How Ulster's unique design and architecture rules over London's 'boring, beige hole of nyehh': Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen
Whether we live in a rustic farmhouse, a suburban semi or a city flat, for most of us home and hearth are a literally everyday experience, fairly ordinary no matter how proud of our space we might be.
But for one man, the highways and byways of Northern Ireland are constant proof of the unique character of Ulster design and architecture – and certainly vastly superior to London, which Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen decries as there being “nothing more boring than taste within the M25; a beige hole of nyehh”.
Still, the TV personality and interior personality does feel the province hides its light under a bushel, telling the News Letter: “A lot of the time, Northern Ireland is the last place to recognise just how different and special it is.
“There’s always been a very strong sense of passion, of emotion attached to the home in Northern Ireland. It’s all about making spaces that enclose us, protect us and nourish us; there are a lot of reasons for that, though I have to think the weather’s a contributing factor.
“What’s beginning to happen now is that people are realising that can also be a springboard for a very personal creativity, and people are feeling confident enough to be themselves in the home. They’re decorating in their own way, and here there has long been a can-do self-building attitude and a strong sense of wanting to plough your own furrow.
“[People in London] are so obsessed with how many millions their shoeboxes are worth that none of them dare step off the taste carousel; the further away from that you get, the richer the flavours and the more intoxicating the sense of personality becomes.”
Laurence certainly knows whereof he speaks, as he’s been coming to the province for the past decade and a half to judge BBC Northern Ireland’s House Of The Year show.
A new series starts this coming Monday (5th), which sees him joined by architect Jane Larmour, fellow designer James Fairley and interiors business owner Patricia McGinnis to decide which five homes make the final shortlist.
Speaking ahead of its broadcast, Laurence says: “What I love about coming back to it now is the fact there is such an immense ramp up in terms of individuality, personality and creativity.
“I think people no longer feel they must do things in a grown-up way; they’re letting their freak flag fly and are doing things their own way.”
Still, he’s keen to reinforce the need for Northern Ireland to protect its built heritage. For example in Belfast, the big wave of the moment is to demolish large old properties, making way for hefty blocks of student accommodation that are, in architectural terms at least, fairly samey and even anonymous.
“We should be working hard to safeguard as much architectural history as possible,” he says. “Now is not the time to say, let’s scrape out the Victorian and Edwardian hearts of cities.
“Because of VAT thresholds, it’s easier for developers to make money on new builds instead of refurbishments, which encourages demolition. Universities need housing, but there are immense amounts of empty space in Belfast that could be utilised to do that elegantly; there are derelict warehouses and buildings by the river that could be used, but incentives for developers aren’t there.”