Jen Bernard, founder and managing director of Bernard Interiors shares an exciting sneak peek of the finishing touches currently being put in place at Audley Nightingale Place in Clapham - Audley's first London retirement village.
We were originally due to fit out Audley Nightingale Place in April, however due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic this had to be put on hold. After working on the designs since 2018 this was really disappointing for us and the whole team, however we understood the importance of adhering to government guidelines to protect the NHS and keep our own team and Audley Village’s team safe. We continued to plan the fit out as we worked from home, keeping the lines of communication going with Audley Villages and the other professional partners we were working with. We knew that as restrictions were slowly lifted, we would be able to travel to London, however with social distancing measures still in place, there were far more logistics to organise in order to ensure a safe fit out for all. We closely monitored government guidelines and thankfully, my team and I were finally able to travel to London last week to bring this exciting urban development to life!
The brief for this project was to create a unique hospitality interior for the Audley Club at the heart of the village, housing the restaurant, library, bar bistro, cinema and health club. Many of Audley’s villages are situated within the grounds of a heritage building, utilising the main house for the Audley Club. This allows us to draw upon the unique history of each building for design inspiration to encapsulate the timeless Audley signature style. As Nightingale Place is an entirely new and urban development, inspiration has been taken from the adjacent Clapham Common, London and popular culture. We’ve mixed classic and contemporary to create a truly unique interior, appealing to both Audley owners and visitors.
The entrance is a very important part of any interior as it sets the tone for the rest of the scheme and the entrance at Nightingale Place promises to be a showstopper!
On Thursday we took delivery of the eagerly anticipated curved bespoke sofa upholstered in mustard velvet. Teamed with retro inspired cushions and positioned in front of our bespoke, bronze laser cut partition screens, it creates a real statement.
Custom furniture upholstered in geometric fabrics throughout the scheme are inspired by 1970’s pop culture and reminiscent of the tube fabric, contrast beautifully with the herringbone wood flooring.
A tub chair upholstered in emerald green velvet sits perfectly next to the quirky statement lamp from Porta Romana with custom made mustard shade.
In the spa, a cascade of unique, individually worked metal leaves adorn the wall. The artwork was specially commissioned by sculptor, Ollie Holman and he arrived on site earlier in the week to attach each leaf individually to the wall.
The project is really beginning to come alive now and together with Audley Villages, we look forward to sharing the professional photography of this ‘sanctuary in the city’ soon!
Get some top tricks and tips from Bernard Interiors in a selection of interior design themed blog posts.
