Interior Project: Manchester Art Gallery Staff Room

Having worked with Manchester Art Gallery (MAG) and Manchester City Council on various big and small projects before, we have been asked to help re-design the Manchester Art Gallery staff room for the hard-working people there. The space has become unused since it was flooded few months ago and most of the existing furniture was damaged as a result.

The all-in-one space includes a small open kitchen, so we all thought offering dining as well as lounge areas would be the best solution. HAY collection is so versatile we managed to find nearly everything we needed for the staff room there. Dividing the room with some storage allowed people wanting to relax to have a quiet corner to read or relax away from the people having their lunch. We used Hay New Order storage which in addition to acting as a room divider, provides space to keep books and magazines.

The dining area features the small Round Copenhagen Tables with Linoleum tops and the very comfortable Neu13 Dining Chairs around them – with wooden bases matching the tables and a mix of grey & orange seat shells.

For the lounge area we chose the versatile Can Sofas by Ronan & Erwan Bouroullecs. These are great as there were a lot of fabrics to choose from & we wanted to match the new carpet chosen by MAG. The Surface by HAY fabric had the perfect colour, grey-ish with specks of purple so it was a great fit. It also lightened the room. The extra touch were the Eclectic Scatter Cushions by HAY which add comfort and a pop of colour. The 2 sizes of  Don’t Leave Me tables in black, grey and lavender were added to give a space to put a drink or a book down. They’re very easy to move around wherever they’re required thanks to the handle and their lightness. We complemented the space with a few Anglepoise Type 75 Floor Lamps to add a bit of ambience & show off the feature wall – painted in Farrow & Ball Harissa.

 

Another requirement for the staff room were secure lockers and we have found some from a brand we have recently started working with: Fantin, an Italian manufacturer who create furniture solutions in metal. We used the Just collection and chose quadruple lockers to allow enough storage for everyone.

What concluded is a comfortable and vibrant space which is being used with enthusiasm that the previous staff room was lacking. We have received many positive comments about the space since it’s been open to the staff.

Fiona Corridan, the Curator at the Manchester City Galleries, based at MAG said:

“It’s wonderful – relaxing, calm as well as functional. The team are all really enjoying spending time in there and love the design and furniture. It’s great to have a space back where we can all gather and chat – I hadn’t realised that there’s staff members that I haven’t had a conversation with for over a year as we’ve all been stuck at our desks over lunch and breaks.

Thanks for helping us design such a lovely space and fitting it out for us. It’s very much appreciated.”

See the whole HAY collection on our website, buy online or call us with any questions. Many of the pieces shown here are also on display in our Manchester showroom. Visit us and our helpful staff will be happy to show you the pieces as well as samples of available fabrics & finishes.

We also have some Anglepoise Type 75 lamps on display & in stock.