Charlotte White
INTERIOR DESIGN
Great Shefford
Project.
This project in the village of Great Shefford in West Berkshire, encompassed the hall, stairs and landing, as well as the downstairs cloakroom of a large property built in the 90’s. The clients were keen to update the space, which hadn’t been touched for 15 years and needed a redesign.
They had a real affinity for wallpaper and we decided on a classic Sanderson paper ‘Solaine Calico' for the hall, stairs and landing and added panelling to the lower half of the wall, to strike a balance between bold and calm. Farrow and Ball’s ‘String' provided the perfect paint partner to the paper, adding a pale and earthy feel which works particularly well in rooms connected to the outside. The home is nestled deep in the Lambourn valley, so a connection to the surrounding countryside was a must for the design. We ran the paper up onto the sloping walls to give a cocooned and enveloped feeing to the landing space and through into a redundant window recess.
Our clients love for books became a leading factor in the design process. They had a random selection of older and very full bookcases, sat in front of eaves storage cupboards on the landing, which made the cupboards tricky to access and use. The idea to be able to easily get at this storage, whilst housing the many books, in new and very beautiful shelving, came to life when we created mobile, hinged bookshelves. The cupboards were then hidden, but fully accessible and the bespoke bookshelves became an eye catching focal point to the space.
We built a window seat nestled in the recess between the book shelves and dressed the window with a sweet roman blind and adjacent matching library style wall lighting. The seat serves to hide the radiator and created a reading spot in front of a very special view out over the downs. This project really allowed for design freedom and creativity, working both to solve problems and enhance functionality, whilst of course looking lovelier than before - I think we hit the nail on the head!