Interior Design

The demand for residential interior design in the much sought-after Solihull area of Birmingham is increasing year-on-year.  This isn’t surprising for a town and region that recently took the top spot in the best-place-to-live rankings compiled by the UK Quality of Life Index.

Claire Hayes, the owner director of Studio Fourteen Residential Interiors, believes that clients in Solihull are looking for a very personal approach that is sympathetic to properties that can vary in age from new builds to those constructed over a hundred years ago. Claire strongly believes that when it comes to interiors the right ‘design’ is always far more important than just following fashion.  She believes that interior design, while always considering the importance of contemporary design, should be able to stand the test of time.

Listen and Appreciate

Studio Fourteen Interiors follow a straightforward and effective approach – listen to the aspirations of the client and design according to their needs by ensuring that every design proposed compliments the existing environment. As Claire points out, Interior design may offer the designer a wonderful and creative palette to put forward ideas but at the end of the day it’s the client’s vision that needs to be enhanced, perfected and delivered.

Finding Inspiration in Aspiration

To achieve this Studio Fourteen Interiors believe that taking time to understand both the design aspirations of the client and the aspects of the available space.  By offering qualified guidance and advice the company strives to develop an empathy with the client that allows for best ideas to flourish.  By taking inspiration from the surroundings, fittings, the building and the creative philosophy of the client it is always possible to craft a design solution that will be both innovative and yet always match and integrate with the existing space and structure.

Claire believes that this eye-for-detail as applied to Solihull Interior design has contributed significantly to the success of the company. She believes that there is a definite difference between designing for a house and designing for a home.  This is a space where people will live and, as such, all interior design should flow seamlessly from one space to another.

Always Find Design Balance

It can be said that Interior design is truly about matching the personality of a person with the personality of a building in such a way that visual balance and harmony is achieved in a creative, comfortable and uplifting way.

If there is one special secret to residential interior design, then it has to be finding balance.  Colours, furniture, textures and fabrics should always be balanced to accentuate the size and ambience of a room.

With Solihull Interior design becoming the focus of development, Claire believes the new homes being developed can be an ideal blank canvas for a new generation of homes owners to put their own stamp, injecting their personality, creating a beautiful home.

(Originally Featured in Discover Worcester)

A steady growth in domestic and international tourism is driving hotel refurbishment across the UK.  This is particularly true of independent hotels looking to increase their share of visitor numbers by offering exceptional rooms and matchless cuisine often set in buildings that were once abbeys, mansions or even castles.  Studies have repeatedly revealed that tourists to the UK are often looking for an encompassing experience that blends British heritage with world class comfort, convenience and service.

Hotel refurbishment is a professional contracting and design skill that has become a specialism of Studio Fourteen Interiors and the company recently completed the redesign and installation of 14 rooms at The Cosener’s House Hotel in Abingdon, Oxford, Oxfordshire.

Studio Fourteen Interiors is an owner managed company with two distinct capabilities – residential interior design as well as commercial refurbishment and fitout.  The interior design component is headed up by Claire Hayes while the commercial fitout section is driven by Dominic Hayes.  Hotels represent the opportunity to bring together their unique skills to achieve beautiful and practical results.

Hotel refurbishment brings a unique set of challenges.  In many cases hotels will look to have refurbishment carried out in phases so that a significant part of the building can continue operating.  As the main contractor, Studio Fourteen understands the need for first-class health and safety provisions as well as ensuring that both noise and building works have little or no impact on the functioning aspects of the hotel.  The goal is to ensure that guests to one part of the hotel are unaware that works are ongoing elsewhere in the building.

To achieve this goal, the company focus on extensive planning and co-ordination, practical logistics and an onsite team of specialists managed in person by the directors of Studio Fourteen Interiors.  By working closely with the management of the hotel it is possible to create the minimum disruption to the day-to-day operations.  This level of communication ensures that any complications are kept to the bare minimum and health & safety precautions can be both effective and intrude as little as possible.  It minimises last minute changes and any variations in the original brief can be managed in a cost-effective manner.

Most importantly, project management and interior design for hotels must take into consideration the needs of the guests both during the refurbishment and after.  Hotel rooms have a specific set of requirements.  It almost goes without saying that they need to be welcoming, comfortable and ergonomically designed.  However, the décor and styling also needs to reflect the overall theme and ambience of the hotel so that moving from a room to a restaurant and then to a lounge always feels like a seamless journey.  Rooms need to reflect the needs of their future occupants and bridal suites, in particular, need to have a balance of romance and refinement but still be useable as an everyday suite.  Beautiful, fresh, welcoming, comfortable, durable and practical – these are the secrets to a great hotel room refurbishment, and they don’t happen by accident.

Studio Fourteen ‘Hotel refurbishment and fitout’ specialises in luxury period properties that were once abbeys, Tudor farms, stately homes, Victorian and Georgian townhouses as well as castles and towers.  The company has expertise in this area and a deep understanding and empathy for listed historic buildings.

Areas of focus for Studio Fourteen Hotel Refurbishment include: The Cotswolds, Stratford upon Avon, Malvern, Warwick, Cheltenham, Bath and Leamington Spa.

The past 12 months have seen significant growth for Studio Fourteen Interiors, particularly in the commercial refurbishment sector. Our commercial Interiors business has been going from strength-to-strength as can be seen from recent projects such as the entire refurbishment of Caspar House in the Jewellery Quarter of Birmingham UK.

Based on our reputation and growing portfolio of work, Studio Fourteen Interiors were recently invited by the Hereford and Worcester Chamber of Commerce to compete for the Award of Most Promising New Business at the 2019 Chamber Business Awards. After completing the in-depth application document and attending a comprehensive interview by the Judges – we are pleased to say that Studio Fourteen have now been shortlisted as finalists for this prestigious award.

As a company, the commercial refurbishment division of Studio Fourteen Interiors has been operating for just over 2 years. It is owned and managed by Claire and Dominic Hayes who together have over 30 years’ experience in the commercial fit out, interior design and refurbishment sector. The decision to launch into this sector was driven by the extensive regeneration taking place in Birmingham, Worcester and the region.

The strengths of the company, which were recognised by the awards panel, focus on a range of qualities endorsed by many of Studio Fourteen’s clients These include; exceptional time management and a track record of delivering projects on schedule even in challenging circumstances, cost efficiency and management as well as well-planned scheduling to ensure transparency of management and project delivery.

The residential side of Studio Fourteen has long been recognised for attention to detail, aesthetic design and materials selection. These attributes have been incorporated into the commercial refurbishment section to ensure a balance of creative delivery and pragmatic contract management.

Worcester is a rapidly advancing garden-river city that has recently attracted a new wave of business investment to the region. This has driven the need for quality commercial property that is evidenced by the building of new centres such as Liberty 163 and Worcester Six commercial estates together with extensive commercial refurbishment and residential interior design programmes taking place in the city centre.

As members of the Hereford and Worcester Chamber of Commerce, Studio Fourteen has been impressed by the support offered by this group of like-minded entrepreneurs and business ambassadors for the region and are proud to be part of this ongoing resurgence.