The Sunaks' new look Downing Street is a sign of the North-South design divide

When painting my living room a vibrant - some would say violent - shade of green recently, even the decorator made his scepticism clear. What I should have told him was that, as one who was raised in Yorkshire, I was bringing a bit of the north to London suburbia. Because when it comes to interior design, it seems there are discrepancies in northern and southern English styles. 

Just ask the Sunaks, who have taken what sounds like rather a maximalist approach to the kitting out of their Downing Street dwellings.

Long gone is the restrained coordination of the Cameron-Osborne era, in which antique furniture, damask and floral curtains were thrown out in favour of a cleaner, more modern aesthetic. According to a new Tatler profile of Akshata Murty, wife of Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, the current occupants of Number 10 have opted instead for hand-pleated curtains with red, gold and ivory tassels; ornate, hand-gilded cornicing; and velvet sofas in jewel colours. 

It is said to be “far less glitz” than the opulent maximalist layering chosen by Murty’s predecessor, Carrie Johnson. But could it be a nod, perhaps, to the incumbents’ connection to northern England, where Sunak, the Tory member for Richmond (North Yorkshire), has his constituency home? Murty reportedly wants to bring “more of the north to Downing Street”, and judging by the preference among some northerners for sumptuous and vibrant interiors, she has arguably already done so. 

“We’ve got a really strong group of interior designers in the north and I think we’re quite bold compared with other places,” says Siobhan Murphy from Castleford, West Yorkshire, founder of styling business Interior Curve. 

“I surround myself with people who are similar to me: bold with colour and pattern. We like … bringing out your personality in your home and that’s probably what’s been lacking with the whole minimalist movement in the past few years.” 

In Yorkshire in particular, bright colours, quirky pieces and lots of pattern are favoured, says Murphy. A kind of northern maximalism, then, contrasting with the more pared-down colour palettes and arrangements seen in fashionable southern homes. 

Anna Lea-Wilson, a northern-raised interior designer based in East London, rejects the idea of any hard and fast rule dictating that “ïf you’re northern, you’re more likely to want to experiment more with colour and texture, and if you’re southern you’re more reserved.” But, says the founder of interior design studio Fern House London, stores in the north sometimes sell a look you’re less likely to find in the south. 

“In Harrogate, in interior design shops, the things on sale are often more vibrant and eclectic, more of a mish-mash of styles. The Harrogate shops weren’t necessarily following interior trends, whereas in London the shops tend to sell what’s in fashion.” 

If there is such a thing as a contemporary southern English aesthetic, it is arguably more restrained, where colour is introduced in accents rather than everywhere all at once; textures are natural and muted. And in, say, Harrogate? 

“It’s more of a mixture of rustic and traditional, and there’s a lot more colour and layering of textures; big gilded mirrors and patterned flocked wallpapers that we wouldn’t necessarily be seeing in London properties and shops,” says Lea-Wilson. 

These disparities are often seen too in the design of restaurants and hospitality venues, she adds. And if you’ve come from up north, and been accustomed to dressing up maximally when going out dancing or dining, you’ll remember your first bruising encounter with dressed-down southern nightlife. I know I do. 

“I definitely think the area you’re in does kind of determine [your style preferences],” says northerner Murphy, the title of whose book says it all: More is More Decor: A Handbook for Maximalists.