Refurbishment and Restore Issue 14 2019 | Page 7

Ground Floor - Entrance Hallway Although the entrance hallway was a good size it lacked character. We reinstated the stained glass in the fan light window above the front door and side window, in a bespoke design, bringing light, colour and texture into the hallway. The original tiled floor had long been removed so we re-tiled the whole of the entrance hall in crisp black and white period tiles with a border pattern. This immediately visually increased the size and lightness of the hall area. Considering the overall size of the house almost no provision had been given to coats storage, so as not to compromise the size of the hall we nibbled a small amount out of the generous dining room adjacent to the hall in order to create a generous cloaks cupboard. This created a small return in the dining room; so that this wasn’t visually intrusive in the dining room we ensured that the coving, skirting and dado detail wrapped seamlessly around the new return. The new return had the added advantage of creating an alcove for a sideboard, thus making the whole alteration seem natural. We commissioned Nigel Tyas to produce a dramatic copper and glass pendant light in the stairwell that hung from the top floor ceiling down to the ground floor, giving a visual connection and really creating a wow factor. www.refurbandrestore.co.uk - 7