Case Study: Helston Street and Chateau Anna, York

Working with like-minded people has always been a big part of what we do at Bert & May, and we love to see our tiles come to life in the projects of fellow creatives.

Lucy Seddon, one half of the team behind York-based interiors boutique Helston Street, has used our products to beautiful effect in several stylish spots so far, and we have it on good authority they’re going to crop up in some of her future projects too…

Here, Lucy shares her interior design inspirations and tells us why Bert & May is always high on her supplier list.

Full name: Lucy Seddon

Occupation: Self-employed shopkeeper

Tell us a little bit about what you do…

I own Helston Street, a rustic interiors and dried flower shop, with my mum, Vanessa. Everything in the shop is made and sourced by the two of us - we dry all the flowers from fresh and create all sorts of floral arrangements, and my mum handmakes all our tote bags, cushions and aprons.

Alongside my work in the shop, I have a keen interest in interior styling, and have recently worked with Chateau Anna, a luxury holiday home business based in York, to restyle a couple of their apartments. Their work ethic and our styling marry very well together so we have naturally become a great team.

How would you describe your interior style?

My mum owns a house in France, and as a result our shop has a very strong French influence. We scour flea markets in France and the UK for beautiful pieces to bring back and sell in our shop.

I like a clean, calm colour palette matched with beautiful rustic pieces. My favourite paints to use are Little Greene and Neptune, so any mood board always starts with their paint samples.

I love sourcing vintage pots, vases, chopping boards etc to work with, and my favourite area to style is always a shelf, using different heights, textures, and materials to create something that’s a little different.

We love the tiles outside your shop…

Yes, we have the Luna Old Iron tile on the step outside our shop and they look absolutely lovely. I love seeing them when I walk into the shop, and they look great in the background of all my flower photos - which I take a lot of! I have also used Bert & May tiles in a recent project with Chateau Anna.

Tell us more…

This project was a complete renovation of a city-centre holiday home within the York walls. The space wasn’t really working, and guests often said it felt claustrophobic, so we removed walls to create a larger kitchen/living area, a cosier bedroom, and a larger bathroom.

We decided to make a real statement with the newly extended bathroom as it’s one of the first things you see when you walk in, and first impressions always count.

Why was the Luna a perfect choice?

We chose the Luna again as its bold star shape creates a beautiful statement when used in a large quantity. I had chosen a neutral/green palette for the whole apartment, so we picked the Fennel colour this time.

What do they add to the space?

We used them just in the shower area, interspersed with plain Fennel squares in the same size. This kept it clean and simple, and allowed the tiles to speak for themselves. They create a luxury feel that’s still light and airy. We used plain Brighton Stone  tiles on the floor and up the wall behind the sink to make the space feel bright and welcoming.

What led you to use Bert & May?

We wanted to use a high-quality product from a local supplier, and I have also been a fan of Bert & May for a long time, so it was an easy choice to make! The fact Bert & May has a beautiful showroom here in York meant we were able to go in and play around with the tiles and easily match our colour palette which was great.

Do you have any more projects in the pipeline?

Working again with Chateau Anna, we are currently in the final stages of planning and designing the conversion of a beautiful Georgian building into eight luxury apartments. This will include the interior design of eight kitchens and 18 bathrooms, and we will have the opportunity to incorporate many different Bert & May tile design ideas.

We’ll be keeping to our clean, calm colour palette preferences from Little Greene and adding luxury elements such as the tiles, beautiful William Holland copper baths, taps from Samuel Heath and keeping as many of the original features in the building as possible, including a large number of marble fireplaces. It’s a project that I am very much looking forward to!

Visit Lucy’s shop at 4 Scarcroft Road, YO21 1NB. helstonstreet.co.uk / Instagram: @helstonstree

To find out more about Chateau Anna, see @chateau__anna