6-Bedroom Family Home in Bath: Traditional in style with a Contemporary Design twist for a Grade 2 Listed Estate

Bringing a new lifestyle to a family of five and a dog who moved from their London home to start a new life in a stunning location on the edge of the city of the historic city of Bath.

Brief: To create a cohesive home using existing furniture from their London house, keeping the integrity of the period of the house while giving it a new lease of modern life.

Style: Traditional undertones with a modern twist.

Services: Design concepts and mood boards, lighting and electrical plans, joinery design, and fabric selection for all curtains throughout the house. Installation, source and supply all furniture, fixings and equipment.

Escaping London for Bath

Moving from the hustle and bustle of London, this family of five with their dog fell in love with a stunning Grade 2 listed Georgian country estate on the outskirts of Bath. Having completed two previous renovations in London and one in Cornwall, they were excited by the challenge of making this tired manor house their new home in slower-paced Bath.

Formal Dining Room - Lighting and Curtains

The reality of renovating a Grade 2 listed property

Unfortunately, their initial excitement was soon tempered as the reality of renovating a Grade 2 listed property took hold. What initially started as a decorative renovation soon turned into a full renovation. Service areas, such as the kitchen, had to be relocated, a well was found in the inner courtyard, and a stream ran under the house.

with the juggle of a move, new schools, lockdowns the move soon became overwhelming. Faced with ‘Where to start?’, ‘is this the right decision?’ ‘is this the right colour?’, ‘We want to use our existing furniture, but does it work?’, ‘How will this cabinet sit in the space?’, ‘can the bathroom be moved into an old bedroom?’, they had to seek professional advice. I was instructed to help with their burden by designing the rooms they felt utterly lost with and advising them on the rooms they had already started.

Meeting client needs and budget

Like any project, there was a budget. It needed careful allocation and monitoring in this large renovation, so we began our design journey by identifying which rooms required my full design services (13 Rooms) and which rooms needed my consultation (12 Rooms).

We were able to tailor my services to create a unique design package to meet their needs and budget. After compiling the brief to better understand the family’s desires and dreams for this house, we could start designing even if lockdown occasionally threw out some unique hurdles!

My clients didn’t want to cut and paste from their previous homes. They wanted something different. However, I needed to produce a design solution that was sensitive to the period of the property and its stunning location, while utilising the furniture from their previous homes.

Taking inspiration from art and surroundings

When renovating your own home, it’s easy to pick colours, fabrics, and furnishings you already have tried and tested and are familiar with. However, as your interior designer, it’s my job to challenge your ideas and make you think outside the box, creating a truly unique space for you and your family’s design aesthetics.

Working closely with my clients, I took inspiration from their surrounding land and art collection, creating a cohesive contemporary Georgian interior design and ensuring we retained the integrity of this striking country home on the outskirts of Bath.

Design Elements

The lighting and electrical plans were a crucial part of the design, ensuring that all rooms were functional yet still allowing layered lighting to create that soft ambient light. We also paid close attention to the fabric selection for all curtains and blinds throughout the house, ensuring that they complemented the overall design and provided the family with the desired level of privacy and light control.

Joinery design was another important aspect of the project, especially when a hidden storage space was revealed in the study. Again, I worked closely with the family to create bespoke pieces tailored to their needs while adding elements to future-proof the design (for example, a lock to the drinks cabinet!).

Sourcing and supplying all furniture, fixtures and equipment was also critical to the project—we ensured every piece was carefully chosen to fit the overall design aesthetic

A stunning Grade 2 listed Georgian country estate

In conclusion, this 6-bedroom family home in Bath was a unique challenge that required careful planning and execution. Successfully and sensitively renovating a Georgian house is a real challenge. However, working closely with the family, we created a cohesive design that fulfilled the brief.

The house's traditional undertones and modern twists made a home that was truly unique to the family’s design aesthetics and requirements. The result was a stunning Grade 2 listed Georgian country estate that retained its historical past but granted a new lease of life worthy of a modern-day family.