Countryside Home

The Story

For this project the space concerned was the busy Lounge and Dining room of the property – the heart of the home and where the family spend much of their time together. The room suffered from having come together a period of many years without any conscious planning, as a result the existing furniture & fittings included a mix of styles and the room lacked storage. Our client had invested in new window dressings in recent years, these used a trademark Casamance fabric which was not inexpensive and we suggested should be kept and re-used in some way. The ceiling was a stippled artex and along with the decorative roses this was setting a tone that our client was keen to break way from. On the floor the carpet was a little tired and required replacement too.

Lighting was a problem in the space, both ceiling and wall lamps were of a dated Tiffany styling and provided levels of light which were both insufficient and not controllable – our client advised that they couldn’t achieve the desired level of lighting for watching TV or spending a snug evening in the space.

The task would be to assemble and manage a capable team of tradesmen in order to schedule the order of works following approval of the designs by our clients. The trades included plasterers, decorators, electricians and floor layers all of whom we would project manage whilst also liaising with the clients appointed Audio Visual engineers for the installation of a new Television alongside our schedule.

The Stylehome Solution

Plans were drawn which included the replacement of the existing cabinet furniture and upholstery with new, including the Pianca Spazio modular system which would be employed to create a new media cabinet with integrated bookshelves, slate wall panel and a huge storage drawer with Remote control repeater so that all associated TV hardware could be stored out of sight and still operated. The flexibility of the Spazio system allowed other areas of book shelving and storage to be created at the opposite end of the room, this would give all the necessary space that our clients required whilst keeping the same signature throughout the space. Even the coffee table selected was of a type which included opening sections to provide more hidden storage space.

The upholstery was modernised using a large contemporary white leather sofa with built in electric reclining seats whilst toward the other end of the room a new space was created facing toward the large garden, with stylish Lounge chairs in a mix of sizes from Vincent Sheppard. A perfect spot to enjoy a morning coffee or read a book.

The effect of removing the stippled ceiling and re-plastering, in combination with the choice of neutral light fittings that blended into the walls, was to make the space feel completely re-invented – an apparently new, contemporary space had been created without any major building work.

The previous Casamance fabrics were retained a separate set of Roman Blinds/Drapes made so that these could be changed for the snug winter months – all other colours in the room being carefully chosen to work in both “summer” or “winter” mode.