Bespoke cast concrete stairs cladded with wood and European oak, the hand rail is made from blackened steel and oak.... Simple yet Stunning!
Architect; James Corbett
Joinery; Christian Vigurs
The Refectory Table
Although kitchens are our specialty at Christian Vigurs Custom Furniture, we also design and make bespoke furniture pieces for all areas of the home. It's always exciting to be commissioned a fit out for multiple rooms within a house, and recently we worked in a beautiful home using European Oak for each furniture piece, creating a continuous flow of wood that is lovely to move through and live with.
One piece of furniture commissioned was this fabulous table pictured below. The brief was very simple; it had to be large enough to seat sixteen people and made from oak. Given the size of the kitchen with its views, and the contemporary nature of the house, Christian decided upon a refectory style table with Tolix chairs.
For such a large piece of furniture, it definitely sits comfortably within it's surroundings, and alongside the other pieces of cabinetry work installed by Christian, they provide a complete and beautiful detailing throughout the home. I love the original monastic style of this table, it's so simple, yet there is definitely a touch of the later noble era too…. a perfect feasting table.
Architect - James Corbett Architects
Chairs - TOLIX - Showtime Kitchen Essentials
Lights - Smithfield Suspension Light - Flos Lighting Ireland
For more examples of Christian Vigurs bespoke kitchen tables - click here and here
The Bathroom
It's the tail end of winter and this all wood bathroom looks like a great place to be! That bath, the cocoon ambiance and we can only imagine the view....
With Siberian winds and snow forecast, it really is cosy blanket weather. A perfect time to soak long in the tub, catch up on some good reads and indulge in favourite comfort foods.
Taking inspiration from this wooden bath and bathroom we can bring this style in to our own solid wood bathroom furniture, creating the perfect room to disconnect and relax from the world for a little while.
These bath and basin taps are Elan by The Watermark Collection - If you like industrial and brass this is the place to go.
The bathroom is in the Hollman Turrach, Austria.... The Hollmans have a collection of interesting boutique hotels in Vienna, Paris, Itally and now Austria.
Have a good weekend folks. Below are some links - enjoy!
This is the perfect, Italian winter comfort dish Polpette al Sugo con Polenta
For more inspo pop over to our bathroom Pinterest page. This is where we sometimes collaborate with our clients requiring bathroom cabinetry.
And if cabin fever is setting in, head to the brilliant Dublin Film Festival Feb 22 - March 4, 2018.
Photo credit - The Watermark Collection.
The HandMade tile
I just wanted to share with you a few handmade artisan tile companies we really like, who will definitely bring a certain quality and something different to your kitchen and bathroom as only custom and handmade additions in your home can do.
Cija.
Bert & May supply an extensive collection of reclaimed wood, encaustic reclaimed and handmade tiles. They use natural pigments with vintage inspired designs, producing bright, vibrant colours and patterns which could only be Bert & May and can be spotted in places like the Cowshed Spa, Selfridges, Jamies's Italian and the Conran Shop to name but a few. Their Vyner Street warehouse in the heart of East London is a haven for all reclamation and tile-lovers, plus they have an in-house interior design team!
Haveli by Neisha Crosland.
Coming from a textile background, I find the body of work Neisha Crosland has produced since starting her company in 1994 inspiring and slightly enviable, in a good way.... her work has been collected by the V&A for goodness sakes!
Recognised in 2006 for her fabrics, wallpapers, rugs, tiles, fine china, stationary and home accessories she was honoured with the title Royal Designer for Industry and has gone on to receive numerous other awards. If you love unusual colour combinations, oversized graphics and symmetrical geometric motifs, Neisha Crosland is for you.
Above tiles from De Ferranti - http://bit.ly/2lUyEhz also visit www.neishacrosland.com to see her collection with Fired Earth along with her other stunning products.
Created by Spanish born designer, Patricia Urquiola, the Bas-Relief is a porcelain wall and floor tile collection. Artisan produced with different variations of subtle depths, textures and patterns in three hand-made styles; Garland Relief, Cloud-Relief and Patchwork-Relief. I know this collection is from 2010, however, I still find it stunning and timeless as I do the rest of her work, I'm constantly saving pictures on Pintrest of this lady's collections. - To view the full collection and more on Patricia Urquiola:http://bit.ly/2lJLEpr
.... Shades of pink are having a moment and this is a perfect example from The Winchester Tile Company, Metropolitan Collection. This handmade tile company supplies a wide range of beautiful tiles and the great thing about them is you can find a selection of Winchester tiles here http://bit.ly/2lORSV2 at Ceramica, Kilkenny City.
The London based studio Smink Things of Marianne Smink make ceramic wall tiles with screen-printed glazes, unique floor tiles and digitally printed wallpapers. Formerly a fashion designer, Marianne is no stranger to print and design, her Dutch influence brings a distinct aesthetic to her collections, as do the endless possibilities for layouts and configurations. You can mix and match to create your own composition or stay with one tile design for a more uniformed, repeat pattern. The hand crafted techniques Marian Smink uses means that no two tiles are exactly the same, "Imperfect and flawed in their own individual way and more beautiful than I intentionally planned." Marianne Smink.
Marianne also has a collaboration worth checking out with Clé Tiles who are featured below.
The Clé Tile company ...... for pure inspiration only, unless of course you can fill their minimum of 500q ft! In fairness, they did apologise for this slight inconvenience when I made an enquiry and are hoping, in the future they will be able to lower this requirement. So for now I find Clé Tiles a great site for inspiration and a little dreaming...
These tiles are stunning in colour and the hexagonal tile is so timeless and versatile that it can be used in both the traditional kitchen as well as a more contemporary kitchen. Right now the internet is bursting with all things green but this tile will continue to give, long after the PANTONE "Greenery" fuss has dies down. You can find something similar at Bert&May www.bertandmay.com. And if anyone finds or has another source of this colour tile in the hex shape please leave a comment below, I would be so grateful....yes I do really like this tile.
Popham Design, based in Marrakesh and founded by Caitlin and Samuel Dowe-Sanders have to be one of the most eco-friendly and ethically minded tile companies out there. For these two it's not just about producing a beautiful tile, they also want to help keep Morocco's artisanal culture and heritage alive by providing fair and rewarding employment for all their crew, from the Moroccan tile artisans to their packing team. All materials are locally sourced and each tile is finished in a hydraulic press, rather than kiln-fired, to preserve energy. It's all about both the quality of the tile and workplace. Wonderfull!
And lastly, a lovely example of a Christian Vigurs Classic kitchen with tiles from the Winchester Tile Company.
Below are some links to tile shops that you may find helpful in your tile hunt!
www.besttiles.ie
www.firedearth.com (for a selection of Tabarka Studio tiles)
The Table
This summer, I'm making a couple of interesting tables, one of which is a large refectory table. It's not often I get commissioned to make one of these so I'm pretty delighted to have this opportunity. There's something about the process of designing and making a table I have always found totally satisfying, which is interesting given the chair and the stool are regarded as the measure of a furniture designer.
At present, I have one stool design that I have been making for a few years, originally made as an accessory for my traditional kitchens. It's a great little stool and there is a good feeling, having a piece of furniture out there that has stood the test of time. I often find myself contemplating another design, the stool being a compelling item for a furniture designer; there's the ergonomic, the physics and then of course the style. Unlike the table, my design process with the stool is driven solely by my priorities and aesthetics... it is my stool my product design.
The design process for the table on the other hand is different. It is very much collaboration between my client and myself, so when I consider how many tables have left the workshop I can honestly say no two are the same. From initial discussions to the final product, it’s about the brief and the personal specifications I have been given to work with.
Interestingly, most commissions derive from family tradition, childhood nostalgia or personal aspiration. I tend to find I am not just designing and making for practical, functional reasons. There is another layer of history in the making, a tradition or a memory kept alive through the piece. A few years ago, I was asked to make matching coffee tables for father and son from a piece of wood that the father had bought back from Africa in the 1970's. Others have reminisced growing up around a big old kitchen table worn with a sense of heritage and ancestry or another commissioned for the collection of mismatched chairs handed down through the years.
My own kitchen table I made last minute, thirteen Christmas's ago from various timbers that I had to hand, is not my perfect table but it's a lovely table and has seen us through many a sticky fingered toddler learning to eat or children mixing, gluing and creating. Our teens now sit at that very same table pouring over homework and books. I'm always saying, "I'll make another for us", then I remember the celebrations, the late night discussions solving world problems plus our own, the family games, the banter. We have laughed, relaxed and eaten good food in good company around that table; surely that has to be one of life's most simple yet greatest pleasures and so I guess this is why I enjoy making tables. There is a hope too, that at least one of my tables will be handed down and cared for with good memories....
