Chrissie Rucker - For the Love of White: The White and Neutral Home

For Rosie,

the best mum a girl could have

BY CHRISSIE RUCKER

My real love of white began more than 25 years ago, when my boyfriend Nick bought his first home in London. The day he moved in, he owned a bed, a few kitchen chairs and some old green towels. His linen was burgundy and when you opened the kitchen cupboards, there were just a few plates and four chipped mugs. We had been together for four years and, sadly, there had been no sign of a proposal. So, when he asked if I could help, I thought, yes, this is my chance, I can show him I could be excellent wife material by making his home look beautiful!

At the time, I was working at Harpers & Queen and had spent a wonderful five years on magazines such as Brides, GQ and Vogue. It was an incredible experience where I learned so much. I could research an article, organize a shoot, style a picture, and I always loved looking at layouts in the art department. So, setting up a house would be easy.

But when I set off to start the task, it was a disaster. There was just too much choice, so many bright colours and so much manic pattern. I was completely overwhelmed and had a major confidence crisis it just didnt feel right. For me, home has always been such a special place, somewhere we can close the door from the outside world and feel instantly calm and cosseted. I started to think about what makes a great image for a magazine and reflected that simple is often best and less is often more.

It struck me that white in the home is like the perfect little black dress. Its simple yet effortlessly stylish, modern yet classic. It also has a magical, calming, spa-like quality and it just works. So, I decided to look for all the essentials in lovely, calming white, but it wasnt easy and I found there was a clear gap in the market. At one end of the scale, there were beautifully designed, great quality designer pieces that were lovely, but very expensive. And at the other end, it was much more affordable, but the quality was poor with no real design.

The next weekend we caught up with Nicks sister Susie, who had also just moved. She had found the same challenge and we ended up wishing for a company that offered the key white essentials that were beautifully designed and affordable. That was the beginning of The White Company.

Nick and I married a year later (the white approach worked!) and, over the years, we have created a number of homes as our family has grown. For us, white has always played a key role in creating spaces that feel light and airy, yet comfortable, inviting and warm. So, as we arrive at The White Companys 25th birthday, we thought we would celebrate it by sharing some of our favourite white homes.

As The White Company has evolved and as we have moved house, I have been lucky enough to work with some incredible stylists and designers. What I have learned is that there are many simple decorating and styling tricks that make such a difference to how a white home can look and feel.

We are not interior designers, but we are often inspired by a beautifully curated white home as a starting point for a new collection of linens, towels, china, home accessories and scents. When I think of my favourite white spaces, I think of the spa-like feel of an inviting bathroom, layered with soft white towels and flickering with candlelight. I imagine a kitchen full of sunlight, where the cupboards hide neat stacks of pure white china all ready to go. I picture a wonderful bedroom, a true retreat that offers perfect comfort and vital rest at the end of a busy day, and, of course, comfortable, inviting living spaces with a roaring log fire and cosy seating.

But white spaces need careful thought and planning. Thinking through the layout and flow of the rooms, and including adjustable lighting to ensure they dont become too bright or sterile, is essential. It is also important to incorporate plenty of storage to reduce clutter and create a sense of order, while engine rooms, such as laundry areas and larders, even on the smallest scale, will ensure a home runs smoothly.

I always choose a soft, soothing palette of whites, off-whites and neutrals, remembering that white is not one colour but a thousand tones and shades, all slightly and subtly different from each other. White paints and pigments not only bring rooms to life, but they also accentuate architectural details, mouldings and woodwork beautifully.

These beautiful, sharp white spaces are then ready to be layered up with tactile furniture, textured fabrics and soft linen curtains to create softness and warmth. Neutral and natural tones from timber, stone and sisal floors to touches of greenery bring in hints of the outside world. And the real joy of a white and neutral home is that it provides the perfect canvas against which art, antiques and other discoveries can stand out.

Across the pages of this book you will see my own homes, together with the homes and havens of other designers, architects and creative thinkers whom we admire and who have used white in their own unique way. These open and welcoming spaces in towns and the country, as well as by the sea, speak of quiet and calm, but also suggest the breadth and depth of living with white.

Our love of white is stronger than ever. In our hectic age an era of constant connectivity the idea of creating a peaceful white home and its relationship with calm and well-being seem more valuable than ever.

For me and my family, home is everything and white is our faithful foundation stone. I hope you will love the following pages as much as we do and that they inspire you with some exciting, new ideas for your own home.

QUIET SPACES AT THE CITYS HEART

The double-sized front door, painted a crisp white, offers a warm welcome and sits comfortably alongside the neat period detailing of the faade. The greenery of the bay tree and its base planting work beautifully against the ordered backdrop.

Although Chrissie Ruckers London home is centrally located, close to the heart of everything, it is also an urban retreat. A terraced garden at the front of the Georgian building acts as a green buffer between the city beyond and the house itself, with its faade a combination of characterful brick and crisp white detailing around the generously sized windows and original, double-width front door.

We loved the fact that it was stepped back from the main road and much quieter than you might imagine, says Chrissie, who has shared the house with her husband Nick and their four children for many years. We dont really hear the traffic because of the garden, with its trees and greenery. We also loved that all the main family rooms are on the same level, rather than on top of one another, and that sense of connected, lateral space is quite unusual for London.