The House is one of the original homes of a private estate; at just under 500 square metres, it sits on about 1.77 acres of land. Late Victorian in style, the house was last renovated 20 years ago and was not done to a very high standard. New rooms were added, like the conservatory; the kitchen and lounge area were opened up; and the use of rooms was changed. Prior to our renovation, it was empty for three years, which meant that damp and other issues where left unattended. The main issues to sort out before moving on to the interior design were the electrics, the plumbing and the building works.
Project Name: Surrey Private Residence
Studio Name: Ana Engelhorn Interior Design Ltd
Location: Weybridge, United Kingdom
Photography: James Balston
Project size: 500 m2
Site size: 6800 m2
Completion date: 2020
Building levels: 3
The clients wanted to use the existing floor plan, with some changes to door openings and a new kitchen and bathrooms. The old library was turned into a girl’s bedroom – we were able to use existing carpentry and change door openings. The house had five bedrooms, but we turned one into a shower room as the master bathroom didn’t have a shower. All bedrooms except one have their own bathrooms and there are two guest toilets on the ground floor.
Interior design-wise, in line with the Ana Engelhorn signature style, we aimed to achieve a perfectly imperfect mix of antiques and contemporary pieces that suited the clients and the house. The clients had a lot of eclectic art, as well their own pieces from Africa, which complemented the design perfectly.
We were given free rein to choose colour and, fortunately, the clients were happy with our suggestions. Two of our main paint suppliers were Francesca’s Paints from the UK, who make bold and strong colours, and Bauwerk from Germany, who use a more washed-out, uneven look.
There was extensive work to do with curtains and upholstery. The fabrics mainly came from Holland & Sherry and Designer Guild, with some lovely fabrics coming from Susan Deliss and Rose Uniacke. Some of the older pieces we were able to reupholster and reuse. The furniture was a mix of what the client brought from previous homes and what we supplied from the UK and abroad. Some suppliers used were Pinch, Brownrigg Interiors and the Odd Chair Company. Bespoke work was done by Ruper Bevan and lighting mainly came from Fritz Fryer, Retrouvius, Vaughan and Hector Finch.
All the lighting was new and signed off by a trusted lighting supplier to ensure that, with the daring colour scheme, the lighting effects inside the house were effective. The bathrooms were fitted out with Drummonds, Czech and Speake as well as Porter Bathrooms fittings, with the girl’s bathroom a complete refit.
The biggest job was the kitchen. We overhauled it completely as the owners are avid cooks and wanted to have adequate cooking and prep areas. The two outbuildings were converted into a gym and an office, with the same style flowing from the house to the outside rooms. Overall, the project went smoothly, without too many hiccups. Amazingly, considering the renovation took place during the first Covid lockdown, the clients were able to move in on time and everyone was happy with the final result.
