Thanks for joining us again at CINNY’s Notebook. If you haven’t already read part one: Unveiling of the CINNY showroom, make sure to give it a read. In part one we talked about how we arrived at Elkstone Studio, our vision for the space, the brand and a sourcebook into the first fix, creating the space. In part two, we’re staying on the showroom journey, from instalment to finishing touches.
With the residential mouldings and skirtings installed, pantry and WC complete and the showroom painted throughout with our stunning full gloss ceiling lifting the space. Our mission to create a home from home was becoming apparent. With all signs of office fittings removed, it started to feel like home. Next the curtains, Lorcan lined with Coco, both in Ochre, were the perfect choice. When selecting fabric for the curtains, I always consider the colours outside to allow the curtains to frame the view. The showroom looks onto beautiful stoney warm yellows of the surrounding barns and raised beds of lavender and Olive Trees. The ochre colour way brought harmony between the inside and out.
The walls, painted in Little Greene China Clay, bring a sense of calm to the space with this beautiful warm neutral and lovely undertones of pink. Soft pinks and yellow curate the most tranquil of environments and became the perfect backdrop to our Ochre and Honey colours. We decided to stay on scheme, wallpapering the pantry and WC in our newly released Lorcan Reverse in Honey, keeping the joinery in China Clay, with electrical points and radiators, in Little Greene’s Gallete; a match made in heaven. The curtain poles and cafe tension rods were sourced from the brilliant Sam at Jago Design. Tension rods were chosen to save drilling any unwanted holes into the window frames. For the cafe rods, we used Rose Uniacke Sheer Linen in Chalk gently gathered with a pocket heading to soften the painted framed windows and offer privacy to the space. The finishing touch to the windows came from traditional signage hand-painted in gold by the brilliant Myall Signs. One of the few places left in the UK offering this old-school technique and detailing.
Our showroom table – We planned a long table to offer the perfect spot to meet and share ideas, along with hosting CINNY events. Finding a table longer than 3 metres in this country, is nearly impossible and the only route was to have one made. We worked with Fenture based in East Sussex who sourced locally and carved the table from an entire tree to ultimately be as sustainable as possible with very little waste. The table measures a vast 3.6m x 1.2m with two equal benches resting either side. Finished in a natural oak and rough edge, it is the epitome of bringing nature inside. The lead-time was long, so be prepared but it was worth the wait!
Our antique chest and screens – The Vintage Detail helped locally source pieces for the showroom. Sarah has worked in the antiques and vintage market for many years, having previously owned a vintage shop. Now based in the epicentre of antiques, Petworth, she tapped into her source book to find the final items for the showroom. First on the list the extra large (1m diameter) traditional wicker laundry baskets from Mary at the Vintage Boathouse to place our eiderdowns and cushions. We came up with the idea of a plan chest, to house samples but the search was extensive due to lack of stock and a chest with fully functioning slim drawers (which hadn’t been tampered with). Sarah finally tracked down a beautiful and reasonably priced chest from Cambrewood. Its stunning and the perfect home for our samples!
Next on the brief, screens, to separate the space and to hang fabric off for our in-house photoshoots. Sarah, sourced two very different styles of screen. The first, a 19th century Scandinavian modern Swedish room divider from Ebay. The second, a traditional teak coat hanger, found in the hangers at Lorfords Antiques, Tetbury. We also found our large and beautiful teak carved mirror here. The final item, sourced together, from Dean Antiques, a beautiful 19th Century Display Cabinet with the original glass in tact. Dean, personally delivered and made touch ups to the cabinet to ensure it was a good as new. It now takes pride of place in the showroom and slowly filling up with all things CINNY.
CINNY Caramite Chairs – Whilst sourcing, we saw a great opportunity to add Caramite Chairs to the CINNY collection, sourced by Sarah, finished by Cinny. Carimate Chairs, are coveted amongst Magistretti collectors and originally crafted for the Carimate golf club located in the north of Milan. This bold yet elegant design has rightfully earned a place in the CINNY collection available in hand finished natural oak with your choice of custom CINNY seat-pads for ultimate comfort and a sophisticated addition to any dining table setting.
CINNY Bedroom Sofa – Part of our one-off collection, an early 20th Century sofa fully restored by the finest upholsterers with a traditional coil sprung seat, newly upholstered and self-piped in Arthur Stripe Elephant Blue finished to CINNY specification with a beautiful kick pleat skirt. The sofa was covered in calico prior to top cover being fitted. It was upholstered meticulously by Franklin and Hare. Look out for new sofas and armchairs coming soon to the showroom.
There are many reasons to fall in love with Marrakesh, the souks being one, located in the heart of the Medina of Marrakech, off the famous Jemaa el Fna square, the souks are the perfect place to fully immerse yourself into the Moroccan culture and find the most incredible things. You have to know where to look and we could not have been in better hands, than with our Guide Mustafa (tel: +212-661-165228) who weaved us through the souks and knew the best places to find the final pieces for the showroom.
Our huge and beautiful hand-woven berber rug (5x6m) came from GALERIE TALSINT (tel: +212 5 24 44 51 76). We sourced our traditional butter urns from Palais Saadien. Maison Blauoi is a must-visit for interior lovers filled with wonderful furniture and interesting objects. If you find yourself there, go to El-Fenn (the soho-house of Morrocco) for lunch and cocktails on the rooftop, you’ll find it almost impossible to leave their boutique empty handed! No trip would be complete without visiting the YSL Museum and Marjolle Gardens, very touristy but a feast for the eyes.
If you’re like me, I’m never far from a shawl or a kaftan, for a super chic option, visit Khalidoun Shop which is also home to stunning ceramics and splatter-ware, we left with a box filled for our new house and cant wait to set the table! With the new house still in mind, we found the dreamiest bed-linen and towels at Valerie Barkowski, everything is bespoke. You choose the cloth (linen, cotton, towelling), colour and trim or tassel style. We created the perfect bedroom set, the options are endless and we were obsessed!
We loved staying at Jasper Conran’s guest house, ****L’Hotel, right in the heart of the Medina, you will be beautifully looked after, the rooms are never locked and incredibly comfortable. Our favourite time of year to go is, December to March, as you climb the stairs to the rooftop for breakfast, hearing the cockerels crow, sipping a traditional nous-nous coffee looking on the snow-capped Atlas mountains as Marrakesh awakes. Utter heaven!
All the shops mentioned, ship direct, the rugs and urns were hand delivered to the Cotswolds from the same man who served us. It blew my tiny mind that they had driven all the way from Marrakech! Mustafa, the guide will help you consolidate your orders. For a bigger interior experience, visit the Sidi-Ghanem, the design district of Marrakesh and for shipping large containers, we recommend Adil Transit.
Hope you’ve enjoyed this months notebook and possibly inspired you to take a trip to Marrakesh! Lots more to come next month!
