Forget Cottagecore - Flora Fantasia by House of Hackney is Cottage hardcore

House of Hackney's Flora Fantasia collection blends the romanticised rural aesthetic with riotous punk elements

Flora Fantasia
(Image credit: House of Hackney)

Love cottagecore? Check out 'The Fantastical World of Flora Fantasia' by House of Hackney. The interiors brand has upped the ante with this glorious collection of patterns and prints. This is cottagecore with an edgier, urban take on the trend. 

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According to House of Hackney, it's cottage hardcore - a bonding of the romanticized aesthetic with riotous punk elements, all in a palette of brights, toughened up with slashes of black.

Flora Fantasia

(Image credit: House of Hackney)

The collection is inspired by the fairy-tale gardens at The Castle of Trematon in Cornwall, where House of Hackney founders, Frieda Gormley and Javvy M Royle, are now based.

Celebrating nature at its most surreal, 'The Fantastical World of Flora Fantasia' is about a garden gone feral, with flowers drawn from nature but given a fantastical spin - as though plucked from the pages of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Flora Fantasia

(Image credit: House of Hackney)

Woven through the collection is floriography, the secret language of flowers immortalized in an 1874 book by Robert Tyas. Back then, the buttoned-up Victorians gifted flowers that symbolized their emotions. 

For House of Hackney, who celebrate their 10-year anniversary this year, The Fantastical World of Flora Fantasia symbolizes ten years of love and creativity represented through a maximalist expression of nature.  

Flora Fantasia

(Image credit: House of Hackney)

The eight prints within the collection are available as wallpapers, fabrics, cushions,  ombre-fringed lampshades - and now carpet.

The origins of the eponymous Flora Fantasia print began with a rare book from the 1880s, 'Fleurs de Fantaisie' by J Buchert. This collection of watercolour prints is so rare that only a few copies exist in the world today.

Flora Fantasia

(Image credit: House of Hackney)

House of Hackney founders sought to find a copy of the book and bring Buchert's flowers back to life. 

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In a wonderful twist of serendipity, Gary Bridge, the Design Director of Axminster Carpets, had the book in his library - and through a collaboration between the two British brands, the fantasy flowers are in bloom again; reinterpreted for floors by Axminster Carpets and for walls and soft furnishings by House of Hackney.  

Flora Fantasia

(Image credit: House of Hackney)

Jacky Parker is a London-based freelance journalist and content creator, specialising in interiors, travel and food. From buying guides and real home case studies to shopping and news pages, she produces a wide range of features for national magazines and SEO content for websites


A long-time contributor to Livingetc, as a member of the team, she regularly reports on the latest trends, speaking to experts and discovering the latest tips. Jacky has also written  for other publications such as Homes and Gardens, Ideal Home, Red, Grand Designs, Sunday Times Style and AD, Country Homes and Interiors and ELLE Decoration.