When Melanie, a long time member of the Peninsular Club, was asked to design a renovation when the club moved, she attacked the task with her normal enthusiasm.
She took what was a very tired and outdated space and turned it into a cool and elegant venue where the club members could dine on the fine food or relax and enjoy themselves at the bar.
Have a look at the before and after photos to see the extraordinary difference!

The four poster bed was found in an attic. The blood red cotton damask for the hangings and drapes was found as a 50 meter bolt at the Marche aux Puces in Paris. The old gold fringing was recycled from some silk curtains that were beyond repair, but some of the fabric was used for cushions.

In Blue Sittingroom - the monumental limestone fireplace was found in one of the barns on the estate and put back together by local stone masons - luckily nothing was missing. The huge oriental carpet was found in the attic too - it had a large hole in it - the solution was to put another smaller oriental over the hole. Layering orientals in France is considered very chic. The pale blue upholstery fabric was from another old bolt found at the Marche aux Puces in Paris

In the 3rd photo - notice that the sofa is covered in the same blood red damask as was used in the red bedroom. The enormous chandelier looked like it was made out of wrought iron, until a thorough cleaning revealed it to be bronze and was sympathetically converted to electricity.

All the furniture, fixtures, fittings and accessories were found at the Easter Antiques Market at L’Isle-sur-la Sorgue in the Vaucluse, South of France in 1991. 

We were so lucky to be able to work with the most extraordinary craftsman and artisans who did the most fabulous job on restoring and updating the structure of the Chateau. All modern conveniences were added without compromising the architectural integrity of the Chateau and to finish it we furnished and accessorised everything to look as if the Chateau evolved slowly through the centuries, from the early 18th to the 21st. We wanted it to appear that the the original family still lived there and had invited the hotel guests to stay at their private country estate.

Here is the text:

In the early 90’s, British native David Weston was a gentleman farmerliving off the grid in theDordogne in France. But he wasn’t the steriotypical salt of the earth small holder; he kept an office in Paris and was a sought after interior designer.”I jumped into the green thing in a big way” David says.”I was raising horses and I didn’t want to give them chemical de-wormers. I read that if you ran sheep, cows and horses together, the parasites would be minimal. So I ended up with cows that needed milking. We had our own water supply and ended up being 97 percent self sufficient.

David left his idyllic life for New York in 2004. He continued to design and wrote for Marie Claire Home, but he soon grew tired of the urban lifestyle. He met a native from Grand Rapids and the two decided to relocate to Michigan. In 2006, David, along with friend Melanie Rogers, opened Think Design , a company that employs a fresh way of looking at environmentally friendly design.

“I always explain to people that you don’t have to have that stark over contemporary look” David says.”You can do a lot with fabrics and linens,too. I’m a great believer in recycling. Reclaimed wood flooring has a beautiful patina. Antiques lend so much to a design, mixing past and present. I love putting a crazy contemporary fabric onto an antique piece. It jazzes it up and adds a contemporary twist”.

David sources furniture with frames from sustainable sources, recycled wadding and, and natural fabric upholstery. He finds tables made from old railway ties merged with reclaimed steel for the bases.

“I think for me, it’s all about your environment,” he says. “I’ve had cancer twice twice, and I convinced myself it had to do with toxic chemicals and food preservatives,” David says. “I had to live and eat very healthily because of my compromised immune system.There can be such horrible chemicals in carpets for example. That new “fresh smell” really comes from toxic off-gasses. I think we need to go back to basics, before all these hideous chemicals were used in processing. Houses in Europe still have silk curtains from the 18th Century. If you use natural materials, they will last much longer. Green design isn’t really new; everything is truly a reflection of the past”

Reported and Written by Sharon Biggs Waller

A big “Thank You” goes to all our clients, colleagues and friends who have supported us so brilliantly throughout 2009!

We will do our best to win it again this year!

“David Weston, co-owner of Think Design Studio in Grand Rapids, Michigan recommends. “generally, people like to refurbish their Knotty Pine by stripping it down and putting a lighter glaze on it or a wash of color so you can see the grain of the wood coming through”,says Weston, who’s committed to eco-friendly treatments. “You want to preserve the knotty pine character, especially for cottages, but make it lighter and brighter, as cabins are more sophisticated these days. It used to be that walking into a cottage was like going into a cave.”

Weston designs interiors for both residences and offices, many of which are in Saugatauk and Douglas. “Reclaimed knotty pine is great”,he says, “because it’s been refinished and doesn’t look like that orangey, old knotty pine of the past.”

Read the rest of the article in the January Edition of Shore Magazine on Page 36

Everything was donated by the companies listed in the Grand Rapids Press Article, and as Paula said in the interview, the suite has changed out of all recognition.

We are still looking for a few donated items to complete the suite, mostly art, accessories and a new examiner’s chair. Anybody who could help would be greatly appreciated.

We at Think Design are committed to doing what we can to help and be involved in our local community, as well as being involved in projects in the Third World.

We send all our supporters in our Non-Profit endevors, our most sincere thanks for everything they have done to help us achieve our goals

Photos show the Kindy and Decker Residence