Grand Apartment

The Crossley and Liverpool Sanatoria opened near Frodsham in the early years of the 20th Century to treat mainly tuberculosis, but also other diseases of the throat and chest.
Set in 66 acres of stunning parkland on the hills of the Sandstone Trail, the buildings that made up the wards, chapel, nurses home, mortuary dining rooms and kitchens were converted in to apartments and houses in 2007.
I have photographed several properties on the site, but none embraces the history and grandeur of the buildings quite so well as this apartment.
Every corner has been designed with an eye to exploiting the architecture.  From the elegant chandeliers to the Victorian radiators and hand-crafted wood panelling no element has been neglected.
The level of research and planning that went in to this design cannot be over-stated.  Take for example the Lincrusta wall covering below the dado rail in the entrance hall.
I remember trying to get this off the walls in old pubs while working for my decorator dad in the early 1980s.  It was insanely difficult to get off, neither copious amounts of water or steam would penetrate the hard and highly decorative surface, or the dense cardboard-like substrate.  Only hard graft with sharp tools worked.
Amidst my complaining the old man told me that it was the Victorian version of blown vinyl and that even if you could still get it, nobody in their right mind would install it.  The last time he stuck it to a wall he was still in his apprenticeship.  He’s now 88.
So I find it remarkable that Lincrusta is still made and even more remarkable that an amateur interior designer would find it, find an installer, put it in the perfect location and paint it silver. She is very much in her right mind and very probably a design genius.