Second home dreams
Words | Emma Mahony For the owners of these superb second properties, lavishing attention on their interiors was an investment that has paid off handsomely Barbados NOT EVERY SECOND home-owner in Barbados gets an interior decorator to create a look. But Mark and Nicola Aldridge’s decision last year to do just this turned their fairly [...]
Words | Emma Mahony
For the owners of these superb second properties, lavishing attention on their interiors was an investment that has paid off handsomely
Barbados
alt="The award-winning interior of this lush Barbados apartment">
NOT EVERY SECOND home-owner in
Barbados gets an interior decorator to
create a look. But Mark and Nicola Aldridge’s
decision last year to do just this turned their
fairly ordinary, four-bedroom apartment, in
the exclusive two- and three-storey marina
in Port St Charles, into an award-winning creation. When
the British couple hired Jenny Blanc to help them design
and style its interior, they weren’t expecting the finished
result to win the Best International Interior Design Award
at the 2007 International Property Awards.
alt="A coffee table carved out of coral stone was just one of the locally-produced items specially made for the
apartment.">
For those who have never visited Barbados, the Caribbean
island, as a former colony, has strong links with Britain, and
that relationship is reflected in the number of Brits who
make up the second home-owner market – around 80% of
clients, according to Jenny Blanc. And the process of buying
in Barbados is “easier than in Britain,” says Mark. “The
legal process is very straightforward, and there is good
protection for land”. With property prices reflecting the
exclusivity of the island – a large two-bedroom apartment in
Port St Charles marina costs between £1 and £2 million – the
need to furnish and fit a home properly, to match the luxury
feel of the place is important.
Jenny Blanc, once married to celebrity chef Raymond Blanc,
owner of Michelin-starred Le Manoir Aux Quat’ Saisons in
Oxford, exercised her creative talents early on, designing the
business’s interior back in 1985. It wasn’t until later, though,
when Jenny’s design partner, Sue Thomas-Richardson,
brought her along to Barbados, that she fell in love with
the island. Sue had family living there, and the pair decided
on the spot to set up shop together on Barbados.
alt="Oceanic accents are evident throughout, for example in shell-patterned cushions and a miniature schooner sailing boat.">
“A typical island home is a plantation house”, explains
Jenny, “with a big porch, coral stone, and wooden railings.”
That style has been retained, despite the many newer
buildings built near the coast, and careful planning has not
spoilt the island’s low-rise look.
Jenny adapts typical Barbadian design details, such as
pickled pine (a washed, pale painted look), when she is
commissioning furniture from local cabinet-makers.
For the Aldridge’s apartment, which the family will
be visiting five or six times a year, “we were looking for
something special,” the designer says, “a blend of
contemporary European and local manufacturers.”
alt="The island theme is continued with coral-effect glasswear">
Locally-made items include a coffee table, carved out of
coral stone to form a turtle emerging from the sand, and
latticework on doors and cane chairs. “They commissioned
planters’ chairs too,” says Jenny, “where the sitter leans back
and swings out two footrests.”
The home was finished on a budget of around £180,000,
two days before last Christmas. The Aldridges arrived off the
plane and, says Mark: “We walked in blindfold for a bit of fun,
for the full Changing Rooms effect.” Then squeals of delight
no doubt rang out over the marina.
HOW TO GET THE BARBADIAN LOOK
Jenny Blanc, interior designer
Jenny Blanc can be contacted on +44 (0)20 8943 4440
or visit www.jennyblancinteriors.com
She recommends the following suppliers to get the effect:
Tides Gallery
+1 246 432 8356
A waterside restaurant in Holetown, Barbados, which has
a small art gallery with an ever-changing collection of
local artists’ work
The Rug Company
+1 212 274 0444
This US-based bespoke service company allows you to
buy and commission unique rugs. Its North American
division ships rugs straight to the Caribbean.
The Natural Light
+1 800 331 3898
An interesting lighting company offering a colonial look
created to a high quality specification.
Belfast
alt="Colonial-style furniture gives the apartment a traditional, yet fresh feel">
LINDY CLARKE DESCRIBES her style as “eclectic”,
and when she is designing interiors in her native
Belfast she usually goes out of her way to include
something Irish in the mix. So when she worked
on a two-bedroom apartment overlooking Belfast
Loch, bought by a Canadian businessman needing
a second home, she took an unusual step in going Scottish.
The Large old manor house, Crawfordsburn in Co Down, used
to be the family home of Lord Crawford in the 1800s. It was
later turned into a hospital, until it was bought by the building
firm R&A Developments for converting into large flats.
alt="The Belfast apartment’s views across to Scotland inspired the Scottish castle theme">
Lindy, who had been to art college in Belfast before training
as an interior designer with the local firm Suttons, was asked
to create the ultimate show home for the development, “with
an almost limitless budget,” she explains.
With four designers in her team, she set about creating
‘wow’ factor for each room, and with views over the Loch
to Scotland, together with the baronial castle feel of the
architecture, she couldn’t resist introducing a few Scottish
themes: “I made a nod to the typical Scottish castle, and in one
room had fabric for the curtains printed with thistles.” But art
works were sourced from Ava Gallery in Belfast, with Louis le
Brocquy and Jack B Yeats – two famous Irish artists – among
those chosen. Lindy’s team also scoured antiques markets
and fairs in southern Ireland, Italy and Paris to find fabrics,
wallpaper and furniture. “We like our interiors to be timeless,
not to date, so they must look good in 10 years time,” she says.
alt="Artist Georgia Lindsay was commissioned to hand-paint a scene on an alcove behind one bed">
Split over two levels, Lindy worked with the original
cornicing, fireplaces and ceilings, introducing a custom-built
chandelier, made by McCloud Lighting of Kevin McCloud
fame (before he became the presenter of Grand Designs).
Behind one bed, the British artist Georgia Lindsay, with
whom Lindy was acquainted, hand-painted a scene on a wall.
alt="The hallway has a chandelier made by TV presenter Kevin
McCloud’s lighting company as its centrepiece">
The two-bedroom, two-bathroom home – now worth
over £1 million – was finished for £250,000. “Every space
was treated individually,” says Lindy, “and it was very
encouraging that the developers were happy to put their
faith in me.” The designer’s vision paid off, and the buyer
snapped up the million-pound apartment fast, requesting
for all of Lindy’s design work to remain.
HOW TO GET THE BELFAST LOOK
Lindy Clarke, interior designer
Lindy Clarke can be contacted on +44 (0)28 9045 0060
or visit www.lindyclarke.com
She recommends the following suppliers to get the effect:
Georgia Lindsay
+44 (0)79 5891 8034
Georgia Lindsay hand-paints designs on walls.You can
view her portfolio on www.georgialindsaydesign.co.uk
Ava Gallery
Bangor, Northern Ireland, +44 (0)28 9185 2263;
www.avagalleryclandeboye.co.uk
This gallery is the sole exhibitor of a number
of Northern Irish contemporary artists.
Ballinderry Antiques
Lisburn, Northern Ireland, +44 (0)28 9265 1046;
www.ballinderryantiques.co.uk
This large antiques shop is set over three floors and
deals in everything from porcelain to furniture.
