Interview With Rachael Eaton ADS Design
26 Mar 2021
We were delighted to be joined recently by Rachael Eaton from ADS Designs who discussed her career as a an interior design and working with wood flooring.
Tell us about yourself?
Originally from the South West I studied (BA Hons) degree in Interior Design at Birmingham finishing with a 1st, started my first job in London in the luxury 4/5*Hotel Interior design sector (Peter Inston and Richard Daniels Design). We renovated our first flat in Clapham and then moved to West Sussex as my husband is Medical, we have 2 children. We moved to Worcestershire and bought a the barn with an out-building which was derelict, this became a 3 year project to renovate and transform into a holiday let. I started working for ADS Design in Tewkesbury 14 years ago, I was lucky as they have similar Hotel projects as I had been involved with in London plus local country house Hotels which I have enjoyed working on. Our most recent move has been to a town house in Cheltenham which is a more manageable size as we are now empty nesters. It is the first time we have re-furbished a property from top to toe before moving in, which seems like a luxury but the project has been very challenging this year because of Covid with many delays.
How long have you worked as an Interior Designer?
Since leaving Uni in 1993. The work involves technical drawing and detail designing on AutoCad, client presentation schemes and FF & E scheduling with the selection of ‘loose’ furniture and décor items.
What is your most recent project?
At ADS Design we have just completed the Guestrooms and Public Areas including Meeting & Events at Elstree, this was previously a Holiday Inn and is now a Doubletree by Hilton, and with the same Client the Doubletree at Stoke on Trent.
How do you choose the right flooring for your project?
We work closely with our clients so the flooring is in line with their hotel brand standards and specifications in terms of slip ratings and durability. We also choose wood flooring for our pub projects which are sometimes listed buildings so they are kept in context with the character and age of the property.
Why do you like working with Havwoods?
Havwoods are always really helpful with our specifications, with some clients such as Hilton we produce detailed Control Books so we need a lot of technical information for each item. They also help with flooring samples for presentation boards which always arrive quickly and sometimes include a pack of sweets!
You recently chose Havwoods flooring also for your own home, can you tell us about it?
I saw the Vogue Oak Notte chevron in the Havwoods brochure and thought it would be perfect for the house. It has quite a lot of variation of tone in the wood and is brushed and fumed, the drawing room is east/west facing so has light from the large front sash window in the morning moving round to the back window in the afternoon, as the light changes throughout the day it brings out all the lovely colours of the wood. I took it as a huge compliment when someone asked if the flooring was original to the house.
The house is a listed 1820 Regency period property and has all the character of an old house, the drawing room floor which had been carpeted was not at all level. The contractor used plyboard to form a rigid subfloor and then laid the tongue and groove Notte. It is an engineered board but only 10 mm thickness so it worked well with the existing doors, architraves and skirtings, and we were able to run it into a new tiled hallway floor.
