Pembroke College, Oxford
rhbr had already re-upholstered some dining chairs for the college’s Senior Common Room and was delighted to be invited to work with them on the complete refurbishment of Broadgates Hall, the Fellows’ Common Room
The Project Brief
Broadgates Hall is used as the Fellows’ Common Room. It had undergone a major refurbishment 20 years ago but it was now time to breathe new life into this beautiful space. Daisy Jowers, the college’s Project Manager, the Master of the College and the interior designer they had engaged were all keen to explore re-using the existing furniture rather than buying new sofas and armchairs.
Broadgates Hall is the most glorious graceful room dominated by an enormous bay window looking out over one of the college’s quadrangles. In keeping with the setting, the sofas and armchairs were very traditional in style but had definitely seen better days – you could say they were very much “pre-loved”.
Project Scope
The interior designer was tasked with the selection of all the finishes for the space – wallcoverings, curtains and upholstery fabrics. The rhbr team worked closely with him to agree the final details for each of the pieces involved. Whether piping would be appropriate or (in some cases) too fussy, where scatter cushions would provide the right finishing touches, how contrasting fabrics might best be used, and how to overcome some of the inevitable challenges along the way – working with pieces like this is always an unknown until work actually starts.
The end result is stunning.
How we Delivered
Daisy Jowers, Project Manager at Pembroke College, was kind enough to say “It was a pleasure to work with the rhbr team, whose craftmanship and attention to detail was second to none. The quality of the reupholstered furniture is top tier, and the communication throughout the process was excellent. Our Fellows are very happy with the new room, and it’s breathed fresh life into one of our oldest buildings.”
It was a project that was a joy to work on and we are delighted to have been a part of it. It is further testimony to both our upholstery skills and to our continuing commitment to promoting sustainability, re-use and the circular economy.
