22 Sep Mellow Brilliance

The period when summer slips into autumn is one of the finest moments in the garden – and John Carter has beautifully captured that between-the-seasons feeling with his flowers for Focus/21.

Yellow achillea singing out against maximalist wallcoverings, colourful dahlias on the tables and bar of the FT How to Spend It restaurant and vibrant blue hydrangeas in the South Dome Cafe all give a feeling of profusion and that last burst of warmer weather – while the concierge and registration desks feature washed-concrete vessels filled with informal arrangements of British-grown hips, berries and seasonal foliage that lend a contrasting note of autumn. There’s the same mix of freshness and warmth at The List Coffee Bar (Design Avenue) and the Milieu Coffee Bar (Third Floor, North Dome) where velvety chocolate cosmos float above variegated foliage, in simple terracotta pots.