Jean Paul Gautier meets Gilpin Lodge hospitality and service! Well his fabrics do, in the form of back cushions to the sophisticated velvet and leather upholstery in the new dining room.

I am sure he will follow once he hears of the stylish transition from the Lake District 20th Century to international 2014! Gilpin has always had a statement of its own to make, and that is still forever present.

Christine has kept the personable dressing and flora characteristics of the hotel’s warmth and humour. Together with the team, we have brought a burst of freshness in our contemporary colour scheme, texture and sculptural ornamentation. Our versatile and sometimes relaxed approach remains classical and sufficiently elegant befitting a Lake District country house hotel of this calibre.

I feel we are often fairly masculine in our colour palette preferences, which hopefully appeals to all nature of guest. For example the charcoal grey and mustard contrasting against the all white from Farrow & Ball is punchy, with softness coming from the use of tactile velvets, textures in the floor covering and floral weaves.

The new reception, hall and stair case is immediately soft to the eye with Cornforth white as a base. I can’t really imagine life in the design world without yet another take on our signature background tone – grey! There are many variants on white. There are also many variants on grey. These tones offer us our versatility whilst still keeping our schemes unique. It’s how you build up a room that can make or break! Using texture and tone on tone is our method, heaven forbid it be a shade off!

To be viable to any client, our design and finishing has to stand the test of time. To the visiting critical eye as well as our own. John and Christine at Gilpin are no different and are NOT looking to re-create this impact again next year! It has been an extremely successful, tightly run and executed project.

To achieve what they have in three weeks is mind boggling. We are proud to have been part of it. The room design as a canvas is our expertise, from layout to wall finishes, furnishing, fabrics and lighting. The management of men, women and architectural structure is down to Ben and Barney.

The excitement surged as the hours and minutes raged forward towards opening night last Friday. The clock was ticking, while last minute design decisions, detailing and dressing came to a finish the tables were laid for service and the new reception was primed to welcome their expectant guests.