Trust house forte

General manager Beth Dawson identified a property which had been the home of the head gardener, a position of importance on an estate of 3,800 acres.

The Edwardian house was quite substantial by modern standards with wonderful room proportions. However, after years as a rental home, we were faced with woodchip, a lot of gloss, fitted cupboards and few original features.

The concept for Barkers Restaurant was that a guest should “think that they are entering a comforting and inviting home, rather than a commercial restaurant”. We decided the best way to achieve this was to create a modern, classic ambience; a property with a sense of age, but not tied to a specific date.

The overall feel that we settled on was of a prosperous home developed over a period between 1880 and 1930. We developed a design that fitted with the modern consumers’ expectations of a house of this size.

A combination of skilled National Trust staff and specialist contractors stripped the property back to basics. We then began re-creating coving and ceiling roses, skirting and removing fitted cupboards.

A new staircase balustrade was designed using pitch pine spindles with a mahogany handrail, in keeping with the period style features. Electrics were re-specified, window and door hardware sourced and doors re-hung to open against the wall, rather than into the room. This is a convention we adopt in most renovations as it opens up the usable area in any room. The original method of hanging was to provide “modesty time” for personal composure before a servant entered.

The colour palates were designed to heighten a sense of theatre in the dining salons and provide stimulating, but more contemplative areas in the three multi-purpose upstairs rooms. We wanted to make each room feel individual so that regular visitors could choose the ambience they most preferred.

The designs were largely created with products from Zoffany, Little Greene, Andrew Martin, Osborne & Little and Designers Guild. Many of the wall-coverings and fabrics are from very contemporary collections featuring large prints that lend themselves to rooms of these dimensions.

The Pomegranate Room was intended to feel Arts & Crafts in period and features with Maharani wallpaper (Osborne and Little). The curtains and pelmets are from their Marquisette Travera trimmed with Lounge Metal Braid (Wemyss Houles). The chair backs are Brook Street Fig (Zoffany).

The Silver Salon has a more deco feeling to it and is papered in Mosaic Dapple (Zoffany). The sleek window treatments feature the ultra-modern Bakst Noir (Designers Guild). This contrasts beautifully with the Mazarin Check (Nina Campbell) which was used for the chair backs – the colour choice being inspired by the tiles in the original fireplace.

The oversized paisley featured in the Board Room is Kashmir Blue (Zoffany) which we teamed with their Oakham Duck Egg fabric for the chair backs. The eyelet velvet curtains in Ritz Teal (Romo Fabrics) are designed to be unfussy in this more intimate space.

I used probably my favourite fabric in one of the larger upstairs rooms to provide a splash of colour against the opalescent Quartz wallpaper (Osborne & Little). The embroidery of Radjada (Lorca) is magnificent and was used as a focal point to match hand tapestries. The trick with using an expensive fabric on a large expanse such as these windows is to make dress curtains that appear full, but which never have to be drawn.

The voiles throughout the property were made from Braye (Osborne & Little) a linen sheer with subtle silver flex; perfect for creating shade from the sun or evening intimacy.

The hall and landing walls were covered in Brocatello (Zoffany) with blinds in Citrus & Cherry Tamika Silks (Harlequin) dressed with Balmoral Hanger Fringe (Barnet Trimmings) – inspired by an old military sash and epaulette.

The dining chairs were especially commissioned to provide maximum comfort. The downstairs salon chairs embrace the diner; while the neatly stacking meeting chairs aim to look like an attractive dining chair. In each room we used a feature fabric on the chair-back coupled with a less expensive, hard-wearing velvet on the front which helps both cost and longevity.

The property was then dressed with antiques sourced throughout the UK, again with an eye to making Barkers appear to be a home holding a family’s collected pieces, rather than a themed museum. Refurbished antique European chandeliers added a further element of occasion.

Hidden gems and surprises have been doted throughout the house (such as a complete set of Dickens novels). We sincerely hope the washrooms which feature products by Andrew Martin, the Royal Collection and Nina Campbell (with London style sanitary-ware) will become a secret delight for visitors.

Jamie Hempsall, BIID is an award-winning interior designer. Visit him at www.jamiehempsall.com or call 0800 032 1180.