Homesmiths Blog

A showhome in the making

2012-03-01T13:40:20Z

When it comes to show home design there are two questions which I am regularly asked; “What happens to the furniture when the show home is closed?” and “Do you decide the colours or are they given to you?” Well the answer to the first question is that most developers re-use the furniture for other developments, often selling the soft furnishings with the show home. As far as the choice of colour palate is concerned, whilst my client will have to approve it, the ideas come from me.

Take Mill Brook Place for instance, a well designed Barratts development in East Grinstead. I will consider the target market and this will to a certain extent determine the look and feel, but I will also draw on the history of the area and where possible weave this into the design. Mill Brook Place has been built on the site of the old Dunnings Mill so without being too clichéd about it I wanted the scheme to relate to this. The scheme we used was turquoise and soft greys and in the sales office the incorporation of a Dreamwall provided a visual reference to the stone of the wall – a lot more subtle than millstone accessories!

Here are some of the mood boards I presented to Barratts:

The top left scheme is the guest bedroom, kitchen diner top right with a stunning Thibaut silver/cork wallpaper – yes, cork can look fabulous! Bottom left is the master bedroom scheme with the sitting room on the right. I had decided that bedroom 3 should be dressed as a teenage boy’s bedroom so commissioned local Lindfield artist Leesa Le May to paint a mural on the far wall.

Once all the furniture and finishes are agreed and signed off by the client we embark on the ordering. We use a number of trade suppliers but there are still some items where, accessories are concerned, I like to get in my car and go and shop for. Shopping with an inbuilt filter is something I have got pretty good at – scanning a shop with a certain colour and style in my head, editing out what I don’t want. It makes the process pretty efficient and is something that I extend to clothes shopping which pleases my husband no end as I don’t hang about! I can get rather obsessed with my chosen accent colour though and I start to notice it everywhere. On a trip to Lewes to see friend and fellow designer Ana Aguilar-Corney and at the time fully immersed in Mill Brook Place, Ana got roped into a shopping-for-food-by-colour trip. Ana witnessed firsthand my child like excitement at finding crisps IN TURQUOISE PACKAGING. I could have kissed the packaging designers at Waitrose too when I found that all their stir fry ingredients worked perfectly with the kitchen scheme. Small things ;)

So the finished show home?

The rebirth of Gresham House

2011-12-06T12:05:52Z

The brief for our latest care home refurbishment project was to transform a dark rather labyrinthine building into a welcoming residential home for adults with learning disabilities. Working with an excellent architect, Andy Younger, the building has been transformed and the client is delighted.

One of the first things I noticed about the property was its leafy setting so I was keen to bring this colour into the interior. Mixing olive green with a palate of neutrals and soft greys kept it contemporary, sympathetic to the building’s surroundings and most importantly calming and peaceful for the client group.

We worked closely with the client throughout the project. Our role was to design, supply and install from kitchen units to plates, light fittings to bedding. The building had been used before as a care home and the client had cited some main areas he wished to address through the refurb; the existing cramped sitting room; the dark dungeon like kitchen and the vortex nature of the corridors.

The sitting room at various stages of the project.

By removing the wall between what was the original sitting room and a bedroom, a larger space was created which we zoned for TV watching and a games area. The back door seen here in the distance was converted to a window and large bi-fold doors fitted on the left hand wall on to the garden. Note the ironing board in the “during” shot. The client asked us to install one of the bedrooms early on in the build programme by way of a show room. Since the only working socket was in the sitting room amongst wood shavings and rolls of carpet…..and the bedding was creased, I was forced into what the builders called, “extreme ironing”.

The kitchen, previously lacking in natural light and poorly ventilated is has been transformed with Velux windows and new cabinets and work top with accents of green.

The architect moved the main staircase from the front of the building to the middle, opening up the entrance lobby yet the main corridor into the ground floor needed to stay. By creating a seating area half way along the corridor and fitting directional down lighters at strategically placed art, the corridor effect is reduced.

We used bespoke fabrics from Elanbach for the bedrooms. We had three different patterns used across the 9 bedrooms, all using Elanbach designs but printed in our bespoke green to coordinate with the rest of the soft furnishings.

And on the subject of soft furnishings, a big shout out to the super efficient and oh so easy to work with, Robena Contracts who made and fitted all the soft furnishings.

The end result? Well the client is thrilled and the home manager who worked at this site when it was previously a care home, cannot believe that it is the same place!

A day in the life of a show home part 4

2011-05-26T17:11:57Z

So we’re done – final flourish completed. Take a peek..... Oh and a special thank you to local artist Leesa Le May who we commissioned for all the artwork. Great to have some originals in a show home!

A day in the life of a show home part 3

2011-05-09T18:14:29Z

Today was great – so much achieved on site. All four bedrooms are all but done. Dressing is the fun bit and finding the right finishing touches is something I really enjoy even down to the books and magazines in the right colour scheme. I thought it was really helpful of Harpers Bazaar to publish the May edition of their magazine in the master bedroom colour scheme!

David put the beds together in the “boys’ room” and the blinds went in today throughout.

Kath stood at the ironing board all day today tirelessly pressing bed linen and all the accessories have been unpacked and placed in their destination rooms though not necessarily their final locations!

A day in the life of a show home part 2

2011-05-06T17:28:16Z

So today was our first day on site. Doughnuts all round for team HomeSmiths and the wardrobe fitters. First wave of furniture arrived, then bespoke football beds and the doubles for the other three bedrooms. Great to see it all coming together. More furniture arriving tomorrow. The Master bedroom is taking shape nicely.

A day in the life of a show home part 1

2011-05-05T13:08:40Z

I love show home work, it appeals to my detail streak. It’s a blank canvas too so as long as the client is happy with the scheme, we have free reign to use some fabulous fabrics and wallpapers and add some more theatrical flourishes. For this project we have been working with local artist Leesa Lemay. Leesa has produced art for the scheme and some fabulous wall art for the “teenage girl’s room” and the “boys’ football room”.

Poles and tracks are up and light fittings go in today. Furniture arrives on site tomorrow and team HomeSmiths will be in early to deliver boxes of carefully selected and long shopped for accessories. Handover planned for next week. We have a lot to do!

A kitchen is reborn

2011-04-15T07:14:28Z

Now here is a project that we particularly enjoyed. Our brief was to transform a galley kitchen, dining room and conservatory into an open plan kitchen diner and in doing so make the most of the gorgeous Sussex views at the rear of the property. Our clients have two daughters under ten, a gorgeous dog and love to entertain so the original layout shown here was less than ideal.

Before view from the dining room door

Amazing things came from that kitchen, (I speak from experience here) but the chef was always cut off from the fun with very little worktop space and as a family of four they really had long since outgrown the compact dishwasher. The conservatory space was used for kitchen overflow and the client’s impressive chilli collection. You’d never find yourself sitting and relaxing in there however and as a result the stunning view to the fields beyond the garden was wasted.

Before view through the dining room, into the conservatory.

So what did we do? Well we took out the internal walls, devoted the hitherto kitchen and the dining room to the new kitchen and rebuilt the conservatory with large bi-fold doors as the dedicated dining area. The clients love greens and creams so we specified Olivio Verde Arenastone tops, cream cabinets with Dulux Twisted Bamboo on the walls and Dulux Timeless for ceiling and paintwork.

New kitchen from where the dining table used to sit.

The existing dining room ran straight off the sitting room so to keep the kitchen and diner separate we added a door between the newly created space and the sitting room. A new fridge freezer now stands where the old kitchen/dining room door used to be and whoever is at the sink enjoys the wonderful countryside outlook rather than the wall.

View from dining area towards the sitting room.

Our clients are thrilled at the transformation and how well it works for the way they live as a family. They have an abundance of storage space and with daughters who love baking, plenty of worktop space for cake and cookie creation. Now if you look carefully, behind the orchid you will see a bar stool. It’s a great spot – not in the way of the chef but a fantastic vantage point for kitchen, view and conversation. Well that’s my “glass of wine and nibbles spot” when we go round for dinner!

Care to sit?

2011-03-31T08:50:28Z

One of the things I love about care home design is showing a client how the colour palate and furniture style can make all the difference between a stereotypical care home look and something worthy of show home status. Our clients want the high end look, the end user, quite rightly craves a comfortable seat above all else and the whole scheme of course has to be superbly practical.

So, the point of this blog? Well, the chair that we find most challenging to specify is the easy chair; it needs a high back, has to be extremely comfortable, look contemporary and come within budget. The Care Show in Bournemouth is the place to see all that’s new in the contract furniture market for the healthcare sector and I spent a large chunk of my day yesterday road testing chairs. The easy chair was at the top of my shopping list so I was excited to see the high back in the new Jasmine range from Knightsbridge Furniture – incredibly comfortable, shown here in Panaz Alcazar fabric, one of the great new contract fabrics this season.

Jasmine High Back

Shackletons’ Valencia chair is a nod to the wing but with a more contemporary line and covered in a gorgeously textured fabric sets it apart from more traditional models.

Valencia

And yes whilst there is not a hint of high back here, the new Cheam chair from Shackletons really caught my eye – a couple of these upholstered in a fabulous cut velvet in the lobby area of a care home will surely make a great first impression…….and yes, it’s very comfortable!

Cheam

Good relationships are everything in business

2011-01-28T09:35:19Z

Coming back from a great visit with top end bathroom fittings manufacturer, Laufen in Evesham this week I was reflecting on why I enjoyed it so much. Wonderful product unquestionably, picturesque location yes but what really made it for me was the people. Without exception everyone there was open, friendly and authentic. The chaps from Laufen were the ultimate hosts and Tony and Mike from Fonte dei Marmi ensured that everyone got to know each other and got the most from the day. It was so refreshing to share ideas and experiences (good and bad!) with fellow designers. There were no egos in the room, no one trying to score points – quite simply we all just got on and it was great. I would add to this that the other two designers I have met on Twitter share the same collaborative attitude and it’s so healthy. It was great to meet Karen and Nigel from Reed Harris tiles – again, people you really want to do business with. So the point of the blog? Well, it’s simply that dealing with like minded people – clients, associates or suppliers is a joy and makes a job less of a job. The old adage of people buy from people is so true and never more so these days with so much automation. To me, making an effort to get to know people and build relationships in business is so important yet it does seem that listening, giving, thanking are qualities that sometimes seem to get forgotten in the hectic pace of our lives. I get a real buzz from developing rapport with clients, working with suppliers who want to understand our business, connecting people and seeing relationships flourish. Authenticity, collaboration and quite simply, being nice! - it’s the way forward!

A non-clinical approach to care homes

2010-11-04T18:05:19Z

Being given a brief to design the interior of a couple of 9 bed care homes was a great opportunity for us in a new market. Our client wanted to achieve the show home look but with practical, safety conscious finishes and furnishings. So the clear message was out with the pastels and the Queen Anne chairs and in with something refreshingly different. The clients living in the homes are adults with learning issues of varying age and disability. Certain colours needed to be avoided and the individual needs of each resident taken into consideration.

Did we enjoy the work? We loved it - it was a total joy to see the residents happily settled in their new sitting room. The high point for me was when one of them gave me a big smile and asked whether I was the lady with the cushions. I confirmed that I was and he continued to beam and tell me how much he loved his bedroom. I left site that day feeling that we had truly created an environment that made the residents happy, secure and settled and at the end of the day, to me, that's the most important part of what we do.