Darren Crain is the owner of the multi award winning design and build company Chewton Bespoke Homes based in Highcliffe, Dorset. With over 20 years of experience building luxury homes, renovations and commercial refurbishments, Darren’s knowledge of architectural design and construction means he looks for the highest quality products and consistency in all aspects of his projects.
His latest project, the major refurbishment of the Marsham Court Hotel, lead Darren to enquire at Made for Trade when he was looking for an aluminium Roof Lantern which ideally suited the architectural qualities of the grand ball room and conference area. The Marsham is a well-established luxury hotel located on the beautiful Dorset coastline in Bournemouth. The hotels recent renovation has now been finished off to perfection with four large Korniche Roof Lanterns taking pride of place as a centre piece to the grandest room in the building.
The Korniche USP’s are well highlighted by this case study, not only for the clean sight lines and slim profiles offering the perfect aesthetic for Darren’s project, but also the huge advantage offered to an installation comprising four large lanterns where the Korniche simplicity and speed of fit ensures the project is delivered right on schedule.
Darren had this to say about Korniche and the Made for Trade service:
“I have used many different lanterns over the years, each have had good and bad points about them but I have never settled on a single brand as I always felt that the solution could be better.
At the time of project order I was struggling to find a lantern which was contemporary in design, with minimal structure and didn’t have a 4-6 week lead time. My carpenter recommended Korniche, I had never heard of them, but I am always open to a good recommendation. I researched, spoke with technical about the product and decided to run with it, this turned out to be the best decision I had made in a long time.
Made for Trades service was simply impeccable, from initial contact, simple quote and order system through to time slot delivery of the product. As a busy contractor the key element to any project is time, if products turn up when expected, complete and undamaged you are 90% there. The product arrived when expected, well packaged, labelled and scheduled for easy take off.
Due to the nature of the project and the adverse weather at the time we opted by pre-assemble all four of the frames inside the building, the instructions accompanying the frames made this extremely easy, each spider taking no more than 20mins, the pre-tie and cam locking system is superb, everything locks in nice tight and square every time. Once the weather broke and we were able to re-open and prepare the existing upstand we simply passed each of the frames up through the holes and fixed them as instructed. The installation of the glass took minutes and the final trims and details went on the same. Seeing the final product for the first time in situ was a real buzz, the clean lines and finish are superb, the whole aesthetic of the units have been considered in production to a point where I cannot see room for improvement in this style of lantern light. From the inside the slim frame profile maximised the light gain and when you put 4 units the size we did into one space it really brightens the place up.
All in all I cannot recommend Korniche as a product highly enough, coupled with service and attention provided from the guys at Made for Trade this is a real winning combination”
The client also appears to be very happy with the final result and Darren has had the following feedback from the Marsham Court Hotel;
“The transformation of the Solent Suite is enhanced beyond my wildest dreams with the use of the Korniche roof lanterns, thank you to all your team for their involvement, our client feedback on the space has also been very positive.” – R Wallace, MD
The Korniche Lanterns spaced around the centre of the large room provide an enormous amount of light and allow fantastic sky views into the space. Darren has also ingeniously used LED strip lighting around the Korniche Lantern spaces allowing coloured ambient lighting to fill the voids and illuminate the lanterns when required.
The Marsham project is a resounding success for all involved and the addition of the Korniche Lanterns has provided that all important wow factor to the grand ball room.
Here’s to the next commercial project for the Korniche with Darren and his team.
At -14º C this thermal image shows just how impressive the fully thermally broken structure of the Korniche is with U values from 1.2 they are sure to keep guests warm all year round.
