Creating AN ENGLISH SITTING ROOM

There are certain elements of the English sitting room – or drawing room, if you prefer the more old-fashioned term – that are non-negotiable. There should be a sofa, ideally squashy, plump, and loaded with cushions – the sort of sofa you can curl up in, lie down on, and share with your dog. Armchairs can be substituted for the sofa, if necessary, as long as they are the sort you can sprawl in. The room needs a focus, a direction in which to point the sofa, and this can only be a fireplace. Best of all is an open fire, piled with logs snapping with flames in winter, its grate cool and dark on summer evenings when doors stand ajar into the garden.