Hanging mobiles and lots of toys contibute to the fun environment in which Nat says she wants to raise her son.
Hanging mobiles and lots of toys contibute to the fun environment in which Nat says she wants to raise her son.

Home of the Week: in a country of neutrals, a shock of 'Indian navy'



Global fusion is a term more often used in connection with food, but inside the designer Nat Robinson's London house, it's easy to see why she uses it to describe her look. She clearly doesn't belong to the "less is more" school of decorating. Her Victorian terrace bursts with colour.

"My parents have lived in the Middle East for seven years, so I have a real feel for that kind of look," Nat says. "I also just love colour so it seems perfectly natural to me to create an environment that reflects that."

Diana Vreeland famously said shocking pink was the navy blue of India, and it's true to say that an obsession with "ghastly good taste", muted colours and restrained interiors seems to be a northern and predominantly European trait.

But the home Nat shares with husband, Nick, her son, Harry, and Barney the beagle is a refreshing surprise in an area where white, taupe and beige rule. She has managed to create a beguiling mixture of country cottage and rock-chick chic.

She obviously loves bright pink and she has cleverly pulled together all sorts of disparate items and "clashing" colours.

Together with her friend Lulu McEvoy, Nat runs the online home and lifestyle accessories boutique Lulu & Nat. The company was set up in 2008, shortly after McEvoy moved to Mumbai, where she is still based. The website sells a gorgeous collection of bed linen, embellished cushions, throws and wall hangings, all hand printed and embroidered in India.

Marked by vibrant colours and dynamic patterns, the modern, exotic collection easily reflects Nat's influence.

The friends planned to start out small with their business, initially selling a limited range of block-printed items, but its stock can now be seen in prestigious London stores such as Designers Guild, SCP and Liberty, and the Parisian designer childrenswear shop Bonton.

Nat uses trips abroad to source new pieces for the house. The balloon light in Harry's nursery came from a St Tropez market and she found the tablecloths that do duty as bedspreads in a souq in Qatar. "I spend a lot of time at home," Nat says, "so it's important for me that the house looks lovely. I also think that it's important for Harry to grow up in a house that's fun."

It's fair to say Nat's look is girlie. "Women all love my house," she says. But how does her husband feel? "I think that he just has blinkers on now," she says ruefully.

Nat admits that all her cupboards are chock-a-block with her finds, including a new set of mugs that she bought recently in St Tropez. "I keep thinking that there is no more room to fit anything in, but it's amazing how you can always find a space for new bits and pieces."

To allow for the riotous mixture of fabrics, colours and textures, Nat has kept the window treatments to a minimum. The sitting room and kitchen feature cream-painted wooden shutters and the paintwork, walls and floors throughout are uniformly plain. Not only does this provide a little rest for the eye, but it also provides the perfect backdrop for showing off Nat's treasures to their best advantage. The Union Jack wall hanging from The Rug Company, for example, makes a dramatic statement above the sitting room sofas.

"I'm not a fan of everything being too 'matchy matchy'," Nat says. "And one of the huge benefits - and anyone with a small child will recognise this - is that it's not the end of the world if something gets broken or spoilt. I can always find another piece that will fit in."

Squad

Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas) 

Results

Stage 7:

1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29

2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time

3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious

4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28

2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42

5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45

Scoreline

Liverpool 4

Oxlade-Chamberlain 9', Firmino 59', Mane 61', Salah 68'

Manchester City 3

Sane 40', Bernardo Silva 84', Gundogan 90' 1

The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn

Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km

if you go

The flights

Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes. 

The hotels

Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes. 

When to visit

March-May and September-November

Visas

Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Rating: 2.5/5

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets

'The Coddling of the American Mind: How Good Intentions and Bad Ideas are Setting up a Generation for Failure' ​​​​
Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt, Penguin Randomhouse

Janet Yellen's Firsts

  • In 2014, she became the first woman to lead the US Federal Reserve 
  • In 1999, she became the first female chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers