EG106 Bracknell

natural oak wood floor with metal lantern accessories on the right hand side

Berkshire home transformation complete with V4’s Alpine Broad Oak

Ann Edwards lives with her husband and two teenage children in this fabulous family home in Bracknell. After 15 years at the property they were starting to outgrow it as the children were growing up and wanting more of their own space, so about three years ago the family started considering a move. Having looked around, and even offering on two houses, Ann was reluctant to move away from the house and its great location. So now knowing the additional spaces she wanted after looking at other properties, decided an extension and renovation of the existing family home was the ideal solution.

As luck would have it, I attended a charity evening at the local school at the same time I was thinking about a renovation, and put in a bid to win a complete room makeover by interior designer Claire Tull of Studio 12 Designs. I won, and this was the catalyst for the transformation which we started in August 2014.

Claire visited the home to form a brief on the lounge makeover, and on hearing Ann’s plans for the additional spaces she planned became involved in the whole house redesign. A side extension was used to open up the lounge into a much larger space, and above this a new dressing room and ensuite was created for the children, adjoining their existing bedrooms. A dark hallway was opened up with the removal of walls, recommended by Claire, the garage converted to create a family room which also doubles as a music room, and the original dining room turned into a family study with three desk stations. The downstairs space now has a spacious, light and open flow to it, and Ann wanted the flooring to promote this so was on the lookout for the perfect wood floor.

“Claire had a look at a few options and proposed V4’s Broad Oak Bevelled Planks for the living room, office and hall as it met our design brief perfectly. We wanted a natural oak floor with a nice smooth finish, one that showed the beautiful grain of oak and at the same time was elegant.  We did not want anything too ‘rustic’. We also wanted to create a sense of space and harmony throughout the downstairs living areas by using the same flooring as much as possible. Claire introduced us to V4 Approved Retailer David Banning of Fine Design Flooring. David was able to order the flooring and store it for us until we were ready to install. It was very important for us to know that we had the flooring ready for the builders, especially as the flooring was scheduled to be installed just two weeks before Christmas! Ann’s builder coordinated the professional install of the floor which now runs throughout all of the downstairs space, with just the family/music room fitted with carpet. The finished floor certainly ticks all the boxes for us.  It is warm yet provides a contemporary clean-lined tone to the downstairs rooms. It feels lovely on bare feet.  The floor is also easy to maintain and not at all demanding when cleaning.”

Claire went on to say,

“I’m also delighted with the floor as it provides a beautiful foundation for the rest of the interior design scheme. Taking the finish through to the hall and office provides a sense of unity and spaciousness. The traditional painted staircase was replaced with oak and glass which has further lightened and opened up the space, and the colour of the oak teams beautifully with the caramel stripe in the stair carpet. I also chose oak for selected items of furniture to create a balance of colour and texture and juxtapose traditional materials with the contemporary elements. I love the combination of natural warmth and simple elegance this floor brings to the house. The V4 floor is not only an aesthetically a great product, but it is also well engineered, the quality is superb and provides great value. The installers loved working with it and there was so little wastage.

Claire Tull is a member of the British Institute of Interior Designers (BIID) and owner of interior design practice Studio 12 Designs.


Featured V4 Retailer Fine Design Flooring, Reading Tel: 01256 880253 Email: david.banning@fdflooring.com Web: www.finedesignflooring.com

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