Beyond Built-Ins: Liberty Interiors' Unique Approach to Furniture Design

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The success of your next interior project, and of those following, can be put down to the relationship you have with your joiner and maker. Like any strong relationship, it should be collaborative and built on trust and understanding.

Liberty Interiors occupies a very creative niche in residential interior design. Making a name for herself in children’s bedrooms and spaces, Nicole Rosenberg, Director of Liberty Interiors, recognised the business potential and creative possibilities of designing and decorating rooms for younger inhabitants.

As the business grew, so did the offerings, now expanded to include all rooms of the house. In a recent refurbishment and upgrade of a period home, Liberty Interiors designed several pieces of furniture and cabinetry to fit the interiors while remaining respectful of the home’s original detail.

Working and collaborating with joiners Kitchen Domain, Rosenberg and Liberty Interiors were able to showcase her expertise in colour, texture and finishes with a series of pieces perfectly suited to their environment. “I wanted to create ‘furniture’ pieces, rather than the traditional built-in cabinetry often seen in formal rooms,” says Rosenberg, “but there were also these magnificent ceiling mouldings which I couldn’t cover up with floor to ceiling cabinets. So, we opted for stand-alone pieces to fill either side of the existing fireplace.

Both pieces use Laminex Danish Walnut in Chalk from the Laminex Colour Collection to capture the warm mid-century aesthetic Rosenberg was after. “I felt it had a softer overall tone without the colour feeling too saturated. I also wanted the units to feel dark and moody, so I specified the darker grain of the Danish Walnut, rather than a lighter grain,” says Rosenberg.

Designed to work as a pair, each of the units serve vastly different purposes. On the left, pragmatism wins out and stands as a place to store and display, but on the right the mid-century influence is laid bare, in the form of a Mad Men style, built-in bar. With deep burgundy stone, LED lights and brackets for hanging glasses, Liberty Interiors have hit the nail on the head. Sophisticated Manhattans and dry martinis will be up soon.

Alongside sparkling conversation, wherever drinks and hors d’oeuvre are served, hard-wearing, stain resistant and waterproof surfaces are paramount. The Laminex Colour Collection, which includes incredibly lifelike Woodgrains like Danish Walnut, provides realism and warmth with Laminex’s renowned durability and strength.

Drawers and doors within the units have been finished using Laminex Kalamata in AbsoluteMatte. Rich and darkly saturated, it is a bold red with a heavily blackened undertone to reduce its colour intensity and, in this context, provides the perfect accent to work off the stone of the bar while complementing the woodgrain. As always, its ultra-matte finish invites the touch and its light absorbing properties emit an eerily wonderful effect. “The AbsoluteMatte effect was a no brainer for me, it has a beautifully deep tone and fingerprint resistant finish – win-win!” adds Rosenberg.

In the Powder Room, Rosenberg and Kitchen Domain developed a floating unit, with curved edges and simple cupboard doors, to be an effective and durable response to a high traffic area.

“We used one of our favourite Laminex products, Clay Textile, which has the effect of a finely woven linen canvas. The neutral colour of Clay Textile coordinated seamlessly with the existing marble bench top and splashback which we simply curved the edges of in line with the new joinery unit below.”

Able to work with their joiner and maker, Liberty Interiors built and installed tailor made pieces that speak to both Rosenberg’s talents and the project’s brief with supreme confidence. Working this way allows for custom details and client specific inclusions to be achieved, developing and discussing solutions at length with an understanding, willing and collaborative partner.

Discover other projects from Liberty Interiors, or explore the Laminex Colour Collection here,.