The Brief
Rothsay Education Centre is charitable adult education centre based in Bedford that has been serving the community for some 50 years.
The centre offers not only the opportunity to learn but also connect with like-minded people.
The café is very much at the heart of REC, both in its location within the building and its importance to the organisation. However, over the years its appearance had been overlooked and it was starting to look tired. With the REC wanting to attract more people, a make over, refurbishment and modernisation was needed.
The Solution
The BGF&I team worked closely with members of the REC team to bring together a scheme that would complement the building, modernise the space and meet the budget of a charity.
The building itself is a wonderful Victorian House with high ceilings, so we needed to work with this. The floor had a bland carpet and that was changed to a Karndean wood effect to bring in a warmer feel.
A combination of the high ceilings and good natural light provided an opportunity to use bold colours so the scheme was based on the Rothsay teal, mustard and green.
A marble effect dining table top was used, rather than wood, so not to clash with the wooden floor and it also worked with the neutral finishes on the walls. Chairs were predominantly teal in finish with accents of mustard and green. Both the chairs and table were selected not just on finish but also on flexibility to rearrange easily as certain events took place in the café area throughout the year.
Teal was also introduced on the servery wall to make it more of a focal point within the room.
The Outcome
The makeover has given the team at the REC a great boost and has been well received by its students and visitors.
The flexibility of layout has been particularly helpful and with the re-design there is now more seating space
which will grow the income for the REC to continue its incredible work.
The space is rejuvenated, modernised and looks welcoming and bright.
