PROJECT BY DE HASSE INTERIOR DESIGN
The Brief
The juxtaposition of old and new is nowhere more apparent than this breathtaking contemporary four bedroom newbuild, with a glass atrium at its heart, set amid an historic garden. It was an exciting project for Giselle De Hasse of De Hasse Interior Design. She had worked with the client on a previous project and was engaged to ensure the house was planned according to the clients’ brief, ensuring the space configuration was practical, and aesthetically pleasing within some of the challenging spaces.
As the lead on the design for the interior of the house , Giselle reconfigured all seven bathrooms to make the most of each of the spaces, ensuring each was elevated in line with the rest of the property by designing bespoke basins.
‘I wanted the house to feel unique and timeless, and by using natural finishes it was possible to ensure a connection with its beautiful surroundings,’ says Giselle. Part of the property’s unique character is that it is an upside down house with an entertainment room, guest bedrooms and swimming pool on the ground floor while the main living room, bedrooms and study are upstairs.
The Project
Giselle’s focus for the use of stone was to ensure a pared back aesthetic. ‘The configuration of the tile setting out, as well as the variation of tile sizes, was really important. The design became less about colour, and more about the overall feel of each room and the combination of materials used to fulfil the design,’ she says.
There is a clear divide between the ground floor with its stone floors connecting to the same stone externally, and the first floor where most of the flooring is timber or natural flooring
In the statement atrium, its galleried space is accentuated by lime render and alabastine walls, the huge glass bridge structure which Giselle specified, and appears to float between the two connecting buildings, looks down upon huge, two metre wide slabs of honed Kimmeridge Limestone by Artisans of Devizes. With a tumbled and etched finish, the eye is immediately taken through the house as the stone resonates with the same external finish. ‘I chose the tumbled finish because the edges appear natural, unlike a sawn edge which is crisp and sharp and has a totally different feel. I wanted it to feel a little earthy, in keeping with the nature of the garden - the presence of which can be glimpsed through almost every room in the house. It is a natural, smooth stone and lovely underfoot, but I didn’t want the house to be constrained by too many sharp straight lines,’ says Giselle. ‘Instead. the finishes soften the atmosphere by use of gentle texture and finishing.’
The main corridor leads from the atrium to the sunken garden. ‘I decided against architraves and skirtings and wanted to use hidden doors - there are about nine or ten on the corridor. Because they’re hidden within the walls, the eye is drawn to other finishes throughout the corridor, such as the textured paint, the stone and sunken garden at the end,’ she continues.
Giselle introduced a characterful scant stone step with its gnarled and natural looking chiselled face, made from Kimmeridge, at the foot of the stairwell. ‘One steps onto a piece of stone and then transitions to timber throughout the stairwell. I wanted it to be a stepping stone between the hallway finish and the timber of the stair well. I like to design spaces with some element of surprise.’
The ground floor coat room continues the Kimmeridge of the atrium and corridor but with a smaller sized tile. Giselle added a mirror to the ceiling to make the room appear larger. She also backlit the joinery rather than installing a pendant light. ‘I used architectural lighting that lights details throughout the house,’ she says.
A pared back and natural feel is evoked in the main bathroom, which features a cantilevered Kimmeridge Limestone Coarse Honed trough basin with a matching shelf beneath. Giselle chose Kimmeridge Limestone tiles in Etched and Tumbled finished for the shower walls and floor to offer a natural palette in juxtaposition to the timber floor. The milky white walls enhance the spa-like feel.
Giselle designed seven stone basins in total that were made bespoke by Artisans of Devizes and also configured the spaces in each bathroom to include joinery.
In the ground floor cloakroom, she designed a bespoke full width basin made from Tora Blue Limestone with a honed finish, while Tora Blue Limestone tiles were used for the floor. In contrast, the walls are painted in a milky white alabastine paint, which provides texture. ‘It’s a natural product with anti-bacterial properties so it’s particularly good for use in a bathroom,’ says Giselle.
To ensure flow from the hallway, Kimmeridge Etched stone was used around the swimming pool and on the stepping stones, while the interior of the pool features Abbotsbury Porcelain Pietra tiles with a classic English limestone aesthetic.
The black steam room off the swimming pool is an atmospheric space with its dark colour palette and pebble floor. The walls and bench are in Radcliffe Slate Riven and evoke a dramatic scheme.
In contrast, the swimming pool bathroom has a pale and muted décor with a white pebble floor. ‘I wanted an interesting feature floor,’ says Giselle. ‘I thought it would be nice to create something a little different when entering the room.’ The tiles on the walls are Real Encaustic Tile Ivory Field in a laid square formation. Giselle designed the timber washstand with hidden shelving and with a basin made from Vellenoy Limestone with a honed finish.
In the bathroom off the main living area, Giselle designed a dramatic stand alone Tora Blue Limestone floor mounted basin. The mirror behind reflects the striking red grasspaper of the vestibule.
A dark grey palette creates a moody feel in the guest ensuite, where a basin made from Bergerac Limestone basin is fitted to a floor to ceiling mirror for impact and to create the illusion of more space. The Ardmore Semi honed Limestone on the walls and floor incorporates a hint of blue to follow through on the bedroom’s colour scheme.
The most feminine scheme is undoubtedly the guest ensuite of the pink guest bedroom where a wall of soft pink tiles sets the mood. Giselle designed a floating basin made from Albury Limestone in a honed finish with floor and wall tiles in the same stone that complements the pink beautifully.
