The Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose an outdoor setting with a ‘touch of England country’ for their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, experts have revealed.
Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan Markle, 39, filmed the 90-minute TV show in a beautiful garden at an unidentified building in Santa Barbara, California, near their £ 12million mansion.
It was originally thought that the couple invited Oprah to film the interview at the house they share with their 10-month-old son, Archie, but this is not true.
Speaking to Femail, British interior designer Benji Lewis of online consultancy service Zoom That Room explained how the couple chose a ‘rusty’ and ‘quiet’ garden with nods to traditional English design as the setting for her. -everything explosive.
‘My first impression is that the view suggests an elegant, serene, elegant view of the garden of an English country house,’ he explained. ‘We’re a kind of Highgrove channel that comes to the West Coast vibe. It’s chic and very subtle, a bit grand and yet not overly complicated. ‘
He said they are surrounded by circular shapes that foster ‘trust’ and ‘encourage harmony’.
Here, Benji and Heather Barrigan of MyJobQuote home renovation service break down the key features of the outdoor setting …
England meets California: Experts told FEMAIL how the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose a garden that had features of a traditional English country to tell them about the interview. Pictured: 1. Soft paving stones as the favorite in England; 2. Outdoor-absorbing soft materials’; 3. Round shape to cultivate trust; 4. Clothing to enhance the view; 5. Scented wines with a regal feel; 6 & 7 lawn and soft lines with wild lawn; 8. Round pots that encourage harmony
1. ENGLAND TO CALIFORNIA PAVING SOFT STORAGE
Benji said: ‘Instead of choosing pavements that are colored in uniform, texture and size, the stone here is laid more steeply; the wider mortar lines in the other part of the terrace appear to have been broken up into parts with moss.
‘This softer approach covers the ground between formal (i.e. we have gone to pavement level) and informal (i.e. but the pavement we chose and how we laid it down is smooth and rusty ). ‘
Heather said: ‘The pavements that can be seen in English gardens are usually found. This adds a hint of traditional decoration, which works perfectly alongside the more unusual elements. ‘
2. CLOSING THE ‘IN, OUT’
Benji said: ‘They have decorated the setting very much as you would an interior with a natural texture playing a key role (we think cotton and layers and wood and stone) – a bone sisal rug- herring on the old York pavement and the longer-cut grass lawn – accessing the furniture with soft linen cushions and including a coffee table and sideboard, suggesting “you have a comfortable place to sit and even more so, a table nearby to put your cup of tea “.
‘The seating is comfortable and supportive and a sitting room but they are not very flexible or comfortable.’
Heather said: ‘The woven style rug is a prime example of indoor / outdoor living which is a staple of California homes. This differs from the traditional flagstones below, creating a authentic British-American mix. ‘
3. CREATING A ‘CIRCLE OF TRUST’
Encouraging harmony: The choice of round coffee table reflects the ‘circle of trust’ between Oprah and Meghan
Benji said: ‘Formality is calm about the scene I believe but without hard edges, the coffee table might have been round square, but correctly they chose a circle. The circle of trust. ‘
4. MADE TO MATCH
Benji said: ‘The clever color palette has been gently laid down so that they don’t intentionally resist the rusty setting, and I like how they worked out their color palette, starting with soft surface tan tones on the floor, working soft gray into the clothes they wore Prince Harry, the charcoal dress on Meghan by Oprah neatly embellished in tones of dusty pink, ivory and going into showers of light rosewood on her skirt. ‘
5. VINES SCENTED ‘REGAL’
Suitable for royalty: The pillars behind Prince Harry and Meghan (pictured) are covered in fragrant vines for a royal feel.
Heather said: ‘The wine columns, which date back to the second revival, help create a regal but wild feel to the garden. This includes decorating in a royal style with the new trend of garden remodeling. ‘
Benji said: ‘The creeping foliage on the old square stone posts looks like it could be like jasmine and the lavender pots make it feel spacious for a place with the sight of smell as well. ‘
6. & 7. PLANNING WITH SOG EDGES AND MEADOW WILD
Benji said: ‘The sloping hedge line down the hill in the exterior shows a degree of tailoring but there are no hard lines or edges, similarly, the creeping jasmine softens architecture in the posts.
‘The gardens are delightful in their fullness and greenery – with the slightly darker woodland sloping down the slope, the almost unassuming charming hedge providing a resting place suggests that this side of the hedge is into the formal garden but nevertheless before we reach the daisy lawn there is a place where it would seem to allow running into a wild lawn. Different textures all the time to create interest. ‘
Heather noted: ‘You will notice that the garden is not full of flowers. Instead, a calmer planting can be seen at the back of the garden near the grass. ‘
8. FOSTERS HARMONY DESIGN
Benji said: ‘The use of round plants in pots marks a soft end from the terrace to the lawn. The shape of the round pots is resonated with the coffee table to create a feeling of harmony. They created a very calm baby, confident, reliable and non-confrontational. ‘