Trendy Traditionalists (2/3) By Jo Allison

(1/3), (2/3), (3/3).

So, he created a faux-Georgian town, with cobbled pavements for that authentic Anglo feel. But why would anyone want to go back to living in the country, miles from the unsmiling commuters and overcrowded high streets? The prices of houses might have something to do with it. You can buy a four-bedroom house in leafy Leconfield, just outside Kingston upon Hull, for £225,000, as apposed to a four-walled one room flat in urban Kingston upon Thames for nearly double that amount.

Move through to the interior of these lovely English countryside cottages, and we know what we'll find. Paisley prints, cushions, thick carpets, heavy curtains and bone-china ornaments. However, once again, traditionalists have been ahead of their game for 2006 interior design trends. Trend forecaster Anne Lise Kjaer, a member of the London Speaker Bureau, predicts that ...after a long period of minimalism we are welcoming warmth and personality back in our homes...Textiles enjoy a big comeback; rugs, curtains, upholstery and quilts- everything that creates a welcoming, warm atmosphere. Chintz isn't just chic, it's also really practical for the modern middle-class family life.

Home entertaining, be it dinner parties, entertainment systems or staying in with the family has become a definite lifestyle choice. Cocooning leads to casual living, adds Kjaer. So harsh scrubbed metallic chairs, overstuffed, box-like sofas and clinical white washed walls are no longer de rigueur, we need comfy sofas and practical patterned carpets.

Just ask Christian Biecher, the interior architect behind the new Harvey Nichols store in Dublin. His inspiration for the store was country gardens meets the Sex pistols, the sumptuous décor reflects the stores upmarket retailing image, and their isn't a clean line in sight. Ornate wallpaper spans the walls, floral carpets and polished wood floors line the floor, topped off with a staircase decorated with panels based on 19th century English lace.

It's a wonder we ever wanted to become modern, or ever lusted after sleek Americanisms. It appears that the true English foods were also the right choice all along, even in our carbohydrate-conscious, nutritionally obsessed world.

Take the typical take-away meal. One cannot pretend that this is a healthy option, but us Brits have the most nutritional choices by far. A third of the money we spend on food is now spent on buying takeaways, and restaurant meals, up 40% since 1980. We are rapidly catching up with the USA, one in five Americans eats in a fast-food restaurant at least once a day. But do not despair; our traditional fast foods contain just over half the calories of an American Burger.

Sandwiches are perhaps the nations favourite quick fix food, and we bought 1.8bn of them last year with cheese and ham as our favourite combination. A well made cheese and ham sandwich topped with lettuce and mayo has around 540 calories, compared to the American favourite fast food of a burger and chips, which contains nearly 850.

Even our "unhealthy" British take-away isn't so bad. Fish and Chips, which are cooked in vegetable oil, are relatively low in fat and the old-fashioned thick English chips absorb much less oil than thin American French fries. The whole glorious meal (with a side order of ketchup) only has around 530 calories. These sandwiches and fish and chip treats were best enjoyed decades ago, when middle class families flocked to the British seaside for their holidays.

And would you believe it, Trevor Johnson at Historic-uk, a British holiday bookings website has noted a significant increase in holiday bookings in England over the past few years. In general middle/upper classes have always tended to favour a portion of their summer holidays in the U.K. And why? Possibly a class issue...better food and accommodation throughout the UK.

Continued ... Next Page (3/3)

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