Wealden Times | WT178 | December 2016 | Interiors supplement inside

Previous page: The mural in the sitting room is a lino cut called
Poppy Tree, which Louise’s mother did in the 1950s. Louise
found the 1960s Scandinavian Troeds sideboard on eBay. Above:
The wall behind the dining table is papered with Louise’s design
‘Midnight’ from her Forest range. The dining chairs were a
Dunelm find, £5 each Right: The ‘tiles’ behind the cooker are
actually Louise’s wallpaper ‘Old Blue’
Tea and DIY are considered by many to be two very
British obsessions - and, it’s true, the two do go very
well together, perhaps with the addition of some
decent biscuits. At least, biscuits are what some of us need to
muster the strength and enthusiasm for home improvement.
Unless, that is, you are the wallpaper and fabric designer
Louise Body and her husband Jonny, whose Hastings home is
testament to ten years of ‘doing it themselves’ and to Louise’s
incredible creative talent. They wouldn’t have it any other way.
“Most things, we have done ourselves,” says Louise. “We’re
both pretty practical and, if this doesn’t sound big-headed, I
always think no-one will do as good a job as I can do!” When
it comes to design and decor, it would be hard to disagree, and
Louise’s work, as we are to find out, is dotted around every
room. “Jonny can do a bit of plumbing, a bit of electrics,
most things really, so we’ve hardly had to employ anyone.”
Returning to the talk of tea and DIY, it’s perhaps
worth explaining that Louise’s career in wallpaper design
and manufacture began with a wallpaper design called:
‘More Tea Vicar’. After a fine art degree and time spent
living in India, Louise moved to Brighton, became part
of the Maze studio group, and put on an exhibition
called ‘Housebound’ - where her screen-printed design
of teacups and hands went down a storm.
53 wealdentimes.co.uk