The interior design lover's guide for October: fairs, collabs, and books to know

October sees the return of the heavyweights: for the collectors there are Frieze at Regent’s Park and PAD at Berkeley Square, along with Decorex at Olympia for interior designers. And the magpies out there will enjoy the Decorative Fair and Affordable Art Fair, plus a couple of sample sales.

New

Bermondsey-based luxury natural paint brand Atelier Ellis is launching a 32-strong collection of bio-based stains. A far cry from the sticky browns of the 1970s, the covetable range can transform the appearance of wood, walls and floors, with the aim of refreshing over replacing. Shining a spotlight on British craft, Herringbone House, the family-run cabinet and kitchen maker, has just gone live with Herringbone Shop, an online array devoted to UK-made homewares. From tablecloths to dog beds, wallpapers to flooring, the team has handpicked makers from all around the country, with the curation underpinned by joyful prints and uplifting colour. Of course it’s dinner party season again and Aaron Probyn’s Rye wine glasses are sure to get the conversation going (£45 per pair). Each has a chunky stem and foot cast in bold colour and the design is stackable, meaning your kitchen cupboards will love them.

And Mayfair is getting the chicest floral makeover with the opening of Claridge’s Flowers; blooms are for sale by the stem and there are plans for evening masterclasses with Flowers After Hours. Nearby, restaurant Pearl is opening in Brown Hart Gardens, atop a Grade II listed working electricity substation. The gardens were redesigned by renowned architect and horticulturalist Nigel Dunnett in one of his final projects before his death.

Cool collabs

Hot on the heels of a sell-out lighting collaboration, north London-based Leanne Kilroy — aka Good Bones — and Plank Hardware are back with a collection of handles and cabinet pulls. Five designs intended to be mixed — rather than matched — include star backplates and blackened bronze teardrop-shaped pulls (£12.95).

For a unique rug, check out Jessica Osborne’s designs for Bombay Sprout. Translating the textile designer’s most graphic patterns into rug form, the three styles suit both modern and traditional interiors and start from £420. In the market for a “forever sofa”?

Check out Penny Morrison for Lorfords Contemporary: the aptly named Penny sofa comes with loose slip covers and can take on various clever guises (from £9,750).

Treasure hunting

Sharpen your elbows, as sample sales are fertile ground for homeware bargains. A Rum Fellow will be hosting its first in three years on October 9; expect rugs, fabrics, accessories and furniture (214 Kensington Park Road, W11).

On October 16 and 17, New Zealand design house Resident is hosting an archive sale to round off In Living Colour, its 15th anniversary retrospective at 4 Pentonville Road, N1. Hundreds of products will be marked down by 50 to 70 per cent.

Not forgetting the faithful regulars: The Decorative Fair returns to Evolution London at Battersea Park from September 29 to October 4, followed by the Affordable Art Fair, also at Battersea, from October 14 to 18. Or you can shop from the comfort of your armchair: the modern design and decorative art auction at Dreweatts on October 7 features three works by Quentin Bell, art historian and member of the Bloomsbury family, including a fabulously tiled table decorated with interlocking mermaids and a merman.

Book club

Joanna Plant has quietly designed homes for rock stars and top models; in her first book, A Decorator’s Reflections on Making a Home (Rizzoli, £40), she welcomes readers into her own house, a Camden property that was once Amy Winehouse’s off-licence, and shares the story of its transformation.

Interior designer (to the royal family, no less) Ben Pentreath does a similar thing alongside his gardener husband Charlie McCormick in A Year at the Parsonage: The Story of a House and Garden (Quadrille, £30, out on October 8). The aesthetes bought their Dorset parsonage 15 years ago and this beautifully captured book serves as the ultimate retrospective. Their colour-rich, country house vibe is the polar opposite of architectural designer John Pawson’s minimalist outlook. In John Pawson: The Minimal Home (Phaidon, £39.95) his approach to designing modern homes is explored across six chapters, from the 1980s to the present day.

Out of town

Knocking all village fairs out of the park is Daylesford’s Work of the Hand craft fair in the Cotswolds. Set in the farm’s Heritage House, it will host 20 makers and galleries — spanning ceramics, textiles, wood and sculpture — alongside alumni from the King’s Foundation and the Chanel Métiers d’Art Programme (October 10 to 11; tickets £15). And how idyllic does Apple Day at Parnham Park sound (October 17, £5 for adults, £1 for children)? Located near the Jurassic Coast, this stately home comes with all the bells and whistles — think a walled garden restaurant, greenhouses bigger than a two-bedder in zone four and Instagrammable bedrooms. Spend a day picking fruit in the ancient orchard to a soundtrack of live music.