In this timeless and beautiful book, renowned architectural and interior designer, author, and shopkeeper Ben Pentreath presents a fresh and insightful overview of the classic English style.

The classic English interior is a timeless one, characterized by richness of color and texture, a mixture of old and new pieces and a generous layering of books, paintings, cushions, and flowers. In English Houses, Ben visits 12 classically English homes divided into three sections: London, Country, and Country House. The interiors featured range from a 1930s pied-a-terre in London's historic St James district to a townhouse in North London to designer Veere Grenney's pocket-sized Palladian folly in Suffolk to Wardington, a 16th-century manor house in North Oxfordshire. Ben’s own homes, an apartment in London and a farmhouse in West Dorset, are also included. These homes vary greatly in architecture, size, shape, and age, but they all have in common the English style—richly-layered rooms that deftly intertwine color and pattern and a mix of old and new furniture to create timeless and comfortable places to live.