Velvet Magazine March 2017

Interiors
Article by Max Spenser-Morris,
award-winning designer at Design
Republic in Bury St Edmunds
Design Inspiration Can
Come From The Smallest Detail
The two rooms of the home that are the most personal are the
kitchen and the bathroom. Injecting a sense of character and
personality into these spaces is therefore important, in order to
create a sense of homeliness and to make them truly your own.
Very often seen as the hub of the home, the kitchen is where
family life takes centre stage and where entertaining friends
begins, whilst the bathroom is a private space of sanctuary
and relaxation. Both rooms from a design point of view lend
themselves to experimentation and breaking from the norm in
order to create something unique.
When planning a new kitchen or bathroom it is vital to consider
how you envisage the space will be used, what are the most
important elements and what works in the existing space and what
doesn’t? In the kitchen, practical elements such as layout and
storage need to be decided at an early stage in the design process,
in order to ensure the room works aesthetically too. Similarly, in
the bathroom, it is important to think about who will be using the
space and how frequently – is it the main family bathroom or a
master en-suite or guest bathroom used on the odd occasion?
Once these practicalities have been established, I really like to
explore shapes, textures and colours in order to create your
dream kitchen and bathroom within the boundaries set by you.
This design outlook is something we actively encourage at Design
Republic. It might be that we take the design inspiration for your
space from a favourite piece of artwork or artefact, or it could be
a piece of fabric or a favourite colour accent. Or it could simply
just come from a conversation about how your family lives and
operates. After all, if children are doing homework in the kitchen
then this needs to be accommodated and if you love to entertain
the last thing you want is for your sparkling conversation to be
drowned out by the drone of an extractor hood or to have to
reach too far for the next bottle of wine!
Of course, a new kitchen or bathroom is a big investment and
the design of the space needs to be tangible. Just as buying a
new car requires a test drive in order to get a feel of how it drives,
deciding on a new bathroom or kitchen is a similar process where
visiting a showroom enables you to see the products ‘in the flesh’.
As experienced designers this is something we feel very strongly
about, which is why new customers are always assured of a warm
welcome at Design Republic.
Velvet Magazine | March 2017 89