Joan Gunin — Furniture Today,
AT THE MARKET — If you can’t live like a queen, your furniture can still have that royal touch, thanks to Paul Burrell.
With nearly 21 years of service to the British royal family, Burrell has worked at plenty of posh addresses. He was senior footman to Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace; personal butler to both Charles and Diana at Highgrove; and, after their divorce, served another five years with the Princess of Wales at Kensington Palace until her death in 1997.
Burrell brings it all together this market in the latest furniture collection from Century’s Highland House, called Royal Manner: The English Country House, inspired by Paul Burrell.
“This is a natural evolution for me,” Burrell said of the line. “It is a modern twist with style for today, offering affordable elegance.”
The 60-piece assortment of living room, dining room, bedroom and occasional pieces is infused with the flavor of relaxed English country living. A muted palette of apricots, greens and blues mimic the colors of heather, while English gardens are reflected in bright splashes of color, he said.
Typical of any Highland House European-inspired collection, this one features a pleasant back story, with Burrell serving as ambassador for the line. Burrell, who splits his time between the United States and the United Kingdom, said he will appear at retail rollouts.
Royal Manner draws its design elements from a tour of the British countryside. Burrell accompanied Highland House President Tom Staats and Ron Curlee, visual merchandising manager, to such bucolic estates as Castle Howard, Chatsworth, Warwick Castle and others.
A highlight of the collection, Burrell said, is the Kensington bed. With simple, flowing lines reminiscent of the work of 18th century Georgian architect Robert Adams, the iron grating resembles the gates of Kensington Palace, home to Diana, as well as Burrell and his own family, for five years.
The bed “brings together all of the elements of the collection” in terms of design, he said.
The molds used to make the bed design were cast in wood by hand, Staats said. It retails for $2,000.
Another Burrell favorite is the Prince Regent dining table. It’s offered in a choice of finishes, either in hand-painted chinoiserie style or in English mahogany with olive ash burl marquetry.
“This is a unique piece due to the pairing of styles,” Burrell said, referring to Chinese Chippendale and Georgian.
The collection also pays tribute to Burrell’s family and friends. A series of upholstered accent chairs are named for his wife and sons (Cosgrove, Alexander and Nicholas). A generously proportioned chair, dressed in an English country floral print, is named for his late mother, Beryl, who Burrell could picture sitting there with her knitting.
Yet another chair, adorned in a novelty print of blue porcelain and enhanced with throne-like arms in an antique finish, is called the Elizabeth for its “regal nature.”
Several household trays have sprung legs and gained new life as cocktail tables, including the Cyril on splayed legs, named for a Burrell mentor.
A side table topper captures the pomp of medieval knightly tunics with crenellations and dangling metal tassels.
All of the furnishings, of course, are a far cry from Burrell’s meager upbringing. The son of a coal miner, he grew up in a house without indoor plumbing in Derbyshire.
He compares his tenure at Buckingham Palace, waiting on the queen and often grooming her nine Corgis, to “working at a large hotel with a famous landlady.”
He said Helen Mirren’s Oscar-winning film portrayal in “The Queen” was “spot-on” accurate, down to the bows and curtsies.
Burrell’s other licensing arrangements include china, crystal, flatware, rugs and wines, as well as a selection of teas and jams.
Century/Highland House is showing at Market Square, space 414.
