19th June 2021 | IN HOSPITALITY DESIGN | BY SBID Share Tweet Pinterest LinkedIn The green oak building tradition of the Hogg family forms the inspiration behind Rachel McLane’s crafted designs in the new 40-bedroom Sandburn Hall Hotel in the Yorkshire countryside. Design-led and built to a country-style specification, the 1,000-acre Sandburn Hall estate was developed by the late Mike Hogg seven miles from York. The new adjoining hotel complements what is already one of North Yorkshire’s leading golf, wedding, events and business venues. When Pickering-based Rachel McLane was contracted in 2018 to provide her innovative, specialist interior design work for the ambitious new build it was immediately clear that the Hogg family wanted to build on Mike Hogg’s legacy. “From day one we worked very closely with the client to incorporate the Hogg family firm’s wonderful custom building heritage into the design, bringing that history, the shape, feel and emotion of that green oak frame building structure to the fore,” said Rachel. “Given the freedom to interpret their brief we have created a design that not only makes the most of the space and enhances the building, but understands and incorporates the Hogg family heritage, interests, and craftsmanship into the final design.” The new hotel’s centrepiece uses natural green oak beams to frame a triple-height lobby as part of Sandburn Hall Golf Club, Grand Function Room and Tykes restaurant. Hand picked artwork is established on the walls, including photos of green oak frames and black and white prints going around the corridors and rooms. The designs also take some of their inspiration from the local area where York and the East Coast are evident in the natural colours, earthy tones, and real materials including vintage maps depicting the Sandburn Estate. “In doing so, we were able to fulfil an important part of the brief that the rooms and spaces had to feel individual and not corporate,” added Rachel. Rachel’s design vision created a unique cohesive feel across all rooms and into the common areas ensuring that the Hogg family connections to nature and craftsman trades were reflected in the room décor. Rachel commented: “The designs merge the traditional and the contemporary and aim to achieve a balance that bridges the core golf, wedding and business customer base.” The Rachel McLane team’s design expertise is evident throughout the new hotel’s range of 40 double and twin rooms all with dressing areas, including larger family, luxury and accessible rooms, and two luxury suites. They also all come with handcrafted built-in case goods. “We wanted the signature and family rooms to be fun, a bit urban and industrial where the raw richness of exposed brickwork and soft leather combine with cool-toned sawn grey oak flooring and built-in bespoke joinery.” Well lit, spacious and airy with eclectic pieces of furniture that differentiate between room types, the large windows of these signature and family rooms are of a natural oatmeal palette, soft grey and brick in a modern, fresh design that naturally marry the hand-crafted structure of the building. Super-king beds and luxury, made in Yorkshire Harrison Spinks mattresses are a feature, and bathrooms are a mix of contemporary and traditional with the emphasis being on quality and timeless design. The hotel’s premier rooms, including the courtyard premier, have been designed with a feel that is classic and calm with raw, untreated materials to give a fresh, bright, light and airy atmosphere. Reclaimed bricks are softened by natural cream and teal curtain fabrics with artisan hand-blocked characteristics. Elements of teal and natural weave have been picked up in soft woven tweeds and the carpet’s muted tones, and the furniture has a comfortable country feel in a calm palette. “The biggest challenge was the length of time it took from creating the fixtures and fittings specification to fulfiling the initial design with Covid-19 a constant hindrance. We found that not only were some products unavailable, but more than one company had ceased trading.” Despite the challenges of a long project Rachel says that the team has loved working on Sandburn Hall Hotel: “The client is a pleasure to work for, they appreciate high-quality workmanship, attention to detail, and above all understand the value of design and the difference having a designer on board makes to a project. “It’s also lovely being local to a project as you feel like you are contributing towards the good of the local area.” About the Author Rachel McLane developed a wealth of experience designing for the retail sector for eight years in London and York before setting up her practice, Rachel McLane Ltd specialising in the design of interiors for professional clients with commercial interests. If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here to find out more.