Recently, we undertook a very special lampshade restoration job for one of the country’s most cherished properties, 78 Derngate in Northampton. As the only house in England designed by renowned Scottish architect, designer and artist Charles Rennie Macintosh, the property is now a multi award-winning visitor attraction famed for possessing one of the most important interiors of the entire twentieth century.The small, unassuming terrace was built in the early 1800’s, but it wasn’t until over a century later, in 1916, that Mackintosh was commissioned to remodel the house.

Today, members of the public, artists and architects alike delight in his work, with one critic describing the perfectly restored property as “the most delightful museum you will ever see.”

The museum was closed during January of this year for crucial restoration work and we were contacted by Les Patterson, Secretary to the 78 Derngate Northampton Trust, who was searching for a company capable of recovering three silk lampshades in time for the reopening earlier this month. Luckily, he found us and felt confident that we could get the job done.

“It was not easy to find people with the traditional skills to cover unusually shaped lampshades,” Les explained, “but Premier Lampshades clearly had the skills and could meet our timescale and budget.”

The unusually shaped lampshades are on display in the guest bedroom and were designed by Mackintosh himself in 1916-17, with the bluebell-like floral design providing a sharp contrast to the geometric design of the rest of the room. Sadly, after 10 years of exposure to the heat and light from modern light bulbs, the silk was brittle and bleached and desperately needed recovering. Of course, Premier Lampshades had the lampshade restoration skills and experience to expertly restore them to their former glory.

For owner Ian Holbrook, the project presented a number of unique challenges, but he wasn’t daunted. “The short time scale to finish the work was quite a challenge in itself,” he said, “but, not wanting to sound a little big headed, I find that I can tackle most recovering work with over 36 years’ experience in this field.

“The process of recovering the lampshades was quiet complex,” he explained. “It took me approximately 6 hours to recover each lampshade, not taking into account the time waiting for the paint and glue to cure.”

Following hours of painstaking work, Ian is incredibly proud with the finished lampshades and even happier that his craftsmanship will be on display in such an extraordinary house.

“We do lots and lots of restoration work, but it’s always nice to know your work is being exhibited somewhere as special as 78 Derngate,” he said. “It’s really nice to know that I am trusted to take on such work for these old historic houses and I am very happy with the final result – lampshades recovered to perfection”

The restored lampshades were returned to the house in time for the reopening earlier this month and the staff there couldn’t be happier with Ian’s work. “The staff and volunteers at the house pride themselves on showcasing a gem of 20th century design,” said Les, “To that end we seek perfection in the work carried out on the house and we feel we have found that with Premier Lampshades.”

Finally, we’ll leave you with some wise words from the great man himself…

“Let every artist strive to make his flower a beautiful living thing, something that will convince the world that there may be, there are, things more precious, more beautiful – more lasting than life itself.” ~ Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

 

Visit 78 Derngate

If you would like to see the lampshades in all their glory, 78 Derngate is open to visitors Tues-Sun, 10am-5pm. Standard admission is £7.25. Family and group tickets are also available. Find out more on their official website.

 

Get in touch

If you have an old lampshade in need of a bit of TLC, get in touch today to find out more about our lampshade restoration and recovering services. Call on 01204 414366. Alternatively, complete our quick and easy contact form and we’ll be in touch soon.