A key component of successful interior design to any period house is the architectural joinery which runs through it. Well-considered skirting boards, architraves, door linings, door panel moulds and plasterwork can improve a house immeasurably.
Carefully chosen mouldings can help establish a hierarchy within a room and throughout a building. They punctuate the interior design of a house as it flows from room to room, and upwards through the floors.
These European walnut doors were French polished with shellac before being waxed. Their status is elevated by their raised and fielded panels, indicating the importance of the rooms behind (in this case a Study and a Dining Room).
The doors statures are further enhanced by the magnificent floor on which they stand. The floors were designed and made by Weldon Flooring, a company we work alongside regularly. You can read more about their company here
We designed a sandstone architrave to frame this particular pair of walnut doors. The main purpose of any architrave is to cover the joint between the door lining and the wall, and to design one in stone is unusual, chiefly because of the complexities involved. Accuracy of stone masonry is crucial as the architrave and stone linings cannot easily be worked when on site.
The stone we specified is Pietra Serena sandstone, a pale blue grey coloured sandstone with minute mica shavings embedded in it which reflect the sun like tiny mirrors.
The wall’s thickness and the door opening were purposefully harmonised to ensure each five panelled door leaf opens onto the panelled door reveal in exactly the correct place.
This ensures the architectural joinery detail in head of the lining runs down perfectly onto the vertical style of the open door leaf.
The panelled linings and door leaves line up perfectly.
This large glazed door and glazed side panels have low set raised and fielded panels to maximise the light between the kitchen and passage. The gun stock stile makes the base of the door and panels more robust, giving them strength. Artichoke’s finishing team has aged the oak and introduced further ageing and wear in the corners of the panels.
The arched fanlight above this boot room door is typical of early Georgian design and was a prominent feature in Robert Adam designed townhouses, with some featuring ornate decoration. This door formed part of a large project in a former Georgian hunting lodge. The kitchen in the same house can be viewed here.
