The design concept of The Coleridge boutique hotel is based on respect for the context, but also on a passion for antique pieces and creative recycling, which means barely any off-the-shelf items have been used to decorate its individual and distinct rooms.
Many items were sourced by word of mouth or sourced from friends or antique shops around Europe; restoration was the name of the game.
One fine example of the creation of bespoke pieces is the lighting in the suites.
In Stanhope, the lampshades are not on bedside tables as they would normally be, but they are hanging. And not only; they are hanging upside down. To do this, a massive metal structure had to be created [and hidden] to hold them up, and other details designed to cover and tidy the alterations; then of course, the appropriate shade had to be made.
Mirrored glass sconces in Sheridan had to be dismantled and recreated piece by piece, while Victorian glass shades, which were once probably hanging, became wall lights. The light fitting was a bespoke design that had to be produced from scratch.
The three-armed brass bedside wall lights in Christabel are more than what meets the eye. These involved a complex process of restoring, replacing and rewiring, as well as re-upholstery. Even the deteriorating plastic of the candle-like tube was replaced by hand-rolled paper, sourced from overseas, while the shades were created from the same rich fabric of the pelmet and cushions, which was sourced from an antiques vendor.
The pièce de résistance of the bespoke light fittings is probably the mesmerising modern designer LED bulbs that were turned into simple pendant bedside lights in the top-floor room, Fayette, which has a more modern feel.
