Case Study: Roxbury Guest House

Case Study: Roxbury Guest House

Designed in the 1980s by architect Yann Weymouth, this cool, calm and collected guest house in Roxbury, Connecticut is something special. It’s a perfectly tranquil retreat, a breathtaking, light-flooded space with a real air of effortless style, and the kind of place you go for a weekend and never, ever want to leave.

Recently, this dazzling spot’s already impressive levels of wow-factor received a further boost at the hands of interior design practice  Sabin Viehland, and we were thrilled that they chose to include Bert & May products in the project. 

They used our tiles in four separate spaces, and in each instance, the results are knockout. Firstly, our  Split Shifts in Darkroom Black were placed behind the wood burning stove, interspersed with matching neutrals to break up the pattern for a super sleek monochrome look. Next, our  Soho House Berlin tiles were placed on the lower walls of a perfectly pink powder room, where they couldn’t look more at home if they tried. And finally, our Split Shifts were used again, this time in two guest bathrooms, and it’s in these spaces where things got really clever…

From the walk-in showers to the splashbacks, each of the bathrooms is an exact mirror-image of the other, except for one thing - the colour of the tiles. In one, they’re  Green, and in the other, they’re  Pink. It’s a striking example of intelligent interior design at its absolute finest, and the effect is incredible. 

We can’t stop marvelling at this fabulous project, so much so that we just had to ask Michelle Sabin from Sabin Viehland to share the story behind it…  

Full name: Michelle Sabin

Occupation: Interior Designer; Co-founder Sabin Viehland Interior Design

Style and location of property: A guest house originally designed by architect Yann Weymouth in Roxbury, Connecticut, USA.

Tell us about the property…

The guest house was built in 1980, so it is definitely a post-modern design, but also feels a little mid-century modern because of the low ceilings.

Which Bert & May tiles did you use and why?

Split Shift tiles in Green, Pink and Darkroom Black, and Soho House Berlin. I was looking for a fresh, graphic pattern that captured the essence of both eras. The original architecture is really masculine and tectonic, and void of colour in its materiality, so I wanted to infuse some softer colour and pattern in a bold and unifying way, which I achieved with Bert & May tiles throughout the house. 

How did you first come across Bert & May?

I was sourcing tiles a few years ago when I came across the Soho pattern and loved it. I think I found Bert & May through social media initially. I am drawn to the beauty and simplicity of the patterns and richness of the colour palette. I had mostly seen graphic black/white or very traditional cement tiles previously and Bert & May is a little different and fresher. We have two other projects in the works where I have specified it as well!

To see more of this beautiful project and for information on Sabin Viehland, see  sabinviehland.com or follow them on  @sabinviehland.interiordesign

Photographs by John Gruen - johngruen.com or  @johrgruen