Calm and inspiring office is a sanctuary
THE white minimalist decor in Sarah Stone’s favourite room provides a soothing ambience in which the photographer and online business developer can get inspired and be creative.
Her office, a converted upstairs bedroom in the 1920s house in Newport, is her sanctuary.
Indeed she feels the whole house has a relaxing vibe which she and her husband Andy cherish. But that wasn’t always the case. The couple have spent the last 15 years refurbishing their Chepstow Road home from top to bottom and there have been more than a few bumps in the road on their journey.
It was the feel of the property and not its looks which attracted the couple, so as soon as they purchased they started getting quotes off builders for work to update the 1980s decor.
“The first builder who came actually asked if we had viewed the house before we bought it because it needed so much work,” said the 37-year-old.
“But we didn’t care about the amount of work, we cared about how it felt.
“Every room in the house needed completely stripping back, but at the time we didn’t have very much money. It’s all been a very long process.
“When we could afford to upgrade something we would do it. It’s only very recently that it’s got to the stage where everything is done. We have even put stairs into the attic and extended there.
“When we were doing the works it was a financial struggle because it MOST of you know me as the Design Director at Taylor’s Etc, but I also hold the role of Design Director at a small welsh brand called The Baked Tile Company.
Last week I was approached by a journalist from The Times asking my opinion on the resurgence of the Metro tile, also known as the subway tile, due to its prominence in the decoration of London, Paris and New York subways in the early 20th century.
From a design perspective this product has been popular in traditional style kitchens for a little while now, but all of a sudden it has really risen and become one of the must have finishes for 2017.
So why is everyone going crazy for a little brick shaped tile with a chamfered edge? I think it’s due to the fact that it is perfect for injecting a touch of simple nostalgia into a room’s scheme, but also dependant on the layout you choose, it can was our first home together so we didn’t realise the work that was needed.”
And then, just as things were progressing in the house, Sarah came home to find “it was raining inside”.
Push-fit hot water pipes installed by a previous owner had burst while the couple were out and, over the course of eight hours, the water had poured through the ceiling and down the living room walls, stripping the newly-hung wallpaper off as it went.
“All of the work that had been done had been unravelled,” said Sarah.
“The British Gas guys said they have never seen anything like it. At the time we were devastated, but we just had to cope.”
Another flood followed, thanks to a poorly-sealed shower unit, but the Stones are made of stern stuff and stayed put.
Sarah said while they have kept the decor in the majority of the house traditional – retaining cornicing to show off the high ceilings – she treated her office as a blank canvas. look traditional, urban, industrial and even funky.
If you install this simple tile in a brick bond, it naturally evokes a traditional feel, those of us familiar with Victorian interiors would have found this type of layout in bathrooms, porches and in kitchens.
But add a contrasting grey grout colour and it makes the tile look far more industrial, perfect for dressing homes that have embraced this recent trend.
A stacked layout of the tile, where one tile sits directly above the other, is simpler and slightly more contemporary, meaning you can use the nostalgic quality of the metro tile in a simpler interior, creating what I call a new traditional vibe, maybe with shaker style units and a contemporary patterned floor.
In the last few months I have started to use the Metro in a herringbone layout, this is far more decorative and gives a strong contemporary edge to a kitchen.
This enables home designers to add detail to the surfaces of their rooms without adding fussy pattern or a combination of colours, just relying on the beauty of the slightly 3D surface of the product and a very interesting layout. Metro tiles...what’s not to love really?
“I like to keep it as a white space, a blank canvas, to keep a clear head,” she said.
“It’s white with teal, which I feel is very calming, and a grey silver colour. It helps me to feel very inspired, to take myself into a zone and shut myself off. It’s quite a nice feeling to be able to run my business from here. It’s comfortable and relaxing without distractions.”
Her favourite item is her Mac Book computer, which allows her to work at home or anywhere she needs to be.