All the Trimmings

Reportage 13595361 | © living4media / Narratives / Smith, Rachael | 41 images

Against a backdrop of sophisticated shades of grey, Claire and Richard Bruce’s west London home sparkles and shimmers for the festive season. “Christmas for me is like the excitement of buying a fabulous pair of shoes, multiplied a thousand-fold, ” admits Claire Bruce. “Ever since I was a child, I have loved this time of year. Getting the house ready is a really important ritual for me, from the family outing to select the perfect tree, to the late nights spent putting up all the decorations.” The results of Claire’s nocturnal embellishments can be witnessed throughout the handsome west London home she shares with her husband Richard, a marketing director, and their two sons, Eddie, nine, and Finley, six. Every fireplace – including those in the bedrooms – brims with elegant decorations, a sophisticated mix of green foliage, silk flowers and more unexpected pieces, from exquisite antique crystal droplets to spools of shimmering metallic threads. “Before I re-trained as an interior designer, I was a commercial director of a clothing company and I would travel a lot; I would always make a point of picking up unusual decorations wherever I went, ” Claire notes.