SWS UK – Renovation and Stunning New Makeover

SWS UK, the Claughton based garage door and security manufacturer, and one of the area’s biggest employers has recently benefitted from a complete renovation and interior makeover. Taking 12 months from start to completion, the work was project managed by locally based interior designer Kyra McDaid of KM Interior Design Ltd. The completed result has catapulted their premises into the 21st century with a stylish and modern new look that is being enjoyed by their employees, customers and visitors.

Established in 1984, SWS UK moved to their current, purpose-built premises in 2000 following significant growth and a requirement for bigger manufacturing and office space. The company has continued to grow which has necessitated numerous alterations to the premises’ factory and warehouse since taking over the site 17 years ago. Managing Director Colin Reoch, felt that though very well maintained, the office and reception space didn’t reflect the business’s progressive status and had been overlooked in previous works of improvement. Colin approached KM Interior Design Ltd at the end of 2015 with a clear idea of what he was looking to achieve for SWS UK ‘we are delighted with the growth of the business and feel privileged to occupy premises in one of the area’s most beautiful locations. We wanted to create a working environment that better reflected our stature within our industry whilst remaining loyal to our brand and company image. It was important that employee’s needs were included in the refurb with a strong focus being given to their own office and communal areas’.

Kyra McDaid, the owner of KM Interior Design Ltd was thrilled with the opportunity to project manage a renovation of this scale, and was confident in creating an interior that would deliver in style, modernity and practicality. Colin requested that only local businesses were used to undertake all the work with IOM Design in Silverdale providing the architectural drawings and JJ Metcalfe being contracted to do the building elements of the project. It was also decided that all old furniture would, where possible, be recycled.

Having researched SWS UK as both a business and a brand, Kyra began the project with a strong idea of which themes, colours and styles would work well in the public areas such as the conference room and reception area. Kyra was also tasked with fully renovating the existing showroom which was bland, impractical and unwelcoming. Opting for a simple colour palette of varying shades of grey, Kyra contracted local decorating team Craig Kitson who transformed the conference and showrooms into sleek, stylish spaces, and the Reception area into a welcoming entrance that sets the tone for the remainder of the premises. A newly created waiting area with custom made furniture complete the space which is now flooded with light, thanks to the stunning bespoke glass doors which lead off into each of the training, conference and showrooms.

The offices and canteen presented much more of a blank canvas and Kyra was given a little more free reign to create a fresh new look that would create a productive working environment and in the case of the canteen, a fun, relaxed area where employees could enjoy their breaks. After some initial research it was discovered that the use of green in interior design provided the most calming benefits, therefore it was decided that green would be the most dominant shade throughout the area.

Following the decoration work, Kyra sourced brand new desks, chairs and stationery which provided a sleek, uniform look with practical and discreet storage solutions resulting in offices that allowed better use of space with a crisp modern appearance.

The canteen has been injected with more colour and has been equipped with both dining and relaxing areas and a large television screen. Perhaps the most striking feature, there is a botanical feature wall which really helps to separates the relaxed canteen area from the remainder of the office space.

Upon completion of the project, Kyra told us ‘I thoroughly enjoyed working with SWS UK and project managing their renovations. I revelled in the challenging nature of some of the stages, and can honestly say that I am delighted with the results. SWS UK now have stylish, up-to-date premises that work better for them, their customers and their employees.’