19th March 2026 | IN INTERIOR DESIGN PROJECTS | BY SBID Share Tweet Pinterest LinkedIn The Residence, York Set within the former Terry’s Chocolate Factory – once home to the iconic Chocolate Orange, The Residence occupies one of the city’s most recognisable industrial landmarks. Carefully redeveloped by PJ Livesey, the historic factory building now offers expansive contemporary apartments high above the surrounding landscape. It has also become one of our favourite places to work. Over the past few years, Middlethorpe Interiors have redesigned a number of properties within the development, each revealing its own character while responding to the building’s generous industrial proportions. With views stretching across York Racecourse towards York Minster, the Bishop’s Palace and the distant Yorkshire Wolds. Floor-to-ceiling glazing draws the surrounding landscape into the interior, while impressive ceiling heights and wide proportions create an immediate sense of openness and light. For our clients, relocating to York marked the beginning of a new chapter. After many years in a substantial family home in Kent, they were seeking a setting that felt lighter and more manageable while still reflecting their longstanding love of nature and the outdoors. The apartment presented a remarkable blank canvas. Yet with that opportunity came a clear design challenge. The principal room – conceived as a single open-plan living and dining space – was vast, and without careful intervention it risked feeling cavernous rather than welcoming. Our task was therefore to introduce warmth and visual structure while allowing the openness of the architecture to remain intact. Middlethorpe Interiors Middlethorpe Interiors Designing for Scale The scale of the room quickly became the defining element of the project. The clients brought only a small number of pieces from their previous home. However, when placed within the apartment, these familiar furnishings appeared almost miniature against the generous proportions of the room. Rather than filling the interior with numerous smaller pieces, the approach focused on introducing fewer, more purposeful pieces capable of anchoring the room visually while maintaining a sense of calm and balance. At the centre of the scheme sits a bespoke media wall spanning the width of the room. Painted cabinetry in a soft olive tone frames a central ribbed oak panel housing a Samsung The Frame TV, allowing the screen to sit discreetly within the joinery and read more like artwork when not in use. Below, a linear fireplace sits within a marble surround, grounding the composition while introducing a refined material contrast. Recessed LED lighting integrated within the joinery provides a soft evening glow, highlighting the texture of the timber and bringing warmth to the room after dark. Open shelving above and to either side provides space for ceramics and woven objects, softening the scale of the cabinetry while introducing layers of texture and visual interest. Lighting throughout the room was carefully designed to support the different ways the space would be used. A layered lighting plan combines atmospheric lighting with practical task lighting, allowing the room to shift easily between quiet daily living and evening gatherings. This flexibility was particularly important for the clients, who regularly host groups within their home. Creating a setting that felt welcoming and comfortable for groups of guests therefore became central to the design. To support this, we retained the clients’ two existing sofas and introduced a bespoke oversized ottoman at the centre of the seating arrangement. The piece provides additional seating when required while also offering a practical surface for trays of drinks when entertaining. Middlethorpe Interiors A Connection to the Landscape The surrounding views and the clients’ love of the outdoors played an important role in shaping the interior palette. A biophilic colour scheme draws inspiration from the landscape beyond the windows. Soft greens, natural textures and layered materials echo the tones of the Yorkshire countryside while bringing warmth and depth to the interior. Rather than competing with the view, the design allows the surrounding landscape to remain quietly present within the apartment. Throughout the day, shifting light and changing skies subtly alter the atmosphere of the room, reinforcing the connection between the interior and its setting. Middlethorpe Interiors Designing with Constraint Working creatively within both the scale of the apartment and the practical limits of the budget became one of the most rewarding aspects of the project. Between the study and the living room, poorly installed glass panels disrupted the visual rhythm of the interior. Our original design proposed bespoke doors to soften the transition between the two spaces, but this solution ultimately proved beyond the available budget. Instead, we developed a panelled partition designed to echo the proportions of traditional doors while introducing structure and architectural rhythm to the room. The result allows the spaces to remain visually connected while bringing a stronger sense of balance to the interior – a reminder that thoughtful design solutions often emerge when creativity must stretch a little further. Middlethorpe Interiors The Result What began as a vast open canvas has become a home that feels calm, balanced and deeply connected to its surroundings. Carefully scaled joinery, layered lighting and a restrained palette allow the architecture of the converted factory building to remain the hero while introducing the warmth and comfort required for everyday living. Above all, the apartment now reflects the lives of its owners – a place shaped by landscape, light and the simple pleasure of welcoming friends and family. “We are delighted with the final outcome of the refurbishment, and it now truly feels like home. Thank you to the whole team for guiding us through the process – we’re looking forward to welcoming friends and family to enjoy our new home.” About Middlethorpe Interiors Middlethorpe Interiors is a York-based interior design studio creating calm, considered homes that feel natural, personal and enduring. Working across period properties, new builds, city apartments and countryside retreats, the studio offers a discreet, professional service tailored to how each client lives. Services range from full interior design for whole-home transformations to one-room decoration, colour consultancy, bespoke soft furnishings and virtual design support. Known for thoughtful detailing, balanced schemes and a structured, well-managed approach, Middlethorpe Interiors works closely with homeowners across York, Harrogate, Wetherby and the wider North of England to create interiors that feel both effortless and deeply lived in. Visit Profile If you’d like to feature your news or stories on SBID.org, get in touch to find out more. If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.