You may have noticed that the shop in Northgate Street once inhabitated by Duck, Son and Pinker has been revamped and recharged to a state of calm, stylish, open-plan interior deliciousness. That’s because The Cotswold Company has opened a new branch in Bath. We talk to Lisa Coppin about the Cotswold philosophy…
We love beautiful things well-made and built to last, things that really make a home; wherever and whatever that means to you.”
I ask Cotswold Company Chief Creative Officer Lisa Coppin why this company statement is so important to the Cotswold Company brand. “It’s everything we stand for when we design and develop all our products,” she says. “We are passionate about homewares and furniture that last and stand the test of time – both from a quality and a style perspective. We want our customers to love our products and cherish them for a lifetime. We put a lot of effort into the details – like our paint finishes, the quality of our handles and the raw materials that go into all our products.
The Cotswold Company style
The company offers a large range of furniture across the bedroom, living room, dining room, nursery and kitchen. But is there a ‘Cotswold Company’ common denominator underlying them all?
“All of our products are designed by our in-house team, explains Lisa. “We are passionate about our products and our designs blend classic English influences with updated shapes for modern living; consistently well-made and designed to last. We source our products from around the world including the UK, Europe and Asia. For example our upholstery is made by master craftsmen in Long Eaton and our bed linen is hand-made in Portugal from the finest yarns.”
Sustainability
“As the majority of our product range is made from wood, sustainability is high on our agenda – we really care about our people and the planet and want to tread as lightly as possible. We’ve removed 90% of polystyrene from our packaging and have nearly achieved our goal of sending zero waste to landfill. The cardboard we take away during furniture delivery is recycled into new packaging which we use to send out accessories deliveries. Our biggest commitment is to plant a tree for every one we use – we have planted over 50,000 trees so far, and we use only responsibly sourced timbers to make our cabinet furniture.”
Cotswold Company’s new Bath shop
Lisa tells us about the company’s new Bath store, and what makes the space unique. “We’ve been wanting to open a shop in Bath for some time and it’s taken a couple of years to find the right building and location. It’s a little smaller than most of our stores, but we fell in love with the space when we first saw it. The shop was an old music store (Duck, Son and Pinker) and it has a wonderful ceiling, railings and other period features which give it a unique feel and help create the most beautiful backdrop for our furniture and home accessory collections. I particularly love the two small rooms on the upper floor which we’ve transformed into cosy bedrooms – these really help customers visualise how our products might look in their own home.
“We’ve managed to squeeze a lot into a small space with five bedrooms and three living and dining room sets for customers to browse. At the heart of the store is our Chester (Shaker) range with its distinctive pale oak tops and premium painted finish. It comes in five colours and works well in many homes – it’s our most extensive collection with a wide range of products covering all rooms of the house. For a more contemporary product we have our mid-century inspired Berkeley oak range with its hoop back chairs. Another favourite is our Winchcombe bedroom range – inspired by Georgian bow-fronted chests, it has a wonderful sleigh bed.”
On storage and organisation
“Storage and organisation are a big part of creating a practical home and we have plenty of this to choose from at The Cotswold Company! This ranges from free-standing larders and islands to organise your kitchen, to numerous shoe storage solutions for tidy hallways. We are constantly looking for new product ideas to help with decluttering and have recently launched a series of tall cloakroom storage and the ‘bootility’ cupboard in our Chester range. We also have some great new products to help young families – I particularly love our Chester Play Away Coffee Table – it has a clever lift-off top so children can play during the day and then their toys can be cleverly covered over in the evening, creating a toy-free adult space.”
New launches to watch out for
“We are excited to be launching two new colours this spring in our Chester collection – cream and green. We are seeing our customers really enjoying using green and I particularly love how this colour looks in our larders and kitchen tables. Green is such a versatile colour and really does bring a feeling of nature into your home. Our new Bibury bedroom collection launches in April – with a wonderful smoked oak finish, the pieces are larger in scale and timeless in design.”
Garden projects too!
“Investing in comfortable garden furniture creates an additional room in your home for the summer months – I am a big fan of outdoor wicker furniture like the Cerney, Chedworth and Aldsworth ranges. These are really simple to look after, don’t need any maintenance and are light and easy to move around. I invested in a corner unit last year and my family all love it – from relaxing in the daytime sunshine to candlelit social evenings. Adding a firepit just adds to the experience – we have a wonderful one from the English Firepit company that you can also cook over!”
The Cotswold Company, 12 Northgate Street, Bath; cotswoldco.com