Coatesville House I Bespoke Furniture I PLN

Style

Hollywood Style in the Coatesville Countryside

Arriving at the Coatesville House we are greeted by a pair of Pomeranians in voluminous fur coats. Inside are three exotic felines who coordinate beautifully with the monochromatic colour scheme. This is clearly not a house where the owners are precious about their possessions, as the cats lounge unafraid on the velvet clad sofas and regard us with a languid curiosity.

Old World Hollywood Regency Style

The décor of this spacious new home has an old world Hollywood regency style, indulgent yet still sleek and modern. There are luxurious brass accents throughout and clear art deco references in the lighting and material choices. This is a design period beloved by the owners.

However it is also a house designed to be lived in. The owners’ daughters (10 and 15 years) enjoy the glamour of the space with their friends, and the animals are given free rein.

NZ made: The owner has a strong preference for curves in design.

The brass elements seemingly glow from within.

Personal Styling

The owners designed both the house and interiors themselves from the outset. Her past life as a stylist in the fashion industry exposed her to a range of influences and helped her develop her personal design vocabulary. Although she used an interior designer as a sounding board, the concepts and palette are all her own, and a key benefit of the interior designer was that she encouraged her to follow her instincts and not to shy away from being bold with prints and finishes.

The result is an interior that reflects a confidence and clarity of style that is bold and architectural without sacrificing the warmth and personality belonging to the people who inhabit the space.

Glowing from Within

Vertical brass rails inset either side of the main staircase are boldly linear. This theme is carried through to the brass bases supporting the sofas and arm chairs, and again in the bold black and white geometric tiles inset with brass detailing in the bathrooms. The high glamour of the brass accents throughout are balanced by the warmth inherent in this material. It lifts the calm, muted greys of the soft furnishings and rugs and catches the light – seemingly glowing from within.

Generous Proportions

The furniture may have been designed for visual impact, but it is also supremely comfortable, upholstered in luxe velvets and constructed using the finest materials. Boojie and Remy the Cornish Rex kitties can attest to this as they recline gracefully on the huge velvet tufted sofa in the formal living room. This piece is the focal point in what is an unashamedly glamourous and adult room – designed for entertaining. The sofa has a sculptural, Hollywood inspired form which doesn’t need bold colours or prints to stand out. The generous proportions invite reclining and relaxation. The large matching ottoman will soon have a custom made brass tray which will make it multi-functional and tie in with the brass sofa base and striking lighting.

Voluptuous Curves

This design language is carried through to the family living room, where sumptuous velvets are also on show. However the voluptuous curves of the armchairs are the real stars in this space. Inspired by Eileen Gray’s ‘Bibendum’ from the 1920s, a circular brass base enhances the geometry of the body of the chair.

The owner admits that she has a strong preference for curves and circles in design. A circular marble dining table continues this theme, with a set of leather and brass dining chairs that look like they have stepped straight out of a mansion in the Hollywood Hills. As does the movie star beautiful British Blue cat which drapes itself around the floral centrepiece. The imported lighting is suitably dramatic whilst still being clean and minimalist in its design.

Design Inspiration

The owner credits design websites, hundreds of interiors magazines and hours browsing Pinterest and sites like 1stdibs for assisting in design inspiration and making her aware of what was possible. Wonderful partnerships with craftspeople such as Design Production and PLN Group made the process easy and pleasurable. Her preference is to buy NZ made if possible, however she couldn’t always find what she was looking for in design stores.

"PLN designer, Richard Heath, took her vision and translated it into renders and then actual pieces. Heath was able to design her pieces from scratch, incorporating the proportions and finishes she required."

The client loved popping out to visit the team at PLN.

PLN Group designer, Richard Heath, took her vision and translated it into renders and then actual pieces. Heath was able to design her pieces from scratch, incorporating the proportions and finishes she required. This meant that her ideas came to life exactly as she imagined them. She loved popping out to visit the team at PLN Group as they created her soft seating and saw her vision coming to life under the watchful eye of master craftsmen, some of whom have been in the trade for more than 40 years. A family friend who has been a client of PLN Group for almost as long put her in touch with this team who design and manufacture for an increasingly international clientele.

It’s rare to find a truly grown up space that still functions well as a family zone. The Coatesville house achieves this – with all four human inhabitants and nine furry ones enjoying it thoroughly in their own personal ways.

Credits

Dining chairs: PLN Group

Dining table: Zuster

Formal sofa: PLN Group

Brass work: Design Production

Lighting: Various including ECC

Family room sofa: Designers Collection

Family Room coffee table: Design Production

Family room armchairs: PLN Group

Rugs: Artisan Flooring

Photography: Catherine Hugo

To bring your own design ideas to life as bespoke furniture pieces, contact our team.