Cheltenham Ladies’ College Sidney Lodge Dormitory

Design & Fit-out

Cobus was commissioned by Cheltenham Ladies’ College to design and refurb another boarding house to incorporate timeless, durable furniture that is built to last, whilst reflecting the prestigious regent building. This time, designed with the sixth form students in mind. To achieve this, the design team worked closely with the house mistress to gain design input from the students who would be using the space and feedback from previous years.

Our team of designers were tasked with a full redesign, including flooring and decoration, that would integrate with the new furniture and the character of the 19^th century house. Cobus sought to create a sophisticated, upmarket design utilising a neutral colour palette of greys and natural wood finishes, in keeping with current trends. Within the rooms, soft seating areas were incorporated into the design to give the students space to relax as well as prepare them for more independent study that they would require as they move up to higher education. The soft seating was a great way to add colour and texture into the space that was not only in keeping with the interior design but reflected the style of the regency building.

One challenge the college was facing was that typically sixth form students had their individual dorm rooms, however due to the design and space within the

boarding house, students would be required to share. With this in mind, we worked to ensure we created a spacious design for the students to ensure they had some privacy within the multi-dorm rooms, whilst creating additional study and lounge areas.

In addition to the dorms, study rooms were incorporated into the refresh where different working stations were included in the design to give the students collaborative and private study areas to work within their own dorm house.