Forest Lane

Creating the balance between a glamorous pad for entertaining and a family home with growing children is a challenge. Our talented interior design team loves to take on that challenge and they work with many clients for several years, designing each new property and updating them as their client’s lives change.

This beautiful family home in Chigwell is actually the second property our interiors consultant, Martin Slabbert, has designed for this client. The brief was loose - to create a comfortable yet glamorous family home that catered for two small children and a puppy but would also easily host guests on a regular basis. The property, though traditional Tudor style, is actually a new build, so Martin had a relatively blank canvas to work with. 

The client, an entrepreneur, had little in the way of existing furniture or art to work into the design and few aesthetic stipulations. He preferred a neutral colour palette with few bold accents but had incredible attention to detail with specialist finishes and bespoke details used on many pieces. The subtle geometric theme was introduced only as the client’s style emerged through the consultation process.

Ensuring the design was both practical as well as beautiful, Martin introduced a variety of hard-wearing fabrics for the family areas, including washable velvets and commercial-grade fabrics to ensure the upholstery stood the test of time. Custom cushions and throws were made to coordinate with the upholstery and curtains. 

The full interior design and fit-out were completed within three months from the initial brief, but every home needs to continue to grown and change with its occupants. Martin factored into the design small changes such as accent wallpapers used in the bedrooms which are easy to update as the children mature. And when the puppy mistook a couple of occasional chairs for chew toys, The Sofa & Chair Company was able to reupholster them with ease, ensuring they look as good as new.