Latest Homes Sussex magazine

Martin Chadder can count The Queen as one of his satisfied customers

Chadder & Co. is a Sussex success story. The bathrooms designed and manufactured by Martin Chadder can be found across the globe, including royal palaces. Martin doesn’t just design baths and showers, he has also developed his own material, inspired by technological developments in the marine industry, a world he knows well from racing catamarans. Latest Homes Sussex visited his showroom in Forest Row to find out more about his innovative business.

How did you find yourself earning a Royal Warrant?
You can’t say a great deal about it. You get the Royal warrant if you supply the royal household over a number of years. It is a very nice endorsement to have (Martin has the signed warrant mounted on the wall by his desk).
I don’t know how they heard about us, they must have just discovered us through the grapevine.

How did you get started in the business?
I started out enamelling roll top cast iron baths in 1985. People would always ask if we supplied taps and fittings, which we didn’t at the time. So I started expanding the service offered, refurbishing antique fittings. We then moved on from baths to the whole bathroom, sometimes renovating antique bathrooms, sometimes designing our own. Our designs proved to be very popular.

What is it that makes you different?
There are many bathroom designers and suppliers offering good quality, but the products here are a bit different. Its like choosing a car. Not everyone wants to drive the same brand of car, some like to have a car which is different from the rest. We also pride ourselves on our attentive and dedicated service.

Do you think people tend to associate Chadder & Co with the wonderful roll top baths, like the baths shown on our cover this month?
Not really. I think people associate us with a certain classical style. We are known for our quality, upmarket bathrooms, not just the baths. Also we always have Made in England on our fittings. People like to see that we can still manufacture quality products in this country.

It is a very striking photo shoot.Where did it take place?
It was at Camber Sands. It was quite a challenge. We got some very funny looks when we were lugging the heavy baths across the beach. It was quite a struggle. It was a very funny experience trying to deal with the tide coming in as the photographer was taking the pictures. I had no idea if the photos would work, but the photographer did an excellent job.

What are the latest developments or trends in bathrooms?
We have our own big new development. We have invented a brand new material for making baths, which we have called ‘Chadite’. People like to have the traditional cast-iron baths, but antique baths are often hard to get hold of. This material is a composite made up of many layers which feels like cast-iron but is half the weight. Cast-iron baths are very heavy, and some floors cannot cope with the weight of the bath, the water and the person in the bath. Also they can be difficult to install in some flats. The Chadite material is also warmer to the touch - cast-iron can feel very cold. I got the idea from monitoring some of the developments in the very competitive marine racing industry. Everyone is looking for new materials that are faster on the water.

Sailing is a passion of yours, I believe…
I spend as much time as I can on the water, and water is part of my job, working on bathrooms. I sail at the club in Worthing and also enjoy sailing at Lake Como. I race in catamarans. I managed to get down to Cowes for a short while this year, where my son, Sam, was racing.

Sam Chadder, friend Adam and Dame Ellen MacArthur

If you were to advise a budding entrepreneur, what would be your advice?
You just need to persevere and never give up. Just keep going and you can make it.

Chadder & Co, Blenhein Studios, High Street
Forest Row, East Sussex, Tel: 01342 823243
www.chadder.com

To make the most of your home, sort out your illumination situation

Let some light into your home. Like paint and wallpaper, the right lighting can make rooms feel bigger, brighter and generally nicer to spend time in. Light – its form, colour and direction – is part of your home décor. Enhancing your living space with light is easier than you think, so where should you start? This month Latest Interiors brings you the lowdown on home lighting.

L-R: Design Studio, 58 Western Rd., Hove, www.design-interiors.com - Sprite ceiling light £250, www.johnlewis.com - Design Studio

Light forms

Generally, lighting can be categorised into four types: ambient, accent, task and information, and most homes will need light from all four categories somewhere.

Task lighting allows a specific activity – such as reading, food preparation or tooth-brushing – to be carried out. Task lights include angled lamps and recessed downlights, and generally cast a bright, directional beam. Information light provides direction or help. Stair, hall, outdoors or door lights fall into this category.

Accent light tends to be low-level and focused, and is used to highlight points or features of interest. Backlighting a recessed area to display flowers, or illuminating a favourite picture, are examples of this. In contrast, we use ambient light to see everything. It replaces or supplements natural light, and every part of the home requires some. The most effective way of producing ambient light is usually through a variety of sources: recessed downlights, standing lamps and a pretty pendant used together can create atmosphere and warmth. It’s here that most people slip up: insufficient ambient light can make a large, warm room seem dark and cold. Get it right, and you can double the sense of sunlight streaming through the windows.

Brighten up

When renovating or redecorating, think about lighting at the same time as you think about paint, colour and furniture. Draw up a lighting plan for the different types of light in your home, which will probably incorporate all four types at different points.

Task, accent and information lighting can be discreet and functional: unless you want to make a statement with a classic angle poise lamp, this type of light just needs to do its job. You can get more creative with the ambient light. Use colour and shape to change the feel of a space. Architectural lights are in style at the moment – large, statement pendants that are a feature in themselves. Combine a statement pendant light with subtle, coloured downlights and dimmers.

Don’t be afraid to experiment. Beautiful lamps, modern chandeliers, fibre optics and the right ambience turn lighting into an art form, transforming your space at the flick of a switch. Enlightened? You should be…

Lights featured down side - Sphere table lamp, £130 Debenhams - Ice Cube light table £250, John Lewis

Collecting clocks can be daunting for the seasoned collector, let alone the beginner, says Francesca Collin

Unlike a bronze or a painting, what you see is most definitely not all you get and it is often the mechanism as much as the beautiful exterior which sets its value.

Antique clocks come in many shapes and varieties - from the so-called grandfather clock, or longcase clock, to decorative clocks for tabletops and dressers.

The earliest domestic clocks are from France, Germany, Italy and Switzerland. Of open-frame construction and mounted on the wall, these clocks had a bell within a spire and were driven by weights. The invention of the mainspring in the late 15th century triggered creativity and the manufacture of portable clocks. The earliest surviving examples, which are rare, date from the early 16th century.

Compared to other collecting fields, prices for antique clocks can be surprisingly affordable; often a clock by a top maker will generally cost much less than a painting by a top artist of the same period. French 19th century French decorative mantel clock or a French striking carriage clock from the latter part of the 19th are good pieces to start a collection, with prices ranging from about £150.

If you are after something more imposing, a long-case clock makes an impressive piece of furniture, and with prices continuing to rise steadily over the past few years, they can also be a shrewd investment, especially when you consider that when sold they are not subject to capital gains tax.

Most longcase clocks were made in England between the late 17th and 19th centuries, although lesser numbers were also produced in Europe and America. Like most type of clock the value of a longcase depends on the quality of the case, movement and dial. If a clock has an unusual or attractively painted dial, or an elaborate marquetry or lacquered case it will cost more, such as a late 17th century walnut and floral marquetry longcase clock which sold for £5,400 at Gorringes recently. And longcases by London makers are usually particularly sought after, especially Thomas Mudge Sr, William Dutton and John Holmes.

"Compared to other collecting fields, prices for antique clocks can be surprisingly affordable; often a clock by a top maker will generally cost much less than a painting by a top artist of the same period"

Sometimes a clock may have an interesting story behind it which adds value too – the late 19th century French brass combination carriage clock and barometer (left) was originally presented in 1898 to Richard George McConnell (1857-1942), a member of the Canadian Geological Survey, and is up for sale at Gorringes’ next auction in September for £500-700.

Gorringes, 15 North Street , Lewes BN7 2PD
Next sale: 11, 12 & 13 September
Viewing: 7, 8 & 10 September
Enquiries: clientservices@gorringes.co.uk

Mister Smith is a family concern, says Managing Director Ben Smith

I remember sitting around the dinner table talking about what we want to do when we were grown up. I was about ten, relishing the roast beef and yorkshire puddings piled on my plate. My older brother piped up ‘Hotel Manager!’ (and that is his position now). Me, I was unsure. Office job, chef, England left winger?

"Dad what do you do?" I asked. "Well I’m lucky as I have my own business and can work in the office, but also go out on appointments and meetings"

"That’s what I want to do." I said.
And here I am 20 years later, Managing Director of Mister Smith Interiors. My younger brother (who was probably just picking his nose back then) is my fellow director and runs our Crowborough branch, and my dad still looks after the coffers.

Mister Smith based in Brighton and Crowborough has been a family run business since my grandfather, Freddie, started it back in the 1960’s. We specialise in interior furnishings including fabric, floorings, upholstery, cabinet furniture, lighting, wallpaper and paints. We provide expert advise on all these areas, built up through years of experience and are backed up by a competent team of curtain makers, track and carpet fitters and upholsterers.

We welcome any size of project and love talking about home interiors. So whether you want to pick our brains or get our interior designer round, pop in and see us now and you might find what you want to do with your home.

Mr Smith, 23 New Road, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1UF.
Tel: 01273 605574

Croft Road, Crowborough, East Sussex, TN6 1DR.
Tel: 01892 664152