Study – Cropredy, Oxfordshire

Posted by Luke Cherry, on November 8, 2019.

The brief:

The best part of receiving a phone call from a previous client is that we can honestly say they are happy with the way we do things. Victoria and Peter got back in touch in late 2018 to ask if we would design and make their new study area. Knowing we had the opportunity to produce something a little different meant we were happy to help. The space itself was part of a walk through so it wasn’t a “shut the door” and hide the chaos kind of room. The movement through the room was of the up most importance so we had to be wary of the height, depth and width of anything we were to incorporate. Equal proportions and clean lines were on top of the design agenda in this project. Together we decided on two fitted units staggered either side of the room. One was to combine a desk and storage for the printer and paper etc. The other was a bank of filing and storage drawers which also housed the yearly supply of wrapping paper and Sellotape in a purpose made deeper drawer. As part of finishing the furniture Victoria and Peter were set on using a spray painted finish to match other projects, we had carried out in the house previously. Colours had been spoken of, but nothing had been totally decided. A blue was at the top of the preferred list, so we produced some sample boards with 3 selected shades to make sure the correct one was chosen. Our attention then turned to the material we were going to use for the unit tops.

It had to be strong and resilient to ware but also add a natural and warm texture to the space, so we chose to use European oak with all of its beautiful grain and character. Because of the clean line aspect of the design Victoria and Peter wanted to pursue the idea of not having any protruding handles that were unsightly and awkward to look at. We produced a sample drawer front with a recessed finger pull for Victoria and Peter to contemplate. On deciding all of these precise details we proceeded with making and soon were able to see our design collaboration come together.