Oceans was the amalgamation of two sites on the famous St George’s Hill golf course in Surrey. This involved the demolition of two existing properties of little architectural merit to create a very contemporary family home of significant proportions.
To work alongside the architects to design a home that made the most of the wonderful plot, bringing natural materials inside and making the most of light, playing with levels and creating spectacular opportunities to feature the client’s growing art collection.
It was clear from the start that our role was to create a sense of space and uncluttered freedom. A place where the client’s artwork could breath, where vantage points framed both the art and the spectacular plot itself. Texture was to be limited and natural in it’s form, understated yet powerful at the same time.
Providing these well considered back drops was as important in the details that surrounded them as the specialist lighting designed to frame the art rather than to create hotspots or arcs of light. We worked carefully on ceiling details, pulling back many areas to accentuate the walls themselves before carefully detailing the lighting circuitry and specification.
With contemporary homes there are often three very important elements to get right, the way floor finishes flow seamlessly into the outdoor spaces and terraces, the way the glazing disappears with minimum visual impact allowing the view to speak for itself and the staircases to act as stand alone sculptural forms.
Each of these elements at Oceans was critical in the design and with no less than five staircases, we set to work to create a gallery of sculptural indulgence each with its own identity and impact. The main staircase was designed to draw the eye up a vast set of piano key like steps to a piece of magnificent art at the top. Mixed materials and recessed, illuminated handrails provided textural and visual excitement whilst a glass bridge provided a strong intersection and divided the first floor whilst allowing for a wonderful double volume hall space.
The sunken lounge within the hall introduced a sense of entertainment and a wonderful central vista of the outside terracing and water water features. Flanked either side by a large dining room and state of the art kitchen whose backdrop was an elliptical staircase, wrapped in polished plaster. A further staircase leads down to the entertainment lounge or up to the client’s DJ room, designed to acoustically protect the most serious of sessions and house a growing vinyl collection of over 10,000 records.
In similar fashion, the leisure wing of the house was designed to embrace light and to make the most of the view of the plot, using colour and artwork on a simple back ground of white walls. Lounge space at pool side was in abundance as we positioned a gym overlooking the pool at higher level and even introduced access direct from the master suite which also had its own lounge and indoor/outdoor bathroom.
