19-24 August 2026 - Decorative Art Retreat - Melissa White

Decorative Storytelling & Pattern Design

Retreat Details

• Dates: 19 - 24 August 2026

• Duration: 6 days/ 5 nights

• Tutor: Melissa White

• Hosts: Helen, Mick & CHF team (Victoria, Kirstie, Sophie, Paris)

• Venue: Court House Farm, Portishead BS20 6PU, UK

• Experience level: Suitable for all levels

• Small group for focused tuition and connection

• Includes
  5 nights’ accommodation, all meals and refreshments, expert tuition, inspiring talks, studio time, activities, and local visits

• Cost
  From £1990 + vat residential (see full pricing below)

  £990 + vat Non-residential option available (see below)

Find out more about what’s included >>>

About the Retreat

This retreat is an invitation into Melissa White’s world of playful pattern, intuitive mark-making, and decorative storytelling. Over several gentle, joy-filled days at Court house Farm, you’ll explore Melissa’s signature approach to creating repeat patterns, mythical motifs, and expressive decorative designs—guided by an artist celebrated for her spirited adaptation of historical techniques. Working primarily on paper, with the option of small fabric pieces, you’ll build a body of exploratory studies and finished artworks that can be easily rolled, framed, or developed further at home. This is creative immersion at its most nourishing: spacious, hands-on, and rich with inspiration from place, history, and imagination.

---

Costs & Booking

Residential (5 nights, all inclusive)

Arrival: 2pm, Wednesday 19 August 2026 for afternoon tea and gather at 3pm for introduction & studio session with Mellissa

Farewell: 11.30am, Monday 24 August 2026

• £2,550 + vat — Own ensuite room in the historic Manor
  once our allocation of rooms are filled in the manor we use our Court Lodge accommodation (Victorian house just at end of drive) All rooms are ensuite

• £2,350 + vat — Own room, shared bathroom (2 sharing) Manor house

• £1,990 + vat — Shared twin room (price per guest- booked together)
  Manor house

• Reserve with a £500 non-refundable deposit - see our terms & conditions for details
  
  we welcome non-participating guests to join us with a paying guest - price for room & food will be quoted on request
  
  For those with longer to travel we offer additional nights without catering - price quoted on request
  
  Non- residential option Join us with a 6- day pass - see below
  
  Read more of what’s included >>>

---

Costs & booking- continued

Non-Residential — 6-Day Studio Pass

For those creatives who live locally and can travel to us daily we offer a 6-day pass. On-site parking available.
Read more about day- guests >>

Venue: Court House Farm, Portishead BS20 6PU, UK

Cost: £990 + vat

Arrival: 2pm, Wednesday 19 August 2026

Daily workshops: 9.30am – 4.30pm + talks

Farewell: 11.30am, Monday 24 August 2026 - we would welcome you to join us for some time to reflect on the experience, share the work created and say farewells

Includes: all tuition & workshops, studio access, and lunches (excludes accommodation, bar and evening meal).

Reserve with a non-refundable deposit - see our terms & conditions for details

Read more about our retreats at Court House Farm>>>

---

What I’ll Learn / Creative Itinerary

Across the retreat you’ll be guided through a sequence of joyful, exploratory sessions and studio time to build your skills and personal visual language, including:

• Warm-up mark-making exercises inspired by Melissa’s practice

• Designing decorative surfaces on paper and optional small fabric pieces

• Creating repeat patterns suitable for future use as wallpaper or fabric designs

• we will be working from Mythical creatures & bestiary-inspired imagery, alongside more traditional decorative motifs

• Developing a personal scrapbook or sketchbook of trials, colour studies, motifs and patterns

• Optional painted mouldings so your finished pieces can be framed in your preferred style

• Working with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint 

• A local inspiration visit to inspired the studio work we will be developing

You’ll leave with a collection of artworks, a deeper understanding of pattern development, and a renewed sense of creative confidence.

Full itinerary to follow

---

About Melissa White

Melissa White is a decorative artist best known for her contemporary interpretations of historical pattern, ornament, and mural traditions. Her work draws on everything from Elizabethan wall painting to the expressive freedom of the Bloomsbury Group, weaving together folklore, playful mark-making, and a keen eye for colour. Melissa collaborates widely—across interiors, design houses, and exhibitions—and her pieces are recognised for their warmth, wit, and unmistakable hand-painted character. A generous and highly intuitive teacher, she brings both deep craft knowledge and a spirit of curiosity to her workshops, creating spaces where participants feel supported to experiment, invent, and delight in the creative process.

Discover more: melissawhite.co.uk

---

Love the sound of this retreat but can’t make the dates? Let us know, and we’ll add you to our interest list for future retreats with Melissa — you’ll be the first to hear when new dates are announced.