Our newest completed project took us to a luxury Georgian property in the heart of Pittville, Cheltenham. Surrounded by both the bustling spa town and luscious landscapes, this home gave us the opportunity to experiment with light and colour as we made the space one of a kind.
Our brief
Our clients for this project were a family comprising a husband, wife, older children and their dog. After purchasing the property, the family wanted to update the house generally and make it their own, adding storage where possible to make the interior spaces more suitable to how they live and spend time together as a family. Their style preference was classic with eclectic twists, always ensuring they were sympathetic to the age of the property.
The architectural layout
This home was a four-storey Grade II listed Regency townhouse, set within ample gardens in the heart of Cheltenham. We initially visited the property in person to get an idea of the space, and to discuss with our clients their needs and desires for the project. We then developed several initial renovation ideas for the client to consider, ensuring the final design presented to them was the best fit.
The floorplan of the property remained the same; however, the original kitchen had two large islands sitting horizontally to cupboards. Instead, we opted for one large island sitting vertically in the space with room for seating, making the kitchen a perfect space for food preparation and socialising with loved ones. The bootroom cabinetry and bedroom wardrobes were created within the existing layout, adding ample space for our clients to store clothing, accessories and other everyday items.
Beautifully bespoke
As with each of our projects, each piece of furniture is expertly crafted in our Leamington Spa workshop. Fulfilling our client’s brief of creating a more practical, family-friendly space, our bespoke pieces made the best use of the beautiful rooms. In the kitchen, cabinetry was taken up to a higher level, with the addition of a ladder rail for access. A traditional shaker style of cabinetry was chosen, incorporating cockbeading, butt hinges and a traditional cornice to complement the original coving in the room. The main cabinetry features skirting, whilst the island is recessed to visually reduce its weight. Our craftsmen accepting nothing less than a perfect fit for all our installations.
We incorporated plenty of storage solutions for this busy family with built-in appliances, a pantry cupboard with a hidden microwave, large drawers with inner-drawer storage for spices and a stand-alone glazed cupboard for glasses. An extractor was built into the hob on the island, negating the need to have overhead extraction and filling up visual space in the room. A large two-bowl sink was added for practicality, with a mixer tap and a hot water tap with rinse.
In the bedroom, the wardrobe was designed in a plain shaker style with slightly more contemporary hardware. Despite this, the traditional cornice and skirting were retained, and we used butt hinges to ensure the piece is in keeping with the period features.
The bootroom cabinetry was made in a traditional shaker style, with cockbeading, skirting, butt hinges and traditional cornices. The piece was split into three sections with one housing footwear, one housing coats and one forming a housekeeping cupboard, fulfilling our client’s aspirations for a beautiful yet functional space.
Décor and details
To make this project truly one of a kind we chose a mixture of warmer and cooler shades to bring the space to life. In the kitchen, we hand-painted the cabinets in Farrow & Ball’s Blue Gray, adding a rosy hue with the pantry cabinet in Farrow & Ball’s Dead Salmon. This combination added interest with colour and kept things airy in the sunny, south-facing space. For the island counter, Farrow & Ball’s Studio Green was a perfect way of bringing natural tones into the space to mirror the grass seen through the large glass doors.
This same green shade was used in the bootroom for the cabinetry and ladder, giving the space a back-of-stairs feel as well as creating a link with the kitchen that adjoins it. In the bedroom, the wardrobes were painted with Little Greene Slaked Lime Mid, a soft, warm neutral which evokes the feeling of a tranquil, light space.
To bring the rooms of this project together, we incorporated natural textures and metallics throughout. The interiors of all the wardrobes, cabinetry and bootroom furniture were crafted from oak adding a warm, classic feel. The worktops in the kitchen featured Silestone’s Lagoon Suede, designed to emulate light reflections like those on a frozen lake.
In the kitchen and bootroom, all handles were finished in Burnished Brass by Armac Martin. For the wardrobes in the bedroom, we used Armac Martin’s handles again, this time finished in Satin Antique Satin Lacquered. The two brass finishes complement the colours used on the furniture as well as adding to the desired warm, lived-in aesthetic.
