From Fort to Family Home
Written for Burbeck Interiors. All photos are credited to Burbeck Interiors. www.burbeckgroup.com/journal
Image credit: Burbeck Interiors
As designers, we have an innate desire to transform extraordinary spaces into stunning family homes. With often the most daunting of properties resulting in the most incredible spaces with just a touch of TLC and a splash of colour.
Exposed brick walls, hardwood flooring and high ceilings have become increasingly popular, but are still overwhelming to many homeowners and prospective buyers. When viewing a property, often the most monumental of all tasks is imagining how you and your family can make it a home. When faced with a historic building and a blank canvas, this can sometimes seem impossible.
With an increasing number of buyers seeking larger houses outside of cities, the market has opened up to more unique spaces being transformed into homes. We’ve seen the likes of warehouse conversions to barn conversions and everything in between. Nonetheless, the property market never fails to surprise us…
On an excursion to the Isle of Wight, Burbeck was faced with just that. Presented with an apartment in Golden Hill Fort, a defence site built between 1863 and 1868 in Freshwater, the team at Burbeck had the task of transforming this 19th Century infrastructure into a warm and welcoming home.
When presented with high ceilings, winding staircases and stunning original architectural features, the initial instinct is to shy away from putting too much into the space, and instead let it speak for itself. However, this can leave the interior feeling empty and cold. Finding a balance is key to creating a warm and welcoming home.
Bringing light and colour into this space was the initial challenge the team at Burbeck faced. With limited natural light available, the use of colour and lighting had to be well throught through and tactical. The goal was to emphasise the gorgeous original archways and features and take advantage of natural shapes and shadows.
Using these archways to frame pieces of furniture and statement art brought the space to life and added a modern feel to this historic building.
The designer played around with different textures and patterns to compliment the exposed brick, seamlessly blending the rustic interiors with softer and more modern furnishings.
The outcome was truly remarkable and created such a bold and unique space, fit for any family. As the property market continues to expand and grow with design innovations, I cannot wait to see more exciting and innovative properties like this one!