| |
|
|
Avid City Life readers may be familiar with Andy Bradshaw of Hamptons Home and Garden Design, Penarth where he and partner Peter Knowles run an amazing homeware and furniture emporium, not forgetting the hugely popular Blue Pelican Café.
MAKING A HOUSE A HOME
Not known for blowing his own trumpet, we at City Life are happy to blow it on his behalf as Andy’s skills extend to puppetry, TV, set dressing and journalism. Is there no end to this man’s skills? We caught up with Andy to ask him how his latest project went.
Approaching any new project is daunting for both the designer and the client as there are so many unknowns, in particular whether you are going to get on. This is why at Hamptons we work on a design brief with the client before starting the creative process.
I think that the client, Val, and I hit it off at once. The house was about to undergo some fairly substantial renovations and so it was the perfect time to be radical and change the style. Interpreting the style that the client hopes for is really the art of the designer. Val wanted a cool, serene home where the many rooms flowed into each other, yet each room had a certain ‘wow’ factor introduced through a rug or a cushion or even a lamp. Nearly every room in the house is a different colour, although the subtlety of this is almost imperceptible.
Like many of my clients Val was nervous about introducing colour into the rooms but, with a bit of coaxing, she made a tremendous leap from, as she calls it, her ‘comfort zone’ to something altogether more modern and adventurous. It became a running joke as I would take Val to see a supplier and she would say, “you’re pushing me out of my comfort zone,” but with a bit of persuasion she was convinced.
Of course, interior designers have access to a tremendous source book which enables them to show clients products that they would be unlikely to find themselves - everything from fabrics to light fittings, furniture to picture frames. I guess that from a client’s point of view, having someone to do the leg work and to a degree hold their hands makes the project run a lot smoother.
As with most clients a trip to London is essential. Generally I’ll pop up the week before to do a recce; this makes it so much easier on the day as you focus the client on fewer products. We went to Heals to see a fantastic rug for the sitting room... she loved it! We also visited Bo Concept and the Conran store, as well as B@b Italia. And no shopping trip would be complete without champagne at one of the coolest bars, the Sanderson Hotel.
We bought so much that we struggled to get it all on the train and needed a mini bus at Cardiff Central! The sitting room now has a calm elegance. The new fireplace replaces a rather inappropriate Art Noveau one. The oak floor is a perfect foil for the fabulous textured rug which introduces the deep purple and pink tones. While most of the furniture is new, the two balloon chairs have been recovered in two shades of plum quilted velvet.
The summerhouse was part of the new build and Val wanted this to be the most contemporary of the rooms. The pillowtalk sofa by Conran is perfect for lounging on a Sunday morning with the papers or chilling out with the girls and a couple of bottles of fizz! The ceiling was a huge and dominating feature in the room and called for a real statement; consequently we decided to echo the palm fronds of the Kentia palms and had shadows air brushed onto the plaster. At night the effect is at its best, as the real plants are uplit blurring the real shadows with the fake ones. Quirky additions such as the ball lamp become real conversation pieces.
The media room is a bit of a boy’s den. A big TV needs a big boy’s chair so we opted for a huge love seat as the statement piece and a built in window seat for those who prefer views of the garden than views of the fairway!
The hallway looks original but actually most of it is brand new. The original staircase has been tweaked, re-polished and fitted with new spindles and the beautiful tiled floor from The Ceramic Tile Warehouse, replaced the rather tired and damaged original, even the fireplace has been stripped down and re-polished. The chair was a freebie from an old TV series and was lovingly restored and recovered by Jewels who provided all of the curtains and blinds. Again, having a company like Jewels is of tremendous value to me as I can source samples and present them to the client before taking them to the showroom to discuss the finer details before proceeding further.
It’s these details that finish off the home and we are still tweaking now that Val has her home back - reframing pictures, finding the right colour vase or simply advising on the best way to group family photos is all part of the service. One of the most rewarding things about working with clients like Val is that you both make a tremendous journey, the client ultimately ends up with a wonderful home and the friendship that you develop during the process continues.
We were lucky enough to revisit Val in her newly transformed home for our cover shoot. Seeing her and her friends in the amazing conservatory, sipping champagne, lights a twinkling, you could easily see that Val now has the home of her dreams.
When Val Anderson and her husband returned to Wales in October 2003, after spending time in Italy, they yearned to return to their roots.
The couple loved Penarth as they grew up in the area and as soon as they saw The Old Vicarage, they fell in love with its spaciousness, its wonderful Victorian character and history but, most of all, its potential.
There are those who are blessed with the creative gene and, although Val is suitably blessed in this area, she was keen to enlist the services of an interior designer to ensure that her home realized its true potential. Andy Bradshaw of Hamptons had been recommended to her and, after the first meeting, she knew he was the right person for the job. We met up with Val to learn how the project progressed.
The Old Vicarage has five bedrooms, a gym, a study, a sewing room, four bathrooms, a dining room, media room, lounge, large kitchen, butler’s pantry, utility room and garden room.
Why did you want to change the decor of the property?
Although we’d made some superficial changes when we’d moved in, we always wanted to make better use of the space. We wanted to bring it up to date without stripping the character and to make the house work for us.
Tell us about the project
We started planning with the architect, John Rosser in March 2007 and Town & Counties, our builders, began work in January 2008. As well as restyling the house from top to bottom, we reconfigured the upper floors, changing the top floor to create two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a study and a gym. We also restructured the middle floor, in particular the bathrooms, to make better use of the space. We opened up the reception area and renewed the Victorian tiles there. McBeth Joinery rebuilt the Butler’s Pantry, retaining original features where possible. We replaced all the flooring with suspended oak for better insulation, installed a remote music and wireless internet system throughout the house, and restyled the conservatory into a large, comfortable garden room.
I hear there were trips to London, please tell me more?
Andy knew exactly where to go in London. We visted Heals and the Conran Shop and as a consequence, we took up far more than our fair share of the train carriage with our enormous boxes and packages.
Why did you choose Exclusive Fireplaces for your fires?
I chose Exclusive Fireplaces because they are the stockists for Chesney’s who are one of the top suppliers for traditional fireplaces. Also, their service is excellent.
The Ceramic Tile Warehouse supplied the tiles. Why did you choose this company?
The Ceramic Tile Warehouse has a huge range of tiles and we were able to find exactly what we needed for the bathrooms, the Victorian style flooring in the hall and above the Aga. They were extremely helpful and were always on hand when required.
The fabrics used in the project are gorgeous, why did you choose Jewels to supply these?
I’ve known Julie for several years and I’ve worked with her before. The quality of her work and service is excellent and she has access to a huge choice of fabrics. Julie and her daughter, Hayley, are so easy to get along with and their one-to-one service ensures you get exactly what you want.
What was it like working with Andy from Hamptons?
A laugh a minute! Andy made the project a pleasure, taking away so much of the stress and hard work. I wanted to be bold and pushed out of my comfort zone and Andy gave me the confidence to be ambitious with the project.
He’s also great at sourcing things and bringing everything together. He’s fun, friendly and inspires confidence.
Are you pleased with the end result?
I love it! It’s really modern, but we’ve managed, I think, to retain the original character of the place.
How are you using your home differently now that the changes have been made?
The house works much better now. We’re using the garden room so much more. It has a beautiful view and now it is so light, airy and comfortable we can enjoy it all year round. Chicco and Topsy, the cats, definitely approve!
Have you any further plans for your home?
We’re just looking forward to living in it and enjoying it!
|
|
|
