“We can slip into the Beautiful with the same ease as we slip into the seamless embrace of water;
something ancient within us already trusts that this embrace will hold us”.
John O’Donohue
Our inspiration – elemental design.
We are inspired by the intricate balance of both home and nature to support and nourish us. Once a quiet retreat away from our hectic everyday, home is now a container for every aspect of our lives and nature is the place that provides opportunity for breathing space.
We are exploring how we can harness the innate intelligence of the natural elements – water, fire, earth and air – and their healing properties in our homes.
The water element.
The fluidity and flow of water helps to balance the airy feeling of Autumn with its windy weather and falling leaves, which can leave us feeling scattered.
The concept – a watery design vision.
We created a vision of an interior underpinned by the water element as a space representing dreaminess, emotions, intuition, our inner depths and yin, feminine energy. It would also have the capacity to cleanse, heal, shapeshift and transform.
Layout
The water element in an interior is a sensuous, shell-like, cavernous space arranged around a fluid flow from space to space, with a particular focus on a serene sanctuary for ritual bathing. Zones are separated by ethereal sheer curtains, cave-like arches and moveable panels.
Textures
A layering of contrasting textures represents the inner depths of the water element. Edges have a mutable, translucent quality, blurring the boundaries of dream and reality.
Colour palette
A watercolour palette of pastels drifting through a smooth ombré from nude, oyster, blush tones to amethyst, turquoise and teal, infused with shimmering, luminous finishes.
Accessories
Items for bathing rituals, including essential oils, candles and crystals. Artworks and vessels celebrating shell-like shapes, fluency of water and the flow of the female form.
Mantra
“I flow, I am”, a beautiful mantra given to us by Bridget Luff. It is inspired by a Rainer Maria Rilke poem and embodies both qualities of stillness and fluidity.
The design – A Place to Heal.
We interpreted the vision above to create a dreamy water-led interior.
Set between the shadowy volume of a large room and the bright natural light of the courtyard, the bath is celebrated as the destination of ritual bathing.
Surfaces and water flow in from the courtyard blurring the boundary between inside and outside. The arched colonnade and red sandstone create an ambient softness to the light as it enters the space and provide a balancing earthy solidity. A mosaic floor is reminiscent of shells scattered on the sea bed.
Soft linens, drapery, lotions, potions, crystals and candles are placed against the surrounding surfaces as the bather soaks in the last rays of warm sun and meditates on an Autumn flowering cherry tree which unfolds as the year passes by.
