Choosing The Interior Foundations -The Avenue - New Home Build

We’ve heard from Sally about her overall design vision for her brand new home,
as well as her exterior selections. Now it’s time to deep dive into the Design Foundations of the all important interiors at The Avenue.

FIrstly, what do you mean when you say Interior Foundations? 

These are the foundational elements (flooring, walls, ceilings, surfaces and so on) within the interiors that all combine to create a cohesive aesthetic. While a skirting board or door handle may not sound like particularly pivotal design details on their own, they will have a significant impact on the overall aesthetic and atmosphere within the home, and they’re the stage on which the home’s design plays out.

What was your strategy for the Interior Foundations for The Avenue?

The atmosphere I want to create at The Avenue is one of comfortable elegance, within the lens of a Modern Coastal aesthetic. I am leaning away from lots of layered detail that you might find in a more classic or traditional home. So you won’t see any intricate cornicing, ornate stair posts or traditional wainscoting at The Avenue. Instead I want to create layers with natural elements, varied texture, a repetition of shape and line, and a mixture of metallics. The sheer airiness and generous spatial dimensions of the home needs to speak for itself in creating the atmosphere, in a way that’s still warm and inviting. You’ll see from the mood board that there is a lot of texture, some muted, nature-inspired colour, and some subtle use of black in the metallics and some furniture detail.

Flooring

There are going to be three different flooring finishes throughout the home : Engineered oak in the downstairs hallway and stairwell, tumbled stone-look tiles in the living and dining and woolen carpet in a warm grey. Perhaps the most hotly debated decision was to go with tiles throughout our living and dining spaces. It always raises eyebrows when I talk about it but I love that it will directly flow to the same tiles in the alfresco zone that connects with the interiors.  Of course I love the low maintenance factor of tiles too and the ability to warm them up with underfloor heating and some beautiful textured rugs. 

Carpet is in all bedrooms and throughout the upstairs zone. I love the feeling of good quality carpet underfoot and the cosiness factor, not to mention acoustic benefits it brings to a home. 

Architraves & Trims

While I didn’t want ornate ceiling cornicing and elaborate architraves, I also didn’t want a square set or shadow line effect either. I like how the punctuating effect of trims can achieve a textural contrast in a room, even though the walls and trims will for the most part all be the same colour. So, I’ve gone with ultra simple and clean silhouettes for my skirting boards, cornicing and architraves. 

Doors and Door Hardware

The clean line of the trims follows through to the profile on all the internal doors, where a simple detailing frame gives a texture and interest without being visually ‘busy’. This lets me dial up the door hardware (one of my favourite interior details is the door handle - we hold them in our hands loads of times a day, they need to be worthy!). I’ve chosen the stunningly textured xxxx handle by Bankston, on an oval backplate in matte black. 

Wall Treatments

Wherever possible, I’m hoping to get creative with vertical surfaces by utilising either natural stone or stone-look porcelain. The hero zone will be at the entry in the stairwell void, where I’m making a connection with the home’s streetscape by repeating the stone cladding from the front facade up the two storey internal wall. I’m then working with Caesarstone porcelain surfaces on walls in the powder room, laundry, bar, kitchen and butlers pantry. They come in huge slabs so can easily achieve a join-less look across a large surface, in some stunning colourways. 

The other detail that will adorn some vertical elevations are archways - into the media, butlers pantry and the front door itself. It’s funny how often we get asked whether arches will date in interiors and architecture. Having recently travelled throughout Italy and Greece gushing over centuries-old architectural styles that were heavy on the arch, I feel firm in saying they’re a timeless option!

Cabinetry

When it comes to cabinetry, the world of colours, profiles and materials on offer is quite staggering. Custom cabinetry is a huge investment in a home (sometimes surprisingly so), but it also contributes greatly to the aesthetic, can deliver incredible functionality and when done well adds to the home’s value. So landing on a strategy for the cabinetry was a really big decision and one that I didn’t rush! 

To tie in with the foundations I’ve already set in the interiors I’m working with both polyurethane and engineered thermolaminated wrap finishes for the cabinetry. There are a mixture of two profiles - one very simple and elegant (but not flat) ultra-slim shaker effect, and one highly textured ribbed effect. Both profiles are used within single pieces of cabinetry, in either a rich oak finish, a satin white or a custom grey-green. I’ll have to go into more detail on those in individual rooms and zones as there’s a lot to see.

Window Treatments

I have this repeating vision of a soft, sheer linen curtain dancing in the gentle breeze across the surface of my dining room tiles, casting a muted shadow as it plays with the sunlight. So pretty!  In reality I am still deciding about drapery in that room so who knows if I’ll ever see that poetic vision come to life?! I guess the point is that I love the functionality of curtains and the juxtaposition of their softness against the many firm surfaces there will be in the home. Throughout the home the window treatments will be a mixture of roller blinds, roman blinds, blockout and sheer drapery, depending on the operation of the door or window, and the room it’s in. Unsurprisingly given how the interior foundations are shaping up, the fabrics for these window treatments will feel natural to the touch, be simple in colour, with some texture, and devoid of pattern.

What are your insights and tips when selecting your Interior Foundations? 

Firstly, don’t underestimate their importance! They’re a really important canvas on which your home’s whole aesthetic and atmosphere is going to be built on. Homeowners will often spend a lot of time selecting flooring but might overlook the fact that we spend a lot of our days with vertical surfaces in our eye line! 

As always, start with a Mood Board. This will help you identify the types of selections that will lend themselves to the ambience you’re trying to create. Next, keep it consistent - when selecting say a skirting board, look at it in conjunction with your desired wall treatments, and other aspects of your interior foundations. Some selections will obviously work well together and complement each other- others will feel like you’re jamming a square peg in a round hole. Get samples of all of your selections and look at them in unison. 

Ask the experts. If you’re not sure, reach out for some help. It’s worth getting these details right, the first time.