Why were you chosen for the project ?
Indigo Eight was chosen for this project as we offer a full detail design service and have a particular love for working in beautiful period homes . This service was offered remotely due to the property being in Kent but the owners spending much of their time overseas . Part of our service is project management once the build gets underway and much of the time we acted as the intermediary between the builder and the client .
What was the property development brief / objective ?
The client was looking at a complete refurbishment of their beautiful home but wanted to split it into bite-sized chunks . This part of the project was for three of the ground floor rooms : the living room , drawing room and dining room .
The brief was for a restoration that would move the house from being very dated and dark into a light and elegant series of rooms that flowed perfectly while adding state-of-the-art technology , but remaining sympathetic to the age and period of the building .
The client was also emotionally attached to a lot of inherited furniture which all needed to be incorporated into the final scheme .
How did you begin the redesign and refurbishment process ?
We always like to start with style . We take the client through a series of style boards and use the conversations that develop about what they love and what they dislike to learn about them and their family . These learnings are then built on to create a personalised style board with a specific look and feel , furnishings and a palette of colours and finishes that suit the aesthetic of the project and that the detail design will be based on .
Once we ’ ve nailed down the aesthetics of how we ’ d like the rooms to look and feel we start on the space planning to make sure that each room or area will function in a way that suits everyone that ’ s living there . We like to build each room in 3D software so that it ’ s much easier to visualise what the final rooms will look like and how they will flow from one to another . Each room is then detail designed , which includes the furniture layouts and additional furniture and furnishing suggestions , any bespoke carpentry , the wall finishes , floor finishes , window dressings and lighting as well as power and data layouts .
What was your design / refurbishment timeframe ?
There was around three months of planning time , analysing quotes and choosing tradespeople , suppliers and products before the build started . The build itself took around 14 weeks .
Were there any project pitfalls ?
When working with older properties you can never account for what you might find when a renovation starts . In this particular project , when the old floor coverings were removed it became obvious that many of the boards and joists were completely rotten and the old central heating pipes were corroded and had been leaking for years . We used this opportunity to remove the old defunct heating system and install underfloor heating throughout the rooms before laying a beautiful engineered timber floor over the top . It ’ s always good when you can take a problem and turn it into a positive .
How did you find the balance between an excellent design-led refurb which also kept to budget ?
The key to staying within a budget is to have preplanned as much as possible before the physical build starts . The more information that is within the planning , the more accurate the quotes are when
discussing with builders , electricians , plumbers etc . It is always worth giving enough time and attention to the planning process . When we work on the detail design we build a ‘ Construction Pack ’. This gives all the tradespeople as much information as possible and enables them to give a more considered quote .
If budget is an issue , we always advise clients to focus on the products that are either difficult to change , like floors or kitchens , or are things that you touch every day , like door handles or bannisters . Prioritise these products in the budget . If these items aren ’ t right at the beginning , the project will never feel successful at the end . Items which , although important , like sofas or curtains or soft furnishings , can always be more easily exchanged a couple of years down the road when budget allows .
Where do you start with interior styling for a home that you won ’ t be living in ?
There are two types of interior designers . The first type has a distinct style . When you start working with these designers you embrace their style and your home will reflect their style when it ’ s complete . We work in a different way . We want your home to feel like your home when it ’ s complete ; a reflection of you and filled with things you love . This is why we start off with the style discussion . We take the time to get to know everyone that the home is for and to understand how you want your home to look and feel . We then use our expertise and experience to make everything you love look great in the space you have . We look at it much more as a collaboration . Working with a good interior designer can just make you a little braver when it comes to aesthetics as you know that we have the knowledge and ability to visualise what will work .
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