Riverside Apartment, Hamble, Hampshire
A bolt-hole on the River Hamble, this modern guest annexe is a cosy place for guests and relatives to stay.
Fabrics and textures bring warmth to the sitting room
A cosy refuge on entering the apartment, the combination of deep colours and subtle textures in the design scheme cocoons visitors and guests.
A calm and tranquil bedroom
Against a backdrop of limed timber-effect wallpaper, the serene bedroom includes subtle hints of riverside materials and accents in keeping with Hamble’s shoreline location.
Bright and spacious bathroom
A light and airy design scheme for this room, with a sculptural freestanding bathtub – filled from the ceiling – as a centrepiece and focal point.
Project Gallery
Project Story
Background to the project
This riverside bolt-hole is in a prime position on the River Hamble. It’s a wonderful spot, although this apartment had been converted from part of another property, and its own layout and appearance had been an afterthought.
The interior design brief from our client
The brief was to create a simple, airy and relaxed space. The apartment would be used by a variety of friends and family when they visit Hamble, providing them with their own space and privacy. It was also to be self-contained so that visitors could stay there for extended periods without having to rely on any facilities in the main house.
The concept for the interior design
As mainly a guest space we sought to create a calm and tranquil apartment where guests could relax. A predominantly neutral colour scheme was proposed, although neutral doesn’t have to be boring… we presented a carefully curated selection of colours, fabrics, and textures to provide visual and textural interest too. While it can be tempting to decorate a property near the sea with nautical trinkets, we created the ambience more subtly with a delicate use of colour, natural materials, and hints of Hamble’s shoreline environment.
Warm and cosy sitting room design
The sitting room is also the entrance to the apartment, and it’s open to the kitchen and dining room too, so we altered the layout of the space to better define the circulation between these areas. This also created a more contained sitting room area which we could decorate and furnish to create the feeling of a snug and cosy refuge. Visitors are welcomed into a comfortable room with a neutral colour palette and a careful use of materials and texture.
A custom-designed corner sofa in deep herringbone fabric is a soft and comfortable place to relax. Against the backdrop of a textured and similarly deep-toned wallcovering, the effect of this scheme and furniture arrangement is to cocoon those sitting here.
Natural materials are also used, with white marble to the side tables also creating a visual contrast. The floating shelf below the TV is made from a solid oak timber beam, it’s split end-grain openly visible.
Sleek kitchen with designer wall lighting
The kitchen / diner is in the centre of this apartment, and it’s been designed with an uncluttered layout to provide a spacious feel to the hub of this home. An open feel around eye level comes from avoiding the busyness of wall cabinets, although plenty of storage is incorporated elsewhere in this neat layout.
Instead, feature lamps make a striking design accent on the walls, and provide excellent task lighting to the worktop below. The sleek handleless cabinetry is complemented by a similarly neat cylindrical extractor.
A spacious bathroom with unexpected features
The bathroom is a sublime place to start the day, or to unwind and refresh after a day on the water or by the river in Hamble. The central focus of the room is the sculptural pebble-shaped bathtub, dramatically filled from an outlet in the ceiling.
The backdrop to the bath is a wall of aqua green brick tiles, with matching white tiles completing the rest of the room. A large walk-in wet room shower alongside provides another roomy washing area. The flooring continues the timber plank look, in a porcelain material which is both suitable for wet use and has slip-resistance provided by its woodgrain-effect finish.
Thinking about the users of this apartment, the basin area was designed with a long shelf behind – ideal for guests to place wash bags and to lay out their toiletries and so on. Hidden storage is avoided to prevent people leaving things behind.
A calm and restful ambience to the bedroom
And finally, the bedroom is a place of simple calm alongside the waterfront. Riverside materials are referenced in the limed timber-effect wallpaper, with translucent porcelain reading lamps casting a warm glow across the room. The shoreline location is also subtly referenced with agate pebble-topped tables and artworks above.
The finished apartment
The interior of the whole apartment was redesigned to create the perfect retreat by the River Hamble. A refined design scheme, along with a reductive approach to the design and detailing of the property, results in a simple and restorative space. While visitors will enjoy the calm and relaxed atmosphere we created, it’s also punctuated with interesting details and unexpected design features to produce an apartment that will be a joy to visit.
