{"id":605000,"date":"2026-07-26T12:51:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-26T12:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/605000\/"},"modified":"2026-07-26T12:51:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T12:51:19","slug":"what-is-english-romanticism-alex-eagle-explains-how-to-bring-the-aesthetic-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/605000\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is English Romanticism? Alex Eagle Explains How to Bring the Aesthetic Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eagle Eye exists to explain the gaps\u2014between how we dress and how we live; between the spaces you\u2019re drawn to and the coat you keep reaching for. Each month, London-based designer and creative director Alex Eagle<\/a> will tap her roster of friends and experts to explore the \u201cwhy\u201d behind a certain theme\u2014why we\u2019re drawn to certain things, and how those instincts quietly form over years without us really noticing. It\u2019s a column rooted in interior design, with many branches (and, of course, a curated edit of shoppable products to boot).<\/p>\n

You may notice a theme in my last couple columns. So much of life feels accelerated, digital, that endlessly replaceable, and lately, I find myself craving the opposite. These are the objects that have taken time to make and the homes that tell stories; style that isn\u2019t built through novelty, but through memory and affection. There\u2019s something romantic about wearing pieces until they\u2019re softened by time and keeping pieces around just because they remind us of someone we love.<\/p>\n

For me, this version of romanticism is intertwined with a distinctly British point of view. \u201cWhen I think of classic English style, I think of romantic rooms and a mix of formal and relaxed elements,\u201d says artist and designer Luke Edward Hall<\/a>. \u201cI think of layered patterns and textiles; antiques and soft lighting.\u201d The designer Emilia Wickstead<\/a> agrees: \u201cThere\u2019s an appreciation for heritage, craftsmanship, and tradition, but also an ability to reinterpret those references that feels contemporary. It\u2019s never about perfection\u2014it\u2019s about character,\u201d she explains. \u201cRomance today is much more nuanced than it once was. It isn\u2019t defined by overt femininity, but rather by emotion and a sense of authenticity.\u201d<\/p>\n

I spoke with Hall and Wickstead (along with de Gournay<\/a> director Hannah Cecil Gurney, whose eye for creating whimsical interiors definitely falls into the category of romantic) to dig deeper into the key points of this style. What follows is less a strict guide than a set of foundational principles\u2014a palette that\u2019s softened, a playful eye, and pieces designed to be worn until they become heirlooms.<\/p>\n

Personality Pieces<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a strand of romance that welcomes a sense of mischief. Pieces that are personal, playful, and don\u2019t quite match are the ones that make a room or an outfit unmistakably one\u2019s own. The Bloomsbury Group<\/a>, the 20th-century group of writers and painters renowned for rejecting strict Victorian conventions, is prime example of this; their home, a haven of mismatched color, prints, and folly tucked into every room.<\/p>\n

Luke Edward Hall carries this idea into his own designs, highlighting trompe l\u2019oeil and imperfect surfaces. \u201cThe best rooms reflect their owners,\u201d he says. \u201cThe English look, in my book, anyway, is eclectic and colorful. It\u2019s also full of personality.\u201d Fashionable expressions of this could be a patchwork bag or a pair of electric lime heels; for the home, Nordic Knots\u2019 hand-knotted rug is a fun take on British gardens. \u201cYour house isn\u2019t an exhibit for visitors,\u201d says Gurney. \u201cIt\u2019s a sanctuary for its inhabitants. If you allow it to reflect yourself and your character, then it will have the romance that is right for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Herbert Levine<\/p>\n

Kiss and Tell 100 sandals<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eagle Eye exists to explain the gaps\u2014between how we dress and how we live; between the spaces you\u2019re…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":605001,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[267],"tags":[799,800,802,801,365,362,363,364,366,18,117,2598,19,17,804,797,803,806],"class_list":["post-605000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-_commerce","tag-_sensitivecontent","tag-_seo","tag-_syndication_noshow","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-artsdesign","tag-design","tag-eire","tag-entertainment","tag-home","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-onecolumn","tag-shopping","tag-textabovecenterfullbleed","tag-web"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116986372759800084","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=605000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/605000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/605001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=605000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=605000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=605000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}