Framing up...

Choosing the right architrave for our doors was an interesting task: because the selection was so vast and the effect on the look and depth of the doorway was extremely varied with different choices.

There were a couple of firm decisions that had to be made. The first was should the architrave run all the way to the floor, or should it stop on top of the skirting boards or terminate on little square blocks? We decided after looking at many photos of interior magazines that it really should run all the way to the ground. Terminating on corner squares (designed to alleviate the problem of joining different depths of skirting to architrave) looked 'bitsy' and was not the look we wanted. 

Above: Architrave terminating on a square.

Below: Architrave running right to the floor.

Terminating on top of the skirting also made the meeting of the two profiles awkward, so to the floor it was. Then we had to decide how the architrave profile was to blend with that of the skirting. We solved this problem by placing the thicker side of the architrave on the outside of the doorway and the thinner on the inside. This meant that there was a solid depth of 32mm all the way around the outside of the doorway into which the skirting could abut. We then chose to take the maximum thickness of the skirting up to 32mm so that where they joined would be seamless.

Having decided on these set parameters there were a myriad of configurations and profiles to choose from, but in the end we did not choose any of the existing profiles, but deigned both the door and window architraves, and the skirting boards ourselves...

Above left: Our skirting board profile

Above right: Our architrave profile

We designed a nice high skirting board that was going to be in proportion to the height of the rooms (many modern houses have 8 foot studs and very low skirting. We have 12 foot studs and wanted to make a feature of our skirting (or base boards as they are sometimes known). Below is a photo of a marble skirting board which inspired part of the profile design for our wooden boards:

We liked the flat middle section for the skirting, because we wish to recess the power-points into the board so that they are not so obvious (power not being the most Georgian of concepts).

The door and window architraves were originally designed to be of two different sizes (same profile, but scaled larger for the door ways) but when we had some test runs made, the door architraves seemed too wide (they were as wide as the skirting was high, which made the combination seem boxy). So we decided to use the window width throughout which, being thinner than the skirting, looked more elegant.

Above: Example of an architrave the same width as the skirting is high.

Below: Example of an architrave which is thinner than the skirting is high.

The profile of the architrave was also designed so that certain bands of the profile could be painted off-white or maybe gold, to highlight the framing and give the doorway a more dramatic appearance. Below are some examples of how gold highlighting in an architrave might transform the look of a doorway...

Here are some more architraves we looked at...

One can add a more ornate overmantle atop the architrave to increase the detail of the doorway too...

Architraves all the way to the floor...

One stopping on block...

By the time I get home in September all the doors, windows and architraves should be fitted. I'll share some more photos then.

I've got it covered...

The marble has finally arrived from Greece and Italy for the flooring, so I am looking forward to seeing it laid when I next go back in September. Now we are choosing carpets to match the hard flooring.

We have found a nice tufted cut pile carpet from a NZ company called Irvines. It is from their premium solution dyed nylon (PSDN) range. Now, I was raised to believe that the only acceptable carpets One could countenance having in One's home were 100% wool. But it appears that that idea is now completely on its head, with technology far eclipsing the sad and tragic range of harsh and scratchy artificial fibres that were on offer in the 1980s. Modern PSDN carpets are soft, stain proof, fade proof, hard wearing, and look good. 

We also compared triexta/polyester carpets (such as Smartstrand made by Mohawk), which are incredibly popular, with PSDN and woolen carpets. When we went to one independent carpet company who sold all three we were shown a simulated 10 year wear test on woolen carpets vs polyester/triexta vs PSDN and there was no comparison, the PSDN was by far the best wearing.

Above: Willoughby 'helping' choose the floor coverings. Every time we put a carpet sample down on the floor he went and lay on it. I think he agreed in the end that the Westminster City Beige worked best for his fur tones (and was the one which worked best with the beige marble sample).

Above: Westminster City Beige PSDN carpet and the foyer marble sample. The photo below is the same carpet, but is more representative of the colour the carpet actually is. 

It has been paired with the Westminster City Black carpet (above) which will provide a border trim to the rooms in the same way that the black marquina marble will form a trim for the beige travertine. The carpets and marbles including the borders will segue into each other as you transition from the foyer to the salon.

We are looking for a vivid crimson red for the dining room, to match the silk damask walls. We are undecided on a plain red, such as this PSDN carpet called "Grenadier Guards"...

or whether to go for a patterned red such as the Irvines pattern called Delvaux...

or this one called trellis...

The above 2 examples are of a printed nylon carpet, the benefit being the patterns are crisp on the carpet. A more traditional approach would be a woven pattern, such as these by Brintons...

we want to capture a certain look in the dining room carpet, the look created by the carpet in these photos...

 Above: The dining room at Althorpe House

Below: The dining room at Broughton Hall

Above and Below: The dining room at Chatsworth House 

Above and Below: Rooms at Lancaster House 

 Above and Below: The Dining Room at Buckingham Palace

Below: A still from a scene in Downton Abbey. I am not sure of the set location.

For the Billiard room we will chose a green carpet, either plain or patterned. It would be a traditional pattern, such as this...

Above: Brintons

Below: Irvines

or a tartan, which I really like the idea of, as the rest of the room's interior is designed with a Scottish highland flavour...

This pattern by Irvines is from the same range as the first tartan, but is somewhat less traditional!

It would be lovely to own a beautiful Aubusson carpet, such as the one at Chatsworth - worth about as much as our entire manor!...

Above and Below: Beautiful examples of the work of Craigie Stockwell who still make bespoke carpets. The carpet above is a reproduction Savonnerie carpet made for this room at Chatsworth. Below is a photograph of how they are manufactured on a broadloom by hand. Amazing!

In a small homage to this wonderful piece we have bought a small (8' x 5') modern Savonnerie rug for our Chatsworth suite:

Aubusson carpets and tapestries were at their zenith in the 17^th and 18^th centuries. They were based in Aubusson in the upper valley of Creuse in central France. The carpets were essentially large scale hand knotted / loomed tapestries, which were up against the royally privileged houses of Gobelins and Beauvais. Savonnerie  were the most prestigious knotted pile carpets made at this time, following on from the legacy of Gobelins and Beauvais. The factory was founded out of a previous soap factory, hence the name Savonnerie. Aubusson and Savonnierie carpets were available to the nobility and wealthy, whereas the Gobelins and Beauvais houses were employed solely by the king.

Below: Example of the hand knotting of a Savonnerie carpet

Here are some more examples of Aubusson and Savonnerie carpets to covet...

Below: More modest modern attempts...  

Classic designs for carpets: