Ethereal Inspiration At The Imperial Banqueting Suite

Capable of accommodating 950 guests, there is no doubt that this new luxury space, costing in excess of £700,000 to renovate, provides an impressive space for weddings and events. The interior, which references geometric Islamic art throughout in bespoke fret work, brass lanterns and gilded brass reception area bars, was designed by Petal Interiors.

“As soon as I saw the Ethereal collection from Wilton Carpets, I was adamant that it would take a role in one of my projects,” comments Nita Patel, creative designer. “The mezzanine level at the Imperial proved the perfect canvas, capturing the beauty of design in full. Fortunately, as soon as I presented it on mood boards for the scheme, the client loved it too.”

Having decided on Ethereal, Nita worked with Wilton’s design team, led by the creator of Ethereal, Damian Roscoe, to recolour her chosen design. “The right colours were crucial in ensuring we could get the correct balance and capture every detail of the stunning pattern. Wilton’s designers were amazing in helping me to achieve this, while also working within the confines of the interior scheme,” says Nita.

With the colourway selected, the next stage was to design the bespoke carpets used on stairs, landing areas and rooms, creating a sense of flow by sharing the main colours from the Ethereal palette. With the stairs requiring safety treads, clarity was a key requirement.

“A heavy pattern would have made stair treads hard to see, so this design was more about texture and colour. Using the same palette created for the main carpet helped to create flow, yet also allowed me to define specific tasks – blue for the stairs and landings, and a taupe for the immediate adjoining rooms.”

The combination of light tones and strong feature colours flows throughout the whole scheme for the Imperial Banqueting Suite. With Nita opting to introduce a lighter variation on the scheme for the mezzanine, Ethereal’s strong pattern and the textural design of the bespoke carpet can hide a multitude of sins between cleans.

Woven by Wilton Carpets from British wool in a performance 80/20 blend for the ideal combination of wear-resistance, ease of maintenance and value; the axminster qualities were made in Wiltshire and delivered to the venue well in time:

“While I always try to use products manufactured in the UK in my projects, it’s not just about the origin, and service is always an important factor. I’ve used carpets from Wilton on numerous projects throughout my 15 years as an interior designer, and it’s been a fantastic company to work with. Feedback from the client and the many guests that have visited the venue since the carpet was installed has been overwhelming: they all love the design, colours and quality,” concludes Nita Patel.