With contacts in the film industry, Mitch Crook, creative director of the design practice Hotel Creative, was given first refusal on the bathroom used on the set of the Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody. It was a faithful replication of the one in Garden Lodge, Kensington, the house that Queen’s singer-songwriter owned from 1980 until he died in 1991. Once filming had wrapped, the main components, which were all designed by Drummonds, were looking for a new home. Mr Crook, a fan of the band's music, bought the pieces and put them away in storage for the right project.
Three years later, an opportunity arose when he was working on redesigning a five-bedroom Queen Anne house in Surrey. The owners were particularly dissatisfied with the design of the main bathroom and asked Mr Crook to restore it using the collection from Drummonds.
A shower was the only missing element. ‘In many ways, it was the final part of the puzzle,’ says James Lentaigne of Drummonds. ‘Installed at the centre of the room, it leaves the beautiful wall coverings undisturbed. The glass structure allows natural light from the windows to flow through, keeping the room spacious and offering a 360-degree view from inside. Unlacquered, it will develop a distinctive aged patina over time.’
The bathroom floor needed to be reinforced to take the weight of the new sanitaryware. The boards were replaced with aged oak herringbone planks from Ted Todd. On the walls are panels of St Laurent, a wallpaper by de Gournay hand-painted on gilded paper.
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Northwold Manor: 'A place of delight once more after half a century of chaos and neglect'A heroic restoration project has transformed Northwold Manor in Norfolk — home of Professor Warwick Rodwell and Ms Diane Gibbs — after more than 50 years of being left neglected. It has also illuminated its remarkable history, as John Goodall explains; photography by Paul Highnam for Country Life.
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In search of London’s earliest pintEarly houses — pubs open in the early hours to feed and water the market trade — have been a cornerstone of London for centuries. Yet, as Will Hosie finds, they aren’t stuck in the past.
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An oasis of peace in the maelstrom of Covent GardenThis Eadie and Crole designed drawing room is cool, calm and timeless.
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The Designer's Room: A sitting room splashed with colour, space and styleThe sitting room of an Arts-and-Crafts house in the Surrey Hills has been brought to life with a palette of lively colours.
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A London townhouse kitchen created for work, rest and playThe owners of this elegant London house asked the team at De Rosee Sa to create a light, modern kitchen for their large family..
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A fresh, bright kitchen created to fit in to a 17th century manor houseWhen reconfiguring a 17th-century manor house, Nicola Harding converted the drawing room into a bright, light-filled kitchen. Arabella Youens spoke to her about the project.
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A glorious Cotswold kitchen lifted to new heights with pitch-perfect colour choicesA clever combination of colours has brought life to this inviting Cotswold kitchen designed by Sims Hilditch. Amelia Thorpe takes a look; photography by Christopher Horwood.
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The secret to transforming an awkwardly shaped roomCave Interiors turned the awkwardly shaped sitting room of an Edwardian house into a warm and welcoming space.
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Creating a 'statement island' that defines a kitchen without overwhelming itElegant proportions and soft hues offset the dramatic scale of this kitchen in the Cotswolds. Amelia Thorpe takes a look.
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A modern kitchen perfectly framed by the exquisite ancient beamsArtichoke designed a discreet and timeless kitchen to complement a converted granary. Amelia Thorpe takes a look.
