Charlie Smallbone, founder of Ledbury Studio, may have made his name in kitchens, but at his core, he is a furniture designer. Charlie’s passion lies in taking natural materials and crafting beautiful pieces – for any room. As such, when the owner of this Hampstead home enlisted the help of Ledbury Studio for a complete home makeover, Charlie designed furniture not only for the kitchen but also for the master bedroom suite and media room.
“This is a very elegant and spacious Edwardian home, with high ceilings and lots of natural light,” says Charlie. “Therefore, we designed pieces that followed the classic lines of the house, but with plenty of contemporary touches. It was a particular joy to work with swathes of stunning natural stone in every room. I’m delighted with the final result – as are our clients!”
The Ledbury Shaker kitchen is a modern interpretation of Charlie's original painted kitchens from the 1980s. This version features beautifully crafted and simply made furniture, updated cornicing, and bespoke aged-brass handles. It blends seamlessly with the house's age while maintaining a contemporary style. Painted in a muted colour palette of soft white, it incorporates luxurious materials such as Arabescato marble worktops, splashback, and a specially designed integrated double sink. The cooker hood above the Wolf range cooker is finished with textured Marmorino Venetian Plaster for added visual appeal.
Upstairs, in the master bedroom, Charlie designed an upholstered headboard in natural oak that wraps around the bed and matching bedside tables. This creates a peaceful and serene space to unwind. Additionally, there is an adjoining kitchenette, eliminating the need to go downstairs for a drink! Designed in walnut and marble, this handy space houses a coffee machine and kettle, with a fridge drawer for cool drinks on demand.
Moving into the master bathroom, the walnut and marble theme continues. Charlie selected a walnut veneer for the impressive double vanity, which features walnut interiors specifically designed around a chimney breast to maximise storage space. Above the vanity, there are custom mirror cabinets for additional storage. However, just like in the kitchen below, the standout feature is the stunning Arabescato marble. It is used for the vanity tops, bath surround, and shower, adding a touch of Hollywood glamour reminiscent of the golden age!
The master suite is completed by the dressing room, which is surely every fashionista's dream. This beautiful space includes a custom-made teak dressing table placed by the window to make the most of the view. The stunning piece not only has leather-lined drawers to keep items organised, but also a convenient vanity basin set into the top.
Last, but not least, Charlie designed furniture for an incredible media room. Fast becoming an essential for the family home that has it all, Ledbury Studio is being asked more and more to create cupboards like these. In this design, walnut veneer is bookmatched across the width of the cabinets to fabulous effect. Housed inside are a drinks cabinet, TV and sound system, plus drawers for storage, including an integrated fridge drawer. Illuminated open shelves for showcasing treasured pieces provide the finishing touch.
Prices for a Ledbury Studio kitchen start from £70,000.
About Ledbury Studio Ltd
Charlie Smallbone needs little introduction. The founder of iconic brand Smallbone of Devizes, he has been pushing the boundaries of kitchen design for over 40 years. Charlie’s latest venture, Ledbury Studio, was born of his desire to harness the beauty of original materials whilst creating practical kitchens that exude style and elegance.
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Faye Robinson-Hey, Founder and Director at Faye Robinson Interiors has given her insights into the industry.
I originally went to university to do a law degree however had a change of heart and realized it was not the career path for me! After a brief stint working in estate agency, I ended up going back to university and graduated with a BA Hons in Interior Design. I worked as a lighting designer, gaining an LIF accreditation before moving into commercial interiors working for a national 4 and 5 star hotel company as part of their in-house interiors team. After a few years I then moved into residential interior design working for Harrogate based companies before freelancing on a five star hotel project and a number of residential projects. I was also a contributor to a national newspaper for a number of years with a monthly interior trends columns and contributed to larger interior styling features. Finally I managed and designed for a family joinery company which I still do alongside setting up Faye Robinson Interiors, a luxury, award winning interior design company which has a strong ethos of providing a premium but approachable and dedicated design service.
I have always been brought up around property development, my parents renovated houses and my mum worked in interior design, my dad had a construction company. I have always been creative and interior design presented an opportunity to be able to combine my interpersonal skills and artistic flair whilst being a viable business model. To be able to create long lasting and permanent new interior spaces which impact positively the people who inhabit them was such a big draw for me and remains a key motivation. I consider it such a privilege to be invited into our client’s lives, we forge great and long lasting relationships with many of our clients which is one of the best things about my job. We get to know them, understand how they live, meet their families etc and so to be able to create a new business or home interior which transform spaces and brings people joy is a lovely perk to the job.
Obviously I enjoy the creative side of the job much more than the inevitable business admin which comes with running your own business! I enjoy the initial client briefing and working up a concept design as this is always the exciting first step on the design journey. The implementation stage is very rewarding, seeing your designs go from paper to reality will never get old - it is the most nerve wracking but enjoyable part of the job. It is also always a joy to be able to discover new talented trades people, artists, suppliers, products and materials, the interior design industry is a fast moving and fascinating world to be a part of.
I would say without question being awarded the ‘best luxury residence UK’ award at this years International design and architecture awards (design et al) was a great highlight. It was an honour to be amongst such talented designers and we were thrilled that our Georgian renovation project which we worked on for a total of two years from concept to completion was recognised at such a high industry level. We were also delighted that the project was finalist in two categories at the Northern Design awards, where we had previously won a commercial category in 2018. The completion of our Georgian renovation project at the beginning of this year is, to date our proudest moment, it was a labour of love and we were as thrilled as our clients were with the finished results.
Over the years I have worked on some great projects but I would say the larger remodel projects are one of my favourites because we get to be involved in everything right from the beginning of the design journey to completion which, although stressful at times is such a great creative honour. Larger projects also allow us to work with trusted suppliers and artisans which is always a great experience - there are so many skilled and talented trades and suppliers out there, discovering them is a great part of our job. Also projects where there is a meeting of minds between designer and client are great because the process runs so much smoother when you have a client who is fully on board and trusting - it allows great creative control and results in beautiful and personal design details.
I think it is a very misunderstood and at times mis-represented industry, there is a lot that goes into creating beautiful interiors and it isn’t as glamorous as everybody seems to think it is! I think being able to find solutions and over come issues that can often arise on bespoke projects with time and budget constraints can be quite challenging and stressful, but that is part of what we are here to do, we take the stress away from our client and deliver beautiful results as intended. It isn’t always easy and I have suffered quite a few sleepless nights while working on live projects but it is always worth it in the end. A new challenge that has arisen is also the introduction of AI within interior design. I feel that AI can be a great tool for the industry to be able to be used as a tool going forward but we have also seen a rise in CGIs and AI generated interiors, especially on social media which although look very impressive are not a tangible and installed scheme so can be misleading in certain circumstances.
I think perhaps having a greater understanding of technical drawings and manufacture would have been helpful, also I believe they should teach business/financial education in secondary school, nobody teaches you how to run an interior design business and it can be a very steep learning curve!
I would say keep an open minded, tenacious attitude and also if possible aim to carve out a design aesthetic that while is commercially viable also has an air of individuality about it. A lot of our clients come to us saying that they do not want a regurgitated version of what everybody else is doing, while impressive and high end there is a definite ‘look’ that a lot of premium interiors have and it can be a little lacking in personality. I would also recommend getting as much industry experience as possible, there is so much to learn in the interior design sector, its not just colour schemes and styling, it is important to know how to present well to clients, understand the financial side of the business, specification and budgets and always keep researching and exploring new suppliers. In my experience there are no short cuts to becoming a successful, well rounded designer- everyday you learn something new - learning what not to do is sometimes just as important as learning what to do well! I learned a lot of valuable lessons whilst working for others and watching how they run their own business.
Within interiors we feel that people are more willing to consider bespoke furnishings, handmade joinery and luxury, hardwearing but beautiful materials such as stone and wood considering it as a quality investment that will bring them joy for years to come. There is definitely a movement toward sustainable design, ethical, environmental friendly materials and an approach that favours quality, well made pieces as opposed to fast changing fashion and trends. Of course everybody is also keeping an eye on how AI will influence and shape the interior design industry and digital technologies such as VR are also something that is going to continue to grow, develop and become more common places amongst our sector providing new, progressive tools to help us communicate our designs to the end-user.
It means a great deal to be recognised by a professional industry body. There are a lot of different types of ‘interior designers’ out there and I feel it can be a job title that can be thrown around quite a lot. To be a SBID Accredited Interior Designer means that our clients can have complete faith in the fact that we are a legitimate, qualified and experienced interior design professional company and that is a badge we are proud to wear.
About Faye Robinson Interiors
Good interior design can transform a space and the way the occupier feels about it, it starts at the beginning and it is worth getting it right. Faye Robinson Interiors start by looking at the space planning and design concept and use our technical know-how to plan the layouts and fit outs. We look at incorporating interior details, review how the interior architecture will work and utilise our extensive knowledge of fabrics, wallpapers and specialist finishes. We start with a design concept, we develop that concept into a scheme and then we turn that scheme into reality.
In the Spring of 2021, amidst the global pandemic, Consult by FD were appointed to support the renovation of a two-storey town house for a growing young family.
This project was our lockdown project baby. We were able to strike up a great rapport with our lovely clients, Ben and Georgie over early morning weekend calls and socially distanced site visits. FUN FACT: Due to covid rules and restrictions, we didn’t meet our, now trusted builders face to face until the project was complete and we were launching into project number two with them across the other side of Town. As we always harp on - through drawings and thorough documentation, our communication was clear and the design intention was executed perfectly even though meetings were distant and group site visits were non existent.
So, I guess we’ll start at the very beginning... A classic Victorian terrace entrance straight into the main living area and without the luxury of a hallway, this growing family had a very understandable gripe with what they were often welcomed with on arriving at home. A young toddler and another on the way meant that there was always an evolving collection of shoes; coats and bags and this was only going to become more apparent with the inevitable pushchair addition. This was one of the first things on our design solution radar and we couldn’t wait to get our teeth stuck in.
We designed and specified full height built in storage with a closed cupboard deep enough to store shoes and the slimline push chair the family were acquiring ahead of their newest arrival. By taking the structure all the way to the ceiling but leaving some full height open shelves, it brought the right balance of partition and openness that was needed for it to not feel misplaced or imposing on what would become the cosy family living room.
The main Living area now had sufficient separation from the entrance and with further zoning throughout the ground floor living area, we were able to distinguish clear spaces for family time socialising and an evolving multipurpose space for the whole family to enjoy. An abundant wall of open shelving and closed storage provided the perfect dual purpose space - displaying a beautiful collection of things that represented the family, whilst generous wall to wall cupboard space allowed for accumulated items to be placed behind closed doors and as the younger members of the family grow, there is space for their things too. Having the option to tidy things away and close the door proved to be another storage hit for this growing family.
When we first spoke with Ben and Georgie about how they used this space, they had told us that originally the sofa was on the other half of the room whilst the window side was more of a play area for their little one. They were not really using the full length of the room due to inadequate seating and feeling like there wasn’t any real purpose to the other half of the room. Quite quickly we were able to identify their personal challenge with the living space and decided we needed to create clear purpose for the two spaces. Whilst the window side would be the relaxed, more evening social space the other side of the room - where the storage for the kid’s items would be going - would become the multipurpose play area and an extension of the other half of the room when needed. Bringing the play area closer to the kitchen, they would be able to get on with tasks in the kitchen or even enjoy a meal for two whilst being in earshot of their little one playing.
To differentiate the spaces within the living area we added another modern architectural feature in the form of an extruded fireplace surround so that there was a nice shelf that could house more personal treasures; the tv sound bar and also framing the wall mounted Art TV so it wasn’t just floating on a mass of white wall. This worked a treat and our builders did an amazing job seamlessly adding in this feature by following the skirting all the way around the new fireplace.
Now there are two very distinct areas for the family to enjoy for different settings and needs as the household dynamic evolves. We did not and had no intention of touching the original shutters - they were already so beautiful and we are not designers that change things for the sake of change-sake. Ben and Georgie really loved how this half of the room now felt much more purposeful and intentional and the shutters as they were, now had a new lease of life.
About Consult by FD
Our studio provides detailed and unique design solutions for a range of different project types, offering a flexible list of services to take your individual projects from concept to completion. We champion style, sustainability and comfort with a collaborative approach that responds to your brief, taste and personality, making sure we design the best spaces for you.
To mark the second chapter of the “Re-enchanting Villa Medici” project, the historic rooms of the French Academy in Rome have been re-imagined and rearranged by the French-Iranian designer India Mahdavi.
Frequented by popes, princes, poets and artists, Villa Medici dominates the capital from the Pincio Hill with the austere elegance of its fortress-like façade.
Embracing the requirements of modernity, the rebirth of Villa Medici highlights all of its surrounding beauty and history, in the name of continuity with a glorious past.
India Mahdavi plays with geometric forms and bright colours, which give a sense of intimate warmth to the rooms while mingling in a triumph of styles and surprising colour combinations.
Dedar fabrics contribute to renewing the spirit of the rooms, where elements with a contemporary flair dialogue with the villa's heritage.
Discovered in the archives of Mobilier national, the sofas designed by Jean-Albert Lesage in the Lili Boulanger salon are adorned by Tabularasa cotton satin in the shade of Giallo bombo.
Dedar has also contributed to the development of the print defined by an octagonal decorative motif, used on the four-poster bed in the Galileo Room.
About Dedar
Founded in 1976, Dedar is a family-run fabric house located close to Como, in the heart of a manufacturing district. Dedar experiments and innovates to attain product perfection through an ongoing dialogue with those craftsmen and textile specialists who are most familiar with the techniques employed in the production of excellent fabrics. Characterized by seductive colour palettes and unexpected patterns, Dedar’s fabrics combine precious yarns with research into fiber technology to offer various solutions for curtains, upholstery and wallcovering of timeless elegance.
Claire Totman, Director at Claire Totman Designs Ltd has given her insights into the industry.
Interior design and architecture have been my passion for as long as I can remember. My mum said I was born drawing! From a young age design was a huge passion of mine, my only passion. I was always very creative rather than academic and my mum and I would spend our weekends visiting local show homes, furniture shops and trade shows. I collected hundreds of interiors magazines and I had a beautiful wooden dolls house that I spent hours re-arranging and re-decorating the little rooms. All my pocket money was spent on my dolls house. It was my pride and joy. When I finished school, I knew I wanted to study Interior Architecture at university, which I did at Oxford Brookes. My professional career started in 2009 and I worked my way up the ladder working for various design firms in London before starting up my own practice in 2016.
The aspect I enjoy the most of my profession is seeing our projects complete and how happy our clients are. Each project is years in the making, at least two by time we get to project handover. There is a huge amount of work that goes into every single project. The architectural side, the interior design side and the project coordination side. The late nights, the endless emails, it’s all worth it when you see the finished article. Knowing we have created a beautiful home for our clients to enjoy and create memories in is a wonderful feeling. It’s an honour to work with our clients on such an intimate part of their life, their home.
The most memorable career highlight from the past year has been appearing in four very well known interiors magazines and being nominated for three international design and architecture awards.
My favourite type of project to work on are period properties. You just cannot beat those high ceilings and original features. I live in an Edwardian property myself and I just love the character and scale period properties offer. So many have had their original features removed over the years so it’s very exciting to bring a property back to its former glory, yet fit for 21st century living.
I would say the most challenging aspects of working in this industry is dealing with difficult trades and delays from suppliers as this can have such a knock on effect on the whole project programme.
I wouldn’t say there’s anything I wish I knew before working in this field as this has always been my goal and there is no other industry I’ve wanted to be in since a child but if I had to say something I’d say the sheer amount of admin. A lot of people think interior design is a very glamorous job, but 80% of it is sitting at your computer designing and managing the sheer amount of admin per project.
My number one tip to an aspiring designer is go for it. Work hard, work late, work for free if you have to, to get a foot in the door and start building your portfolio. It’s a very competitive industry and you need to stand out from your competition. Start at the bottom and work your way up. Hard work will always pay off if your mind is set on achieving your goal.
I have seen a huge shift in online design. This is E-design and remote services. I would say most established design practices now offer this as an option. It means you can work with clients that a more further a-field and allows clients to work with a designer that they couldn’t necessarily afford if an e-design wasn’t an option.
Being an SBID accredited Interior Designer is a huge honour. It gives our clients, both existing and future, the reassurance that they are working with an accredited designer that is part of the UK’s leading industry bodies. It also means we are always up to date with current industry standards and innovations as well as the huge amount of training that we undertake to keep our membership.
About Claire Totman Designs Ltd
Established in 2016, Claire Totman Designs is an award winning Architecture and Interior Design studio specialising in high-end design for private residential clients ranging from design focussed extensions, major renovations and new build homes. Claire Totman Designs offers a range of different services from architectural design and planning permissions to interior fit out and project coordination.
Albion Gate is an interior-architectural project that Supremati designed for a developer in central London, Hyde Park.
The property is set in a lavish, historical art-deco building and consists of two-bedrooms, both with their own en-suites. Most of the furniture and artwork was already the client’s, so Supremati was responsible for designing the joinery, such as the doors, and all of the finishes. The studio was also responsible for the design management of the property and the entire space has been co-ordinated under Magda’s creative direction.
The completed project exudes luxury, while simultaneously being comfortable and spacious. Inspiration was taken from the art-deco building itself; the bespoke details are taken from that time period and are thoroughly checked to be held to the highest standard. Meanwhile, the colour palette of green undertones is inspired by the property’s location, Hyde Park. This creates a nice balance between the minimalism and luxury of the interior.
About Supremati
Supremati is an interior design studio dedicated exclusively to transforming living spaces into luxury, bespoke homes. Drawing on insider knowledge of the property market with an international sensibility for art & interiors, Supremati transforms complex spaces into functional luxury homes.
The magnificent Grade II listed Georgian Cuckney House on the Welbeck Estate, one of the UK's largest and historically important country estates, has been given a complete interior makeover by Rachel McLane Ltd as part of a substantial renovation project.
Yorkshire-based Rachel McLane Ltd, one of the country's leading interior designers, formed part of the team that has just completed the two-year project to convert the vacant Cuckney House into luxury 15-bedroom holiday and event accommodation.
The 15,000-acre Welbeck Estate on the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire border near Sherwood Forest has a history that can be traced back nearly 900 years and is run by The Welbeck Estates Company.
The early Georgian Cuckney House was purchased by the 4th Duke of Portland in 1844 and was once home to the 6th Duke and Duchess of Portland while repairs were carried out to Welbeck Abbey in 1901 and was used as a set for the feature film Testament of Youth, Vera Brittain's coming-of-age story during World War I.
As a prominent historical House on the Estate, it has been thoroughly but sensitively transformed during the substantial renovation project to provide a single high-spec property for extended holiday and event-related stays.
Its 15 bedrooms include family suites and a bridal suite, allowing the House to sleep more than 30 people, and it has three reception rooms, including a 28-seat dining room and a 40-seat function room. There is a large, well-appointed kitchen, games room, snug, butler's pantry, and outside there is a large terrace with two BBQs and a wood-fired pizza oven, a walled kitchen garden and a tennis court.
The transformation of Cuckney House is part of the long-term Welbeck Project to re-purpose and breathe new life into the Estate's collection of historic buildings.
"Welbeck Estate already owns eight self-catered holiday cottages but wanted to develop Cuckney House to accommodate guests of the Hazel Gap Wedding venue, which is based on the estate, and for longer extended family stays, including big birthday celebrations, small wedding receptions, self-catering holidays and corporate events," said Rachel, who started work there in the pre-Covid winter of 2019 with initial meetings.
"The entire project was managed by the Welbeck Estate, which made it run like clockwork as the Estate has incredibly skilled teams across different departments. The Estates team clearly care very much about their work, and it was a real privilege to work with them on this project which went from concept stage through to building completion."
Working closely alongside the Estate team, Rachel McLane Ltd was part of the design team that helped see through internal and external structural design changes that included a reconfiguration of the walls on the first and second floors, complete re-roofing, insulation throughout, refurbishment of all flooring, including reinstated parquet flooring, and the raising of the ceiling height in the top floor rooms, as well as electrical drawings, lighting designs, colour scheme and fabrics.
"We were able to respect Cuckney House's listed status while giving each room its own identity and personality, reflecting the original use of the building as a Manor House. The design intent was to make Cuckney House feel like it had evolved rather than an overly designed modern interior. The overall look is eclectic and traditional, with a contemporary twist suited to today's living expectations," added Rachel, who headed up her own team of specialists, all of whom have worked on Cuckney House at some point in the project, including three procurers, five designers and finance manager.
The interior design also features a new art collection that the Rachel McLane team procured to make it look like the collection had evolved.
"We worked with the Estate's collections team on scans of artwork from the collections and also with a commercial art gallery, mixing traditional and contemporary artwork on the walls and around the rooms."
An added feel of the area's landscape also comes from the work of Kyra Cane, a ceramic artist who rents a studio from the Welbeck Estate and whose work is on display in the House.
The restoration of Cuckney House has also been emphatically sustainable with the provision of electric car charging points, renewable energy heat sources, and solar panels. In place of energy-consuming kettles in each room, each floor was designed with a communal coffee and tea pod.
Nigel Porter, Property & Rural Estates Director, said, "For me, the interior design and the quality of the craftsmanship stand out. But of course, it is the backdrop of the Welbeck Estate and all that it offers here on the Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire border that adds that magical quality and sets it apart."
Rachel McLane Ltd has won and been a finalist in numerous awards, including the Northern Design Awards Best Hotel Interior Design 2020, for their interior design work on the Bike & Boot Hotel in Scarborough.
About Rachel McLane Limited
Rachel McLane Ltd offers a full design service that interprets a client’s brief and delivers their project on time, on budget, and as envisaged. Every client and every project is different, so how we get there is entirely up to the client. Not every project requires internal spaces reconfiguring; not every client has an architect or project manager. However, as a general rule, their project process offers: Feasibility Study – narrowing down your options; Concept Design – sketched visuals of how your space might look; Design Detailing – producing drawings & plans for trades; Purchasing – new, bespoke or repurposed; Fit-Out.
A coveted statement space and inner sanctum, the dressing room has become an essential element of any high-end interior.
It’s a place to pull together the perfect outfit, whether you’re heading to training, to drinks, or to the airport. Thoughtful design and premium materials mean you can keep suits, shirts and shoes in immaculate condition while securing valuables like watches, jewellery and cufflinks in custom-built safes.
But this most intimate of rooms is no longer restricted to sartorial pursuits, as a growing demand for his-and-hers dressing rooms indicates. This newly shared space is now being designed for comfort and pleasure as well as practicality – many dressing rooms incorporate seating, entertainment and even a dry bar or coffee machine. Add the latest tech-enhanced features like heated drawers and sub-zero drinks stations, and you’ll soon have yourself a space you’ll never want to leave.
We caught up with Oliver Deadman, Head of Design at Clive Christian Furniture, to discuss designing your first dressing room and wardrobe, trends he’s seeing in the space and what can be expected from brand’s upcoming London Townhouse launch:
“It’s all about comfort in the dressing room: integrated seating, dry bars, entertainment systems, is also something we’re seeing of late. These spaces are being designed to spend time in, and they are evolving into entertaining spaces – much as we saw the kitchen evolve all those years ago.” - Oliver Deadman, Head of Design.
Speaking historically, the best timber to use for clothes storage is cedar, particularly cedar of Lebanon, which has fantastic antifungal and pesticide qualities. This means you can safely store your winter cashmere without the threat of moths. We have recently produced a lined subterrain clothes store for a London client, which was lined in cedar of Lebanon. A particularly nice project, this was a prized gem for the gentleman owner who is a very proud Lebanese patriot. The raw material cannot legally be cut down, which makes it very precious – the tree must fall naturally.
Design wise, what’s the first step?
Understand usage. As with all our client work, dressing spaces are extremely personal. How do you want to use it? Who do you want to be in the space with? At what times of day? All these factors hugely affect the flow and specification.
Collectors – whether sunglasses, hats, watches, shoes, or handbags –a huge number of our clients are collectors and we’re integrating more ways of displaying, protecting, and preserving their finds. Whether it be designing moveable shelves that can change and stagger in height depending on the size of an item or low-iron presentation glass. We are serially integrating custom-built safes.
Comfort in the dressing room: integrated seating, dry bars, entertainment systems, is also something we’re seeing of late. These spaces are being designed to spend time in, and they are evolving into entertaining spaces – much as we saw the kitchen evolve all those years ago.
We have seen an influx in dedicated decorative security. A fine example of this is the Buben & Zörweg safe which is to feature in the new Clive Christian Furniture Townhouse, housing watch winders, jewel pads and currency drawers all behind the finest quilted leather and German steel. In LA we recently specified a safe product, which lives discreetly behind a push-to-open, mechanically operated full-length mirror. On a smaller scale we have a fast-drop integrated drawer safe, which allows clients to drop keys, daily jewellery, wallets, passports, etc. – operated by fingerprint recognition.
Appliances are becoming more present as spaces become more entertainment-led. We’re integrating beverage centres (Sub-Zero), Kaelo bottle systems within islands and even warming drawers used to preheat your linens and bathrobes.
As with most modern approaches to room layout, functional aspects are neatly hidden to preserve clean-cut decorative outer linework. Drawer separation, cable management for beauty appliances, pullout/up/down storage (for increased accessibility) – even dual-sided cabinets. Interior options are about balance, increasing functionality and workflow – without detracting from the desired aesthetic.
The room plays a trick on the eye – a large central opening appears to cast a reflection of the cabinetry from left to right. Each space (hers and his in this instance) features a fitted tall run of metro deco inlay furniture with a central dressing island. Hers is frosted maple, while his is black walnut to create a fantastic yin yang effect. Hers concentrates on decorative storage for shoes, bags and long flowing garments (through fluted glass), while his has a beautiful central feature of the Buben & Zörweg leather-appointed safe.
“Appliances are becoming more present as spaces become more entertainment-led. We’re integrating beverage centres (Sub-Zero), Kaelo bottle systems within islands and even warming drawers used to preheat your linens and bathrobes.” - Oliver Deadman, Head of Design
The dressing room lends itself very well to personalisation. This is ever present in the fashion industry – we naturally adopt terminology like ‘tailored pieces’, ‘bespoke design’, ‘client monogram’ – we could quite easily be discussing a suit, when in reality it is about the space it is housed within. Why wouldn’t you want to adopt the same character and level of detail? A previous conversation I had when discussing a client brief likened the cabinetry in question to a Paul Smith suit: business on the outside, party on the inside! Cabinetry can be customised with bold leather, exotic veneers and glass work to pack a discreet statement.
I think the integration of creature comforts within the space is fantastic, bringing the feel of a hotel stay to the everyday. A dry bar for the evenings, coffee facilities for the mornings, all set just off an adjoining wet room – with soft music and a comfy chair arrangement… blissful.
About Clive Christian Furniture
Clive Christian Furniture Co. collaborates with discerning clients keen to create the world’s finest spaces. It’s about elevating the everyday to make the places you live, work or entertain feel truly exceptional. By combining creativity, innovation and the very best of British artisan skill, they help you craft an environment as unique as you are.
Emily Parry, Interior Designer at CMS Group has given her insights into the industry. With 16 years’ experience as an interior designer, Emily has worked on a wide range of projects including home interior redesign, healthcare design, interior design for education, and styling for show homes. Particular highlights have been the £500k re-design of a Malverns country manor and complete project management and design of an 18th Century chapel conversion. A talented designer with an artistic eye and great attention to detail, Emily has the creativity to find unique solutions to client briefs and is committed to ensuring smooth progress from start to finish. Emily now specialises in designing and sourcing for residential clients.
My Dad was a furniture designer, Mum a soft furnishings designer and one of my brothers an architect, so a career within the design industry was almost inevitable. I grew up surrounded by fabric samples and paints, watching my Dad work in his workshop, attending showrooms and trade shows, and helping Mum cut fabrics for curtains. I spent school holidays in Dad’s furniture factory (now one of the UK’s leading upholsterers) – as a child roaming around and chatting with the upholsterers (mostly causing mischief) and as a teen watching and learning the design process from concept through to completion.
Whilst completing my A-Levels in Art & Design I worked alongside Mum for a period which gave me more experience in interiors. As a soft furnishings professional, her work was centred around upholstery, curtain making and styling and I would often help her to hang her beautiful curtains and add the finishing touches to a scheme. I took on my first paid project at the age of 17, completing a show home for a high-end development of apartments in Sutton Coldfield – I loved every second of the design process and knew this was the career for me.
Above all, I love the staging side of design, being creative and making things look beautiful. I’m a bit of a maximalist with a love for having lots of things around that look visually aesthetic. I really enjoy working with textures, textiles, patterns and colours, and have a keen eye and love for fabrics which is definitely influenced by my Mum.
Another part of the profession I enjoy is, of course, meeting people! I love to chat to clients, work out what they like and don’t like, and understand their vision. With every client and space being different, some projects take me out of my comfort zone, but this is something I love about my work. For instance, working with a client who’s looking for something minimalist is not what I might go for myself, but what a wonderful opportunity for learning, innovating, and broadening my design portfolio. Every project offers its own unique challenge!
The most rewarding thing I’ve worked on recently was a manor house in the Malvern Hills. I completed the interiors for a handful of rooms within the main house and post-completion the owner decided they were going to convert a barn into an annex. I oversaw the whole whole project, converting the barn into a modern country cottage and whilst it took me out of my comfort zone in terms of style it provided the perfect opportunity to merge my creativity together with the client’s vision to create something truly wonderful. We were both thrilled with the result, and it is one of my favourite projects of all time.
I love working on residential projects the most, where you have a brief and end up producing something completely different to what you first imagined. My favourite projects are not necessarily high-end residential. I really enjoy designing where there’s a conservative budget and you have to supply items and furnishings in creative ways and make them look beautiful. You can find some real treasures in places like Etsy, eBay, and Facebook Marketplace!
I’ve also loved working on some projects at schools. I recently designed a school library, which was a thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding process. It’s nice to do something that you know is improving children’s educational experience and surroundings and will be enjoyed by many for many years to come.
Since working as an interior designer within an Architects practice the most challenging aspect has been getting to grips with the specialist CAD side of design. As someone who was trained in, and enjoys, drawing freehand I really enjoy getting out my drawing board and rainbow assortment of pens and paints, transitioning into working digitally has been a journey!
As a designer I believe it is really important to see schemes in the flesh, see the colours and feel the textures, and whilst I don’t believe it is the end of the ‘mood board’, working digitally is becoming much more relevant in the world of interiors. There are however so many benefits to working with CAD including higher degrees of accuracy, reduced timescales and easier channels of distribution, to name but a few.
I was incredibly fortunate as I had an insight as to what it was like to work in this industry long before I began my career, as I grew up surrounded by it. I entered the world of design with my eyes very wide open.
Growing up with parents always out and about, I saw first-hand that being self-employed can mean working long hours, often meeting with clients in the evenings and at weekends. Though whilst this didn’t come as a surprise, I still had to develop my ability to be malleable and able to work around other people’s availability and schedules.
My top tip would be to be adaptable to your clients. Sometimes a client won’t want a little piece of you – they’ll want you to deliver a little piece of them into the scheme. So having the ability to listen to them, understand their vision, and adapt your design approach to fit the brief is essential.
I think there’s going to be a lot more environmentally friendly design and biophilic design. Largely stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re seeing a renewed desire across populations to improve their health and wellbeing at home, work and leisure which interior design can contribute to in many ways. We are also seeing much more ‘flexible living’ incorporated within design; people are working from home more often and are generally spending more time within the home environment and we are seeing a rise in multi-generational living. These changes within our social world reflect on the world of design and we are seeing more and more products related to this such as eco-friendly and low carbon footprint lighting and suites to multi-functional storage solutions.
People are becoming increasingly conscious of the environment, upcycling, reusing, and making more sustainable in all areas of their lives. Second hand selling websites such as eBay and Vinted are soaring, and the interior design industry has great potential to evolve in line with these developments.
I’m really proud to have become an SBID Accredited Interior Designer. Although I have years of experience and a wealth of knowledge, I have spent many years being a mother to my three children and it has been great to finally return to my career and my passion.
About CMS Group: Emily Parry
With a long background in the design industry Emily Parry has an exceptionally diverse portfolio of work from her previous roles, both as a freelance and employed interior designer. These have included complete home interior redesign, specialist healthcare design, Interior design for Education and styling for show homes. With a history in kitchen & bathroom design and hailing from a family of renowned furniture designers, and having more recently diversified her experience as a project manager, she currently specialises in designing and sourcing for residential clients, regardless of the size or complexity of the project.
Following the success of the award-winning Armstrong kitchen collection, the British brassware and sanitaryware manufacturer Perrin & Rowe has taken this design DNA into the bathroom. Combining an industrial aesthetic with a designer’s eye for balance and proportion, Armstrong offers a luxurious take on a pared-back design trend, with distinctive knurled handles and raised levers paying homage to our industrial past.
Perrin & Rowe’s foundry in Wolverhampton is just a short walk from the former site of the Stafford Road Railway Works. From 1858, it produced over 800 steam engines for the Great Western Railway. Most were designed by two brothers, Joseph and George Armstrong. Intended as durable workhorses, their locomotives still stir the emotions today. Perrin & Rowe’s Armstrong bathroom collection has been inspired by these brothers, transforming the purely functional into a model of timeless elegance.
Beautifully proportioned with restrained detailing, the Armstrong bathroom collection is one of the most comprehensive ranges Perrin & Rowe has ever launched. For basins, there is a single lever mixer and a dual lever mixer, both available as wall-mounted or deck-mounted. There is a complete Shower Set with hand-shower and overhead rose. Accessories include robe hooks, a paper holder, a towel bar or towel ring, and a matching built-in soap dispenser for a cohesive design. The standout piece is perhaps the freestanding bath-shower mixer. It takes 4-5 hours of skilled polishing to bring this glorious bathroom centrepiece to final perfection.
As with all Perrin & Rowe brassware, the collection is designed by the in-house design team at Rainham in East London. Tap bodies are forged at the Perrin & Rowe foundry in the Black Country using the highest quality brass, poured by hand at 1700° Fahrenheit into moulds. After machining, specialist polishers develop the deep, lustrous finish. It’s a time-consuming and painstaking task.
Armstrong can be specified in Chrome, Nickel or Pewter or a choice of special finishes; 24-carat Gold, Polished Brass, Satin Brass, and English Bronze. Perrin & Rowe’s two brass finishes are unlacquered, so will develop a unique patina over time, enhancing the beauty of the surface. For a true industrial look, English Bronze offers a darker metallic finish that brings out the detail of the knurled handles.
In discussions at House of Rohl’s London showroom, interior designers expressed a strong interest in a range of luxury bathroom brassware with an industrial edge. The Armstrong bathroom collection has been created to match this demand. Previewed earlier this at ISH in Frankfurt and Design Week in London, the initial reaction to the bathroom collection was as positive as it had been for the kitchen collection, some 2½ years earlier. It has already been shortlisted for an international design award by the Society of British & International Interior Designers (SBID). Armstrong is now available in the UK and most EMEAA markets.
About Perrin & Rowe
The World's finest range of bathroom and kitchen fittings. Perrin & Rowe is a British-based brassware and sanitaryware manufacturer with an unrivaled reputation internationally – bringing together traditional craftsmanship and manufacturing methods with precision engineering. Perrin & Rowe is a distinctive member of the House of Rohl.
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