Rachel Ashwell’s work has long been shaped by an instinct for restoration and the quiet beauty of things that have been lived with. From childhood days spent trailing her parents through London flea markets to the creation of Shabby Chic, her work has never been simply decorative, but rooted in a way of seeing. Objects are chosen not for perfection but for the feeling they carry, and arranged with a careful balance of comfort, function and restraint. Returning to England after many years in Los Angeles, she has found herself drawn again to the rhythm of the seasons, and to a more grounded sense of home.

A childhood shaped by restored books and antique dolls sounds almost like the beginning of a fairy tale. What has that world of repair, memory and preservation carried into the way you live now?

It was meandering walks, trailing behind my parents when I was around eight years old, through flea markets across London, Camden Passage and Brick Lane, where I learned how to navigate, negotiate, and recognise the value and beauty of timeworn things. With envelopes of cash, my father would search for first edition books, and my mother for worn antique dolls, along with the small details that would bring them back to life, velvet ribbons, pieces of lace and silk.

Without realising it at the time, this was the beginning of my understanding of the beauty of imperfection. Her process of restoration was to embrace the tattered and the torn. She would sew dresses by hand so that the finished piece felt authentic, rather than overly polished.

That remains at the core of my work with Shabby Chic, restoring both beauty and function while honouring the original qualities of a piece, its chips, cracks and frayed edges.

Shabby Chic is often reduced to a decorative shorthand, yet in your work it has always felt closer to a way of seeing and living. What do you think people most misunderstand about it, and what might its quieter lessons offer the home today?

My mantra has always been beauty, comfort and function. My northern star of design has been my heart. When I place furniture and furnishings, I am mindful that each piece has a purpose and contributes to the feeling of home.

Everything needs room to breathe, however big or small the space. There is no shortage of beautiful treasures, but without restraint a room quickly becomes cluttered and noisy. It is in leaving space that what you have chosen can be seen.

You write movingly about returning to England and becoming newly conscious of the seasons. How has that sharpened your sense of domestic space, and in particular your sense of the stove as both a practical and a focal point of home life?

After living in Los Angeles for thirty five years, my creative inner wiring longed for the rhythm of the seasons. A time to go inward, a time to blossom and bloom, and the quieter moments in between.

In Los Angeles, even with a large fireplace, there are few days that call for building a fire. Here, I have come to value the ritual of it. Placing the kindling, the logs and the firelighters, then allowing the fire to take hold, bringing warmth and a quiet focus to the room.

In Meadow Manor: My Majestic English Countryside Home, the house seems inseparable from the landscape around it. How does this English home speak to, or depart from, the life you made for yourself in Los Angeles?

I have always been drawn to views, to wide open spaces and a sense of peaceful living. In Los Angeles I lived mostly near the ocean, which created a feeling of infinity where the sky and the water meet. My time in Texas was another defining moment, where the landscape was shaped by heat and light.

Here in the English countryside, I searched for a home that would offer views of rolling green hills, cows and sheep in the fields, and a scattering of rooftops from neighbouring cottages. The view now feels almost like something from a storybook.

Has any work of art ever come close to capturing for you the true feeling of home?

Art certainly inspires and, at times, reflects life. I have often been drawn more to florals and landscapes than to interiors. The presence of art brings an important layer to a home, adding depth and a sense of completion.

Follow Rachel on Instagram @rachelashwell and @officialshabbychic – Meadow Manor: My Majestic English Countryside Home by Rachel Ashwell is published by CICO Books’

You can watch our interview with Rachel on YouTube below.