Beautifully Indulgent Interior Design
It's shiny and tempting on the outside, rich and delicious on the inside...
The Chocolate Factory show home is open!
We were delighted to be asked by The Generator Group to design the show homes at one of Bristol's most exciting new developments. The Chocolate Factory in Greenbank is a site that holds so much history and promises to be a vital new social hub in the centre of Easton.
Have a scroll through our blog for a peek at the first show apartment and get some tips on how to create a similar style yourself.
A Space for Socialising.
An open plan living space is screaming out for parties and socialising and this home is perfect for that. We wanted to create a relaxed space that invited people to want to grab a glass and relax into the atmosphere. While this is a large space, we really wanted it to feel warm and inviting, a place to gather with friends and family
Tips to create a relaxed social space
Relaxed table dressing with large serving bowls next to a pile of plates removes the formality of a formal table setting
Large comfy sofas with a selection of patterned and coloured cushions make you want to lounge and chat over a coffee table peppered with books and coffee cups.
Zone the space wisely to allow flow not only movement, but also conversation. Try not to create any blocks between the spaces that you want to keep social.
Create pockets of interest around the room to invite you to walk around and discover the space. Open shelving with interesting collections, a table in the corner with beautiful reading materials, lamps lighting up a collection of plants, give the eye a reason to want to move over the space.
Keeping it Cozy.
This is a home that benefits from the high ceilings and large windows that are so characterful in older, industrial buildings. The light flooding in to this 2 bedroom apartment from the tall windows makes the space feel huge.
While these are amazing features to have in your home, they can be a bit daunting and pose some interior design conundrums. See how we have tackled this at The Chocolate Factory.
Tips to make large spaces cozy:
High ceiling are wonderful, but sometimes you want to feel cozy and hugged in your home. In the bedrooms we have used paint to lower the ceiling height. By only painting part way up the wall we have brought the eye down to that level.
Large low hanging lighting has a similar effect to the paint, it makes your eye stop at a lower level instead of travelling all the way to the ceiling.
THAT BED!! A canopy bed will never fail to make you feel secure and cuddled.
Layers of textures, not only on the bed but also in the plants, curtains and art.
Oversized bed side lamps lend a luxury hotel feel, and who doesn't want that?
A Warm Welcome.
This home has a large wide welcome hallway to invite you in. We wanted add use this space as a destination, not just somewhere to take off your coat, hang up your bag and kick off your shoes. Adding a statement piece of hallway furniture gave this a purpose and some interest. We also used a picture shelf to display some photos of the building from before and during the development process.
Tips to create a welcoming hallway
Make it a destination rather than a means to getting somewhere else
Use furniture to define the space
Adding artwork or objects of interested will make you stop and look rather than pass through blindly to the next room.
Your hallway can become a whole new room if it's well thought out.
A touch of Luxury.
If there is one place that you want to have a luxury experience its got to be the bathroom. The Chocolate Factory has 2 beautiful bathrooms, one family bathroom and one super generous en-suite in the main bed room.
Tips for a luxury bathroom:
White fluffy towels, is there anything cozier to wrap around you after a bubbly bath?!
Plants will add some interest and texture, keeping it looking fresh. While real plants will also help with freshening the air, fake ones will be much easier to care for. Especially if your bathroom doesn't have any natural light.
Keep the clutter cleared away. Some handy storage will hide away all the things that we use daily but don't necessarily look beautiful. Keep a few coordinating toiletries on display to add interest. A deliciously scented soap is always a good shout too.
A big mirror is very luxurious, and as our bathrooms are often the smallest and sometime darkest room in the house, a mirror will transform it . Go for the biggest mirror you can, you won't regret it!
The hidden secret at The Chocolate Factory
What could be more indulgent than your very own dressing room? Rather than this becoming a space to fill with wardrobes and chests of drawers that dominate the room we wanted to make this as much of experience as the rest of the home.
Tips for making a dressing room sing:
Open wardrobes are less clunky and over powering. Let your clothes be seen and become part of the décor. Like your bathroom, you may want some more hidden drawers/storage for your not so beautiful things, but celebrate the things you love and let them shine
Add a comfy chair or pouffe as we have here, somewhere to perch as you pull on your socks.
A full length mirror is an must have in a dressing room
Art work. A dressing room is a luxury, dress it like one!
Creating a cohesive Scheme.
The success of good interior design is for you the design to flow through out your home. This does not mean that every room has the same style though. Please never do that!
Tips for creating a cohesive theme:
Firstly think about the mood that you want to create. Is it formal, casual, fun, relaxing....We wanted somewhere that would invite groups of people together for casual and relaxed socialising in a stylish atmosphere. Make sure that when you walk into each room you get the desired feeling.
Think of a colour scheme based around 3 main colours. Here we used 'grey-ge', rust and green. That doesn't mean that that is all we used. This was our starting point. For example, the rust colours in the main bedroom were brought into the living area in the cushions. The grey-ge of the sofas was brought out in the cushion in the second bedroom, softened by the blush of the walls. The addition of the blue gave to bedroom an identity of its own while nodding to the teal and blue in the dressing room.
Natural materials were also an important part of this theme. From the metal and rattan light fittings ion the living space to the bamboo tooth brushes, every material was carefully considered before it went in.
Accessories and artwork play a huge part, cohesion is important. Here we used lots of refences to the history of the building. Photographs of the building at various stages gives the property context and means that history isn't forgotten. Plates with Elizabeth Shaw chocolate crisps were placed around the place, this was the home of Elizabeth Shaw Chocolate factory for many years.
We have loved designing this beautiful show apartment and we hope you agree that the result is absolutely delicious!
Phase two of this development is well underway and we look forward to sharing it with you soon!