Crafting a Home: Anouska Tamony Designs x Stuart Indge Joinery
Crafting a Home: Anouska Tamony Designs x Stuart Indge Joinery
The Power of Collaboration
Designing a home is a collaborative process in so many ways. It begins with, and is of course led by, our relationship with the homeowner but to bring their vision to life involves collaboration with multiple people, in multiple ways. I like to joke that it’s less butchers, bakers and candlestick makers, more builders, glaziers and cabinet makers (and engineers, stone masons, landscapers and window treatment makers etc.). But jokes aside, the truth is we usually only see the polished professional shots at the end of a project when everything is manicured, groomed and ‘presentable’ when the reality, especially on a full-scale renovation, is that the process is often rather less glamorous and requires people with a whole host of different skills and expertise to pull together and work as a team. These musings, inspired me to delve deeper into the behind-the-scenes collaborations that make a home in my Journal posts this year, and share a few candid shots of work in progress and the homes au natural.
One of the aspects in the redesign of a home I find to be particularly transformative is the cabinetry and joinery. From a functional perspective custom cabinetry allows highly tailored inbuilt pieces that are thoughtfully crafted to accommodate practical needs that off the shelf solutions are seldom able to accommodate, especially in more personalised spaces like kitchens and walk-in wardrobes. From an aesthetic perspective, there is both the ability to embrace more imaginative and personalised ideas as well as the ability to provide a thread of cohesion that connects the various rooms.
In this post, I’ll explore our recent collaboration with London based joinery company Stuart Indge Ltd. whose workshop created a full suite of cabinetry for a 5 storey Victorian house in Stoke Newington that the studio has led the redesign and renovation of, with the final decorative and bespoke art works being very close to completion.
The suite of cabinetry involved the designing, crafting and installation of a kitchen, pantry, walk-in wardrobe, banquette and library unit, as well as, internal doors—each meticulously considered to enhance the flow and function of the home. Read on to discover these pieces up close, starting with a brief Q&A with Stuart.
A: Stuart, before we take a look at some of the pieces you created for the house I’m curious to know how you find the process of working with interior designers like myself?
S: I always feel working with designers really helps push us to think creatively and achieve more interesting outcomes for the clients. For example, in the dressing room, you were interested in ways to add texture to the joinery and connect the space to the ensuite on one side and the master bedroom on the other. With these aims we decided to pick up the reeded detail on the vanity unit drawers and add reeded panels to the wardrobe doors. You’d also received a picture of a hotel room in Copenhagen the couple has stayed in that inspired the glazed panels with café curtains which really soften the joinery and add warmth and character. Importantly this isn't something I would have come to without the collaboration with you. It’s that creative push and pull between designer, client, and us as fabricators that’s really important and always brings the best results.
The Kitchen, Pantry, Banquette & Internal Doors
The family were keen to replan the open plan space and flip the layout, replacing the dining area in the extension with a sunny snug where they could relax by the garden, and moving the dining area closer to the kitchen so the cook could be part of the action when hosting. We figured we could (just) make this layout work with a bit of smart space planning. To do so successfully we opted for banquette seating which could sit snug against the wall which had the added benefit of adding much needed softness to the angular room. With space still being a little tight we opted for a slimline kitchen island balanced out by the addition of wall cabinets to ensure storage space wasn’t lost.
The pantry provides an additional nifty nook of well organised space for all the smaller but necessary bits and pieces…like the wine fridge! And ties in perfectly with a custom-made door that picks up the reeded glass detailing from the wall cabinets. In fact, the family liked the door so much they asked Stuart to create a matching one to hang the other side of the kitchen run.
Walk-in Wardrobe
The family were similarly keen to replan this space, so we removed the clunky partition walls that concealed deep but poorly planned shelf space for a slimmer pair of his and hers wardrobes that combined drawer, hanging and shelf space. To make the most of every inch Stuart gave the wardrobes height with a ladder rail giving easy access to the higher cupboards. By stroke of luck the ladder rail runs perfectly along the brass inlays that were added to conceal the gaps in the flooring that were an inescapable by-product of removing the light and space eating partition walls.
From practical storage solutions to beautifully integrated details, every piece of joinery has contributed to a home that is as well considered as it is beautiful.
I hope you’ve enjoyed a glimpse at our recent collaboration with Stuart Indge and it’s offered inspiration, food for thought or simply a nice diversion…Maybe all three! I’ll sign off by saying that for me, the true success of a project is measured by how effortlessly a home meets the needs of those who live within it and the most important relationship when the work ends is the inhabitants with their new home so to hear the young couple say “our house is now not only beautiful but functional- perfect for our young family” says it all, in my view.
If you do fancy seeing more of Stuart’s work, including some polished shots of the suite of pieces created for this home head on over to: