More Space for Books and Artworks!
As specialists in fitted furniture in Sheffield we enjoy transforming our customer's living spaces. Every project is different, and the one below was for a first floor study in a large stone house on Ecclesall Road.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Like many of our customers, they didn't have enough space for all
their books! They also wanted attractive display spaces, and an
integrated desk, to create a room they would enjoy working, reading, and
relaxing in.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
Breaking up bookshelves with larger openings makes the furniture attractive and not just functional. These spaces are like frames for treasured possessions or photos which never previously found a worthy home, showing them off in a dedicated space.
We call this type of project 'display storage'.
DURING:
A large project like this typically goes through a few stages of
design. Some of the earlier ideas are shown below. The brief was to
have a fairly regular grid of shelving, relieved by some more
asymmetrical design features, with a certain amount of 'wow factor'.
There was a preference for white shelving from the start but with some
kind of accent colouring.
There is a design maxim that states 'simplicity is on the far side of complexity' and the design we arrived at was perhaps more restrained than earlier ideas but with a more pleasing balance of regularity and asymmetry.
The customer chose hand sprayed high gloss doors as the accent, which
tied in with their choice of curtains and furnishings. The doors were
set on Blum concealed unsprung hinges with 'tip-on' mechanisms for a smooth push-to open
action, creating a minimal handle-less look. To help tie the otherwise minimalist
furniture into the room we matched the original tall moulded skirting
board around the base.
WIDE ANGLE VIEW:
partly due to budget limitations. The original plaster cornice profile
could have been matched around the top of the furniture at additional
cost, but we decided it was preferable to finish the shelving at an
accessible height, and leave the cornice visible above.
We invariably find that our fitted furniture
makes a room look bigger, not smaller - even though it is taking up more
wall and floor space. A unified whole is much more pleasing and
restful than disparate parts in a large space. And well-designed fitted
furniture can hold far more 'stuff' with far less visual clutter!
Comments (3)
Radhika Sethia
Abitare UK
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