Six of the UK Best Artist Studios (Where You Can Stay the Night)
Pack your watercolours and prepare for a trip filled with wholesome pastimes. We’ve found the UK’s most inspiring artist studios and creative spaces where you can stay for the night.
21 May, 2021
- Words by
- Phoebe Hunt
Flooded
Flooded
with natural light, art studios often capture that
accidentally-on-purpose cluttered aesthetic. A state of charmingly
disarray. They’re the window into the minds of makers and
craftspeople, and often fuel for a visitor’s creative fire.
Across the UK,
painters, printmakers and crafters are opening their workshops to
guests, and boutique hotels are amping up the bohemian spirit with
in-house studios. Intrigued? Read on to find our favourite pottery
in the New Forest, an 18th-century painter’s studio in the Cotswolds
and creative retreats in Cornwall and
beyond.
Artist studios, workshops and creative spaces to bed down
in
hotel
The NoMad
London
Sure, you’re not likely to see any messy paint brushes within
these four walls, but this Covent Garden hotel is home to a
world-class art programme that accommodates more than 1,600 curated
and commissioned works by British and international artists. The
idea is to bring together the finest creative talents in design,
art and hospitality. Throughout the building, you’ll spot
paintings, sculptures, engravings and installations from key
post-war American and European artists. The experience is perhaps a
little like walking through a collector’s home, with as many as 50
original pieces in a single suite.
hotel
Vinegar Hill Pottery
New Forest
hotel
Lobster Pot and Strand Line
Cornwall
These coastal retreats in Porthcothan have been decorated with
upcycled finds by Cornish artist Susie Ray, who offers workshops in
crafts and fish rubbing (a Japanese technique). Creative sessions
draw inspiration from Cornwall’s landscape; turn foraged beach
finds into pieces of art for the home – think driftwood hearts and
scallop-shell wind chimes – or take part in painting and
printmaking workshops under Susie’s expert eye. Lobster Pot is a
cosy cabin perfect for couples or solo artists, while Strand Line
has two bedrooms and is popular with families. The properties’
gardens are inspired by film director Derek Jarman’s cottage garden
in Dungeness, featuring coastal decor, flotsam and flint-stone
chips to reflect the rusticity of the interiors.
hotel
The Artist Studio
Glasgow
hotel
The Fife Arms
Braemar, United Kingdom
In the Highlands, The Fife Arms’ reputation precedes it: 46
individually styled guest rooms brimming with Scottish history,
tartan and museum-worthy art courtesy of owners (and Hauser &
Wirth co-founders) Iwan and Manuela Wirth. Over the last few years,
a number of artists and poets have taken up residence, immersing
themselves in the wild surroundings. The Artist’s Studio is a
one-off suite for those seeking a creative escape, with a cabin bed
and private studio for letting loose. Inspired by The Bloomsbury
Group’s eclectic Charleston House, the room features hand-painted
walls as well as stunning views over Cairngorms National Park.
hotel
The Artist’s House
Deal, Kent
This two-bed bolthole was decorated by Steve Thomas, Sir Paul
McCartney’s personal designer, who lives next door. The house is
tucked away in a quiet and charming mews in the artsy seaside town
of Deal. The traditional cottage exterior gives
nothing away. Enter through the stable door to double-height space
filled with prints, sculptures and original paintings illuminated
by bright, natural. The house is just minutes’ walk from the sea,
the high street and great chippies.