Designing the show apartment at Port Loop was a really exciting brief to respond to. Having worked with Urban Splash on two other historic projects in Birmingham and Leeds, we have established a real synergy in our combined efforts to respond to 'place' and harness it as a key point of inspiration for the exterior and interior design. And Port Loop was no exception. Flanking Birmingham's iconic canalside, the waterways produce a metaphorical conveyor belt of barges, cyclists and runners with many of the apartments overlooking the towpath and framing the views like a living artworks.

Our ultimate aim was to capture the industrial essence of the surroundings within the interiors through the selection of materials, shapes and objects whilst making the final result feel fresh and contemporary. Modular shelving was filled with vintage finds from old flat irons fashioned into bookends, boat cleats were repurposed as coat hooks and the hand painted visual language of canal barge culture was referenced in the styling as diamond-patterned artist prints, geometric vases and tessellated arrangements of candlestick holders and key bowls.

To source the larger furnishings, we were delighted to work with our friends at Minima, a Jewellery Quarter-based furniture and lighting showroom who provided the 'work-from-home' wall configuration in living space, as well as the beautiful quilted sofa - another nod to a canalside craft. We opted for a lot of black steel finishing in the storage units and bed frames to create a strong impact against the light and airy walls, but incorporated natural materials, woven textures and our own hand tufted wall tapestries to add softness and comfort.