The antique and 20th-century design haven that is Foster & Gane…

Val was a writer and broadcaster before she succumbed to a lifelong passion for antiques and interiors and set up Foster & Gane in 2010. Within 12 months she was exhibiting at the Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair in Battersea Park and selling to interior designers, antiques dealers and private clients from around the world.

Ed has a Master’s from Sotheby’s Institute and cut his teeth in antiques and interiors with Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler in Mayfair and Rose Uniacke on the Pimlico Road. So, Val was especially delighted when he joined the company four years later. Since then, the business has gone from strength to strength.

"We buy only what we love," says Val. "Consequently, whatever the age or style of each piece, there’s a shared eye and a common thread of thoughtful design, careful craftsmanship and rarity."

The unassuming Foster & Gane showroom was formerly an 18th-century coach house and gives little clue to the hidden gem that’s revealed when you step inside. Foster & Gane topped April 2024’s Livingetc sourcing guide for occasional chairs by designer Christian Bense, in which he shares his little black book of independent merchants. "The easiest way to start introducing antiques into your home is via an accent chair and Foster & Gane is the first place I look," says Bense.

Val’s home, further into Oxfordshire, is another heavenly treasure trove. The property, a Grade II-listed lodge house, was part of a grand country estate, designed by internationally renowned architect Edwin Lutyens. Having undergone a full refurbishment, it has been the recipient of an elegant collection of bespoke Barr Kitchens and Barr Joinery cabinetry, designed by Val (in collaboration with our studio team) and made in our Field Farm workshop.

In the kitchen, handmade slimline Shaker cabinetry, by Barr Kitchens, is full of unique features, including made-to-measure storage solutions, shaped marble upstands, display shelving and integrated metalwork.

Wall-hung cabinets and panelling are hand-painted in White Lead, set against Buff walls, both by Edward Bulmer, with base cabinets hand-painted in Moor, a unique dark green from Rose Uniacke’s stunning range of natural, mineral-based paints. For more details on finishes and fittings, visit the Barr Kitchens website.

On the descent to the basement, one enters the wine room, which is adorned with handmade porcelain Spanish tiles impactfully painted in the dark rich earthy brown colour of Rose Uniacke’s Hickory. Cabinetry includes a shoe rack and a small bespoke bench seat, as well as a floor-to-ceiling wall of in-frame Shaker cabinetry, presenting three large doors. One conceals a full-height hanging rail, another, adjustable larder shelving, and the third, a secret door, which pushes open to reveal the much lighter second space beyond.

The ‘middle room’ is colour-drenched in Edward Bulmer’s Lute and designed to be a tranquil refuge for exercise and meditation. Here an adjustable shelving unit with two drawers below sits against simple Shaker panelling.

Hidden away at the far end of the basement is a study. On one face, storage cabinets detailed with vertical fluting and a quadrant beading to the doors sit below library shelving. A worktop with a bullnose edge profile projects to form a desk/dresser top. In this room, the ceiling and walls are painted in Rose Uniacke’s Sand Dune with Rosewood back panels. Here, antique bronze handles by Corston adorn the cabinetry, with antique bronze picture lights from Vaughan Designs.

We thank Val for trusting us with these crucial elements of her home, and Ed, for a glorious insight into the exceptional world of Foster & Gane.
www.fosterandgane.com

The next Decorative Antiques & Textiles Fair is 1-6 October in Battersea Park. You can contact Ed or Val at info@fosterandgane.com for complimentary tickets.
www.decorativefair.com