During half term break I went to the Cotswolds and met with Stroud based Textile Designer, Sarah Burghard.
Sarah Burghard Designs ltd design and produce custom textiles for many applications which can elevate a good interior design scheme to a truly authentic luxurious one. Sarah takes influences from your project or brand to develop highly individual textile patterns in a very personal way. Once you have your design options you can then choose which to implement and how you want to use them.
Boat House Interior Accessories and Scheme by Sarah Burghard Designs ltdSarah Burghard Textile Designer
Gorgeous fabrics from linens to silks can be printed and used for lamps, decorative cushions, throws or upholstery and can meet all the necessary contract standards. Boutique hotel or holiday cottage owners – this is something that will give you the edge and make your interior scheme a memorable talking point of someone’s holiday.
If you are thinking of refurbishing your hotel or holiday home Sarah and I are happy to work together on unique projects to give you an integrated interior design and textile design service.
Solid Oak Internal Doors …are not just for cottages
Contemporary Oak Door from The Heritage Collection
Solid oak internal doors certainly complement a traditional cottage interior. However, as with any product, their ability to make a distinctive contribution to the ambiance of any interior is one of the hallmarks of that quality.Solid Oak Doors are a design classic that have continued to evolve. Contemporary designs, made with the same craftsmanship and attention to detail as traditional designs simply add a new range of style options to the original concept. This just extends the contexts in which they look good. Traditional manufacturing methods married with modern designs have seen an increase in the number of contemporary oak doors available in the market which now allows for quality doors to be installed no matter what style interior you have.
Class is Permanent
Solid oak internal doors offer unrivalled quality. Hand built to order, solid oak doors fashioned by craftsman will last for centuries. The traditional reputation oak wood enjoys is due in no small part to its ability to convey an air of stability and permanence within any interior. Modern designs have added greater tactile elegance and flexibility to these traditional qualities. It is now possible to purchase a solid oak internal door to complement any interior setting
Style and Versatility
Solid oak internal doors often look attractive as they are but al lend themselves to a whole host of finishes. The oak can be stained in a range of oil finishes from clear oak through to dark oak (ebony). This can be a useful way to get oak doors to blend in with other furnishings. Of course, a good paint finish will achieve a similarly good blend. Oak doors can also be extensively customised by adding suitable handles and latches, glazing panels, mouldings and bracings to suit the demands of different interiors.
A Solid Investment
Solid oak internal doors are rarely the cheapest option, but their deserved reputation for durability
and long life means they are a wise long-term purchase. Oak doors can be energy efficient too; a solid wood door is a good insulator and will help stabilise room temperatures all year round whilst also helping to reduce heating bills by keeping warm air exactly where you intend it to stay.
A Thing of Beauty
Heritage Solid Oak Door from The Heritage Collection
Above all, the sheer beauty and character of an oak finish must remain the most appealing feature of solid oak internal doors. Whether it is the timeless & quality appearance of a cottage interior, or the sheen and minimalist finish of a contemporary design, oak has the matchless abil
ity to make that definitive statement of class and character.
This piece was written by Liam Pettinger, writer for The Heritage Collection an online shop specialising in solid oak flooring, doors and stair parts.
Any interior designer will tell you that the colours you choose in your office or business environment can greatly impact the way your visitors and employees will feel about your premises and will create an emotional response whether positive or negative.
One way to do this is through the use of wall murals. A mural can be defined as a piece of artwork that is applied directly to any permanent surface including walls, ceilings, plaster or brick. The work a muralist does can be truly breath taking as often the architectural structure of the building can be incorporated into the work.
Settings For Murals
Murals have been commissioned around the world and in various settings for thousands of years. The early murals were often used as tools for political and social messaging tools and are an important part of bringing art into the public sphere. Modern murals are often commissioned by local governments and businesses. Murals can vary in size and location and can often depict local topics, events or people. However, murals are also popular with retail outlets, hotels and restaurants to add atmosphere to the premises and can be a key part in increasing the appeal of the business to its patrons.
Types Of Work
Different murals will have strengths in different types of mural application. Whether this is through the use of oil paints, acrylics, emulsion or applied by paint brush, aerosol can or airbrush. Work is normally carried out with an initial project brief and consultation with the muralist laying out detailed design of the mural and agreeing a quote before work commences. This design is then usually gridded onto the area directly so as to scale the mural accurately according to the project dimensions or in some cases the mural may projected onto the wall and then traced with pencil. Some artists even prefer a free hand approach where paint is applied directly to the wall without any prior sketching needed.
Trompe L’Oeuil
Trompe L’oeil
Trompe l’oeil when translated from French literally means “deceives the eye”. This art work can create truly stunning pieces which can act as a great focal point to any premises. Trompe L’oeil works by skilfully applying paint to a two dimensional plane to make it look like a three dimensional image. This deception works very well from a distance and it is only closer inspection that the viewer sees the trickery. The kind of work carried out on a Trompe L’oeil piece can be quite realistic and involves a highly skilled technical ability.
Faux Finishes
Faux Finishing has been used for over a millennia. From the earliest cave paintings to modern decorative painting effects, artists have been tricking viewers into believing that their decorative paint finishes are the real thing. Faux Finishing uses paint and glaze which is often applied directly to the wall with a roller, rag, sponge or brush to make to look like a real life texture. This can incorporate many mediums including wood graining, marbling, colour washes, stoneblocking, distressing and guilding. These finishes to do not just have to applied to walls they can also add freshness to furniture and fireplaces too.
Mel Holmes is a muralist and Trompe l’oeil artist who has been commissioned around the world. You can see more of Mel’s Murals at http://www.melholmes.co.uk
Click the picture above to play the YouTube video on my favourite sustainable inteiror design product at the moment. Subscribe to my YouTube channel, like me on facebook at www.facebook.com/SpinriverDesign for more tips and articles and ask any interior design questions free on my page!
(Rufus my Cairn Terrier decided to back out of this video at the eleventh hour so you just get to see his ear in this picture!)
Want to avoid making the costly mistake of taking on a business premises that’s too big for you or buying furniture that doesn’t quite fit into the space you have. Use my space planning services to ascertain exactly what you need, taking the stress out of the process by removing any doubts you may have about spending money on a new building or furniture! After the initial client brief meeting this work can be undertaken easily on recepit of your existing plans.
If you dont have plans we can arrange the survey for you too. We can then guide you through specification of furniture, materials and equipment and put together a full design concept should you need this.
Please give me some feedback, questions or comments on here, talking to a camera just doesn’t seem natural yet! Is there anyone out there!!??
Today’s blogpost is a video post I’ve recorded to introduce my commercial interior design services.
I also provide design support project management of stakeholders; internal parties and external suppliers, trades and other facilities you may use such as energy suppliers. This means you don’t need to spend time chasing them all up and meeting with them!
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