In a busy family country home, the boot room serves many purposes. Wellies, school bags, gloves, hats, sticks, coats, rackets, balls and much more all need a home.
A considered design also needs to factor in the free movement of people, and dogs, and the fact that as children grow older and their needs change.
A place for everything, for every member of the family The main entrance to the boot room is just off the vestibule. In one corner a staircase descends into the cellar.
A boiler cupboard sits behind the staircase, leaving us with one wall for storage. Space is precious in this relatively tight and busy room.
Up and over cupboards were a popular space saving mechanism in Edwardian offices
The bootroom was designed for this Queen Anne house
In a lovely Queen Anne House it is important to balance robust practicality with elegance.
We revived an Edwardian style of the “up and over” cupboard door so that when opened, the doors don’t intrude awkwardly into the space. This type of cupboard is no longer manufactured, so we dissected a surviving example and engineered a replica in brass.
For managing mucky boots, scrubbing dog bowls and filling vases
All brassware is made using ‘lost wax casting’ to produce accurate reproductions of historic brass handles.
We also designed the mechanism which allows the up and over doors to work which we had machined from brass.
The sink is made of flamed granite; it is tough but has a pleasing texture. The flaming process involves searing the granite surface with flame and then cooling it rapidly, causing the surface to shatter.
Boot drawers have removable stainless steel linings
A peninsula bench saves space and creates storage for sticks, brollies, rackets, bats and the rest
