Sanderson returns home to Voysey House

Posted in Business, News on 6 May, 2024

SANDERSON DESIGN GROUP the legacy luxury interior design group, returns home to Voysey House, Chiswick, London.

Grade II* listed, Voysey House, as it is now known, was the only commercial building designed by the celebrated Arts & Crafts architect and designer C.F.A. Voysey. Completed in 1902 as a wallpaper factory for Arthur Sanderson & Sons, the forerunner of the Group’s Sanderson brand, the building itself is considered an important formative work in the evolution of the Modern Movement in architecture.

Initially known as the “White Building”, referring to the white-glazed bricks facade, it was linked via a footbridge to the main factory until closure in 1928 due to a fire that caused critical damage to the main building, leaving the White Building unscathed. Dorrington, as the conscientious owner, has worked with dMFK Architects to meticulously restore it to its original design ethos whilst significantly improving its environmental performance.

Extensive facade refurbishment includes the white glazed brickwork, and replacement and restoration of all windows, which reference the original ‘Voysey Green’ metal coating discovered beneath layers of black paint; This colourway is echoed throughout the building. The original pitch pine flooring has been painstakingly restored to reveal the soft, pale tones, unique in 1902, compared to the tradition for dark stained woods.

Spanning 16,000sqft across five floors, Voysey House will become home to an extensive Sanderson Design Group archive with original documents dating back to the 1600s. Located on the third floor, original porthole windows provide minimal dappled light and its unusual position is made possible due to the building’s original purpose as a wallpaper factory, capable of holding immense weight.

The original pitch pine flooring has been painstakingly restored to reveal the soft, pale tones, unique in 1902, compared to the tradition for dark stained woods.

The design studios of heritage and luxury brands Sanderson (originated1860), Morris & Co. (1861), and luxury brand Zoffany (born from historic Tudor-Jacobian Temple Newsam restoration), together with three contemporary brands and two factories, make up the Sanderson Design Group portfolio, which began in the 1930s with Sanderson acquiring what is now Morris & Co. business along with sales, marketing and administration functions taking up three floors of the Group’s head office. Plans for artworks, interactive installations, exhibitions and a social hub on the ground floor complete the home.

Lisa Montague, CEO of Sanderson Design Group, comments, “It is a great privilege to take our company back to its important and magnificent heritage home, which Dorrington has lovingly and meticulously restored to its former glory. I’m looking forward to creating a creative hub for our teams and collaborators to inspire the future legacy of impactful design.”

Voysey House and the Chiswick area remain central to the Arts & Crafts movement, as evidenced with the property address at Sandersons Lane. Whilst Arthur Sanderson and his family lived nearby in what is now Chiswick library – gifted to the community by Sanderson himself, many other illustrious figures of the day, including William Morris, were neighbours close by in Hammersmith. Bedford Park was a meeting place over the years for Arts & Crafts creatives including William Morris, John Henry Dearle, Allan Vigers and indeed C.F.A. Voysey lived opposite. Each designed for Morris and are most recently celebrated in the new Morris & Co. Bedford Park collection, with designs by all four in the mix. Walks from Voysey House through the village and along the river take in an abundance of importance landmarks and key markers of the Arts & Crafts movement.

A work in progress for over two years, the return home for Sanderson includes the Layers of Legacy campaign, launched in 2023 to celebrate the enduring popularity and importance of Sanderson designs over the centuries. It includes enduring hero designs from early collections from the 1900s through to current collections, inspired and conceived via the archives. Other key moments and collaborations touching on the joy of nostalgia and an eye to the future followed. 2024 began with the return to the elegance of the Sanderson logo from the 1930s. This path has been a natural, organic journey of enduring excellence.

Bruce Thompson, Head of Development and Regeneration at Dorrington said: “The redevelopment of this special asset, the only commercial building Voysey designed, was unique and rewarding. The opportunity to breathe new life into buildings of this calibre and create outstanding, highly sustainable workplace is very much in line with the Dorrington approach. We look forward to welcoming Sanderson back home.”

About Sanderson Design Group
Sanderson Design Group PLC is a luxury interior furnishings company that designs, manufactures and markets wallpapers, fabrics and paints. In addition, the Company derives licensing income from the use of its designs on a wide range of products such as bed and bath collections, rugs, blinds and tableware. Sanderson Design Group’s brands include Zoffany, Sanderson, Morris & Co., Harlequin, Clarke & Clarke and Scion. The Company has a strong UK manufacturing base comprising Anstey wallpaper factory in Loughborough and Standfast & Barracks, a fabric printing factory, in Lancaster. Both sites manufacture for the Company and for other wallpaper and fabric brands. Sanderson Design Group employs approximately 600 people and its products are sold worldwide. It has showrooms in London, New York, Chicago and Amsterdam. Sanderson Design Group trades on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol SDG.
www.sandersondesigngroup.com

About Dorrington PLC
Founded in 1936, Dorrington is a private family-owned business with a long and proud heritage. As responsible owners and developers, Dorrington builds value through creative repositioning, refurbishment, and development. Each of its buildings are well-managed, rich in amenities and designed with sustainability at the forefront. It partners with the best design teams, specifies the highest quality materials and keeps an astute eye on the details to maintain its high standards. With over 85 years of experience, Dorrington continues to demonstrate a responsible approach to business through protecting the environment, honouring architectural heritage and enhancing local neighbourhoods.
www.dorrington.co.uk

Photography: Jack Hobhouse