fashion model for over a decade. I’ve been with my husband, who’s a fashion and portrait photographer, for fifteen years and I’m now a Mum to a three year old girl and one year old boy. We live in rural Somerset with our dog and house cat in a Georgian country house.

What was the inspiration for this room? Have you had to adapt your personal style and design choices to be sympathetic to the period of property you are in?

Well, it’s still very much a blank canvas really – the carpet does all the talking and so I’m working out what will showcase it and not fight for attention. I love that the room has so many gorgeous architectural features so it really doesn’t need a lot else – I want it to feel smart but cosy, elegant but lived-in. The piano will stay here and the books are all moving in, so it’s a matter of finding the right seating. My husband has to constantly remind me that it’s a family home and not a magazine spread so we have little to-dos about my furniture choices and I like to do the same about his choices, so I imagine we’ll still be deciding next year! At least the carpet is incredible – we like to come in and sit on the floor!!

What appealed about the Noir Ruskin Butterfly design?

It’s just magical. Like an illustration from a story book. But a dark one. There’s something very enticing and provocative about the colours and the design and although it’s a massive statement, it makes the room feel very comfortable and less formal and straight than it did before.

How have you found decorating the rest of the room given the carpet makes such a strong statement.

Still working on that one – I think that with a pattern as strong as this, you start with the carpet and put in your furniture and then decorate last. If you’ve got a neutral carpet then it’s not so much of a consideration but with a strong pattern I think that you need to keep everything else quite subdued. In a way it’s far less work! Though I’d like the walls to be a warmer tone, now, so I can see that they’ll get a repaint at some point. I’ll keep you updated!

What home accessory could you not live without?

Apart from carpet? Mirrors. I love how they can completely change a room – bounce light around, increase the sense of space, add interest to a previously boring wall…

Is there a restaurant or hotel whose design you particularly like/admire?

Yes, there's a hotel in Surrey called The Aviator and it’s next to a private airfield so you watch the planes taking off and landing through the triple-glazed, sound-proofed windows. It’s very modern, very smart and has some incredible design features, like the main staircase. I think that hotel greatly influenced our last renovation, actually. I suppose I should think of hotels that I’ve drawn inspiration from for our Georgian house; I like the comfortable style at Babington, I love the pictures that people take of the Artist Residence hotels, the Endsleigh in Devon is beautiful… I have to say though that my friend Miles has the most incredible house in Cheltenham and his taste is impeccable, so every time he posts an Instagram photo I zoom in to see how he’s decorated!