The Handmade Home: creative courses to try in 2025

Celebrated for revitalising an interest in decorative arts, Tess Newall’s delicate designs adorn the furniture and walls of some of the country’s most considered homes. Her decorative painting workshop, housed in a traditional flint barn near Lewes, East Sussex, consists of a day decorating an Alfred Newall bobbin lampshade, candlestick or card lampshade in Arts and Crafts-inspired motifs. Delicious snacks and a lunchtime feast are provided by the sustainable caterers, Field Food. Surrounded by a rose garden and near to Charleston, there’s plenty to draw inspiration from. But book quickly – the May course has already sold out.

Weald and Downland Living Museum have found an enthusiastic audience for their charmingly esoteric courses focused on preserving traditional rural crafts, including ploughing with heavy horses, spoon carving and copper foiled stained-glass workshops. The limewash, distemper and linseed-based paint workshop caught our eye. It is tutored by Sibylle who has over 20 years’ experience working with specialist paint, paperhanging and building restoration. Her one-day course takes place partially outdoors and teaches how to mix distemper and linseed paint as well as colour theory.

Seasonality is at the heart of The School of Sustainable Floristry, which was founded by event florist Cissy Bullock and flower farmer and dahlia expert Lucy Copeman. Concerned with the ethics of importing flowers and the general lack of knowledge for florists who wanted to foreground environmental and financially sustainable practices, they set up the school in the walled garden of Howbury Hall in 2021. Their workshops are aimed at conscientious flower lovers who are curious about growing and arranging seasonal cuttings. We’d recommend ‘The Full Story: From Seed to Centrepiece’ course to kick-start your own practice.

Create Academy has a well-deserved reputation for enlisting industry experts to front online creative courses that can be consumed at your leisure. Michaela Sharp’s upholstery course is rooted in her love for reviving furniture with bold new prints and textures. Providing guidance on upholstering a new headboard is particularly helpful, while the breakdown of practical information on measuring, striping back and piping will be useful for whichever project you have in mind. The plethora of superb courses and tutors on the platform means a subscription would be well worth the price.

Sourcing the right tiles for your kitchen or bathroom can take an inordinate amount of time and energy. Which is why we like the idea of this creative workaround that enables you to translate your own vision directly on to clay. Based near Victoria station, Studio Pottery London is a veritable hive of clay-based activity. The tile workshop takes place over two days: the first entails rolling and cutting 10cm tiles which are then fired to bisque in preparation for glazing. Two weeks later, you return to the studio to decorate your tiles using cobalt oxide on top of a white tin glaze, producing handcrafted home objects inspired by the master potters in 18th-century Delft.

Colour has a fundamental impact on our experience of a space, so it makes sense to learn how to apply it from experts in the field. Despina Curtis, former Style Director of Elle Decoration and Natalie Jones, founder of home and lifestyle brand Caro Somerset, recently teamed up to create Etté, a colour consultancy service that “works with the visceral nature of colour in creating captivating and cohesive visual experiences.” They offer a full residential consultancy, but you can also choose to dip into one of their two-hour masterclasses held throughout the year. These provide unbiased advice that is tailored to help you to uncover personal palettes and identify and enhance sightlines in your own home. Drinks and light snacks are included and you get to take home a tonal artwork that enables you to place your palette proudly on display.