“There’s only so much battleship you want to live in.”
So says TV’s Linda Barker, whose latest interiors collection is filled with vibrant colours and striking patterns. She is pleased people seem to be moving away from the neutrals and greys, so very much favoured in recent years, to inject something brighter into their lives – hence the battleship reference.
“There has been so much grey, white and neutral – I liked grey myself – but people now seem to be in indulging in patterned fabrics. I used to work for DFS, such a long time ago now, and everything was plain but now sofas are brighter colours and patterned.”
Linda, 63, who settled in a Holderness village some years ago, has been influenced by her own garden to create The Floral Garden, a new fabric collection in collaboration with home furnishings retailer, Terrys. You will see lilies and lavender, trailing leaves and floral sprigs, among the bold designs.
“There is a pink David Austin rose around my front door and it really looks like the peony roses of my fabric,” she said. “The collection is full-on floral, which is great for interiors at the moment.”
(Image: terrysfabrics.co.uk)
It means you can have something resembling the backdrop to Linda’s Georgian house – “an ongoing renovation project” – hung at your windows, as The Floral Garden has been translated into curtains and blinds; plus, you can buy the fabric by the metre. “I think it could be lovely for upholstering chairs,” said Linda.
The interior designer and presenter said: “I have a deep-rooted passion for my garden, which I started to create here in [East] Yorkshire several years ago. By replacing formal lawns and hedging, I was able to construct dreamy drifts of flowers and grasses, alongside pink poppies, apricot foxgloves and pastel pink roses that effortlessly tumble over the gravel paths.
“Pockets of dappled light created by sunlight falling on silver-leafed trees simply shimmer over wildflower meadows to create an ever-changing landscape in the garden. Even just a peek outside from inside, the garden always captures a moment for me that is joyful.”
Transforming the almost-two-acres has been a challenge for Linda, who is very hands-on. “There’s always something to do but it’s glorious at the minute.”
The former I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here! contestant was most recently seen on our screens as a guest in dictionary corner on Countdown. There is nothing else in the TV pipeline just at the moment – “it’s always nice to be asked to do programmes” – but life is full for the star, especially so because of the recent arrival of her first grandchild.
“He was born six weeks ago and he is adorable. My daughter Jess’s partner is French and the baby is called Basile – they live in France but it’s not a problem being able to get to see him.
“I went up to Scotland to work with Multipanel [she has designed a collection of waterproof wall panels for the company] and it took me eight hours to get there. I can get to France in less time than that.”
When she appeared on Splash!, ITV’s celebrity diving show with Olympic diver Tom Daley as her mentor, Linda came third. Today, she does a lot of swimming and can indulge her cold-water/open-water passion in the local lakes and along the East Yorkshire coast.
She also loves long-distance walking – “it’s my idea of heaven” – and the Dales Way and Hadrian’s Wall walks are on her agenda. “I go to the gym and I do my yoga,” she said. “I work at home in my home office; it’s a good balance.
(Image: terrysfabrics.co.uk)
“I still love working, I have a lot of energy for that. I’m always thinking up new design projects.
“There’s still a lot of renovations to do on the house. There are lots of outbuildings as well that me and my husband, Chris, will be working on.”
You can find out more about Linda’s new collection with Terrys, which features five distinctive designs, at Linda Barker: The Floral Garden
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