The House Rules

The House Rules, to be published by Quadrille in March 2026, is available to pre-order in two beautiful clothbound editions:

Global Edition (£40)

This edition, with a foreword by Nigel Slater, tells the story of how the design firm Berdoulat came to be, from early memories of founder Patrick Williams’s childhood home of the same name, where he “caught the bug” for working on period buildings, through to the foundation of the principles and beliefs which inform his contemporary practice.

Stunning photography by Andrew Montgomery showcases recent (including unseen) work, organised by theme as opposed to project.

Special Edition (£80)

This edition includes the Global Edition PLUS a companion book, “Another Spoonful”, housed in a beautiful slipcase. Charlie Porter has written the foreword for this tribute to a handful of the many wonderful craftspeople Berdoulat has been lucky enough to work with when setting up their shop and developing the products they sell. It plots out what inspired each of them, how they came to work in their respective fields, and looks at the traditional crafts they practice.

Please select which edition you wish to purchase from the dropdown menu below.

For each pre-order, we will send out a brass bookmark, as a placeholder for when the book itself will be delivered to you on publication in the second week of March 2026.

Feedback:

“A beautiful, thoughtful, finely grained, and multi-faceted journey through the philosophy and work of one of the most talented designers in the traditional language that I know.”

Ben Pentreath

“New books by interior designers are plentiful. But this one is something altogether different, as you would expect of this fine-artist-turned-designer whose sensitivity to old buildings and attention to the smallest of details has endlessly inspired me. In this beautiful and thought-provoking book Patrick generously imparts his wisdom, gleaned over a lifetime (literally) of working on old buildings, and opens our eyes to a way of looking and living.”

Hatta Byng

“Few people are able to create such effortless beauty in an English country house interior. Patrick is a master of the art, with a sharp eye for detail, creating interiors that are uncontrived, beautiful and timeless.”

Will Fisher

“The House Rules is a fascinating story of inherited traditions, mastered techniques and eccentric obsessions. A story of attention to detail and principled devotion to expertise. But more than that it is a love story. Pulsing through this book’s rich insights into materials, history, art and architecture, is the smell of good food, the laughter of children, and the joy of hosting friends and strangers. To do a very good job and enjoy doing it because it means something, because it is beautiful. That is the Berdoulat way.”

Max Porter

“‘The house rules’ – of course it does! Patrick explains with insight and tenderness what it takes to create or resuscitate a house and why you would. He has the necessary skills of an artist, an architect and an artisan, but what comes out of his well-crafted words is that he is at heart, an anthropologist. As such he does not perhaps create houses, so much as homes – places with the imprint of human lives, past and present. Places woven into the thread of life, that nourish body and soul with food (usually shared) given up by the nurture of soils within a stones’ throw of the house and the toils of craftspeople who inevitably become Patrick and Neri’s friends. There is of course a rigour based in history in what Patrick brings to design, but what he teaches me is the limitless value of curious respect.”

Edward Bulmer