Meeting the exacting standards of a living legend with an eye for the exceptional is a pretty tall order for any company but when approached by Sir Stirling Moss OBE to supply decorative electrical wiring accessories for the refurbishment of his 2500 sq.ft. house, over 5-storeys, in the heart of Mayfair, Hamilton Litestat was more than ready to seize the opportunity. Ian Hamilton, managing director of Hamilton Litestat says: “As a British manufacturer we admire Sir Stirling’s work and all he stands for so it meant a lot to us when he chose Hamilton to join an impressive line up of simply stunning and technologically advanced fixtures and fittings in his Mayfair home.”
Over the years Sir Stirling’s name has become as synonymous with design, detail and innovation as it has with F1 racing driving. No mean feat, given that he is regarded by many as the greatest all-round racing driver of all time.
Sir Stirling’s approach to architecture and design was, without question, pioneering in 1961, when he acquired a bomb damaged site on which he built an innovative home filled with cutting edge gadgets. Installations include an automated bath, an electro-hydraulic dining table that can move from the kitchen on one floor directly down into the dining room on the floor below, and a letter tray which transports post from Sir Stirling’s office directly to his wife’s. The large windows on the small street are mirrored for privacy. A recent and some say the most impressive of all is a carbon fibre lift designed by the Williams F1 team.
In 2014 and still very much his home Sir Stirling has overseen a complete refurbishment of the building.
The Project
Sir Stirling’s passion for design and technology were a priority when it came to specifying fixtures and fittings for his refurbishment project.
Working closely with Hamilton he chose Hamilton’s Linea-Rondo CFX® collection in Satin Steel with white insert surrounds for installation in the property’s Bedrooms, Bathrooms, Dressing Rooms and Hallways.
Linea-Rondo CFX® is a modern and elegant two-part plate with curved edge frame and hidden fixings. A separate back frame and our patented 4 point face plate clipping system allow the option of matching or contrasting elements. It gives a minimal depth and a modern look a perfect match for the contemporary décor with statement elements to the design and layout. Sir Stirling's chosen Satin Steel finish complemented the light tones with a hint of metalics colour scheme perfectly.
A particular highlight of the project for the Hamilton team was ensuring Sir Stirling has full control at his finger tips at his bedside. Every now and then a project needs something a little different so using our bespoke design and manufacturing service, Savile Row, Hamilton can create tailor-made prototypes to a highly finished standard to show exactly how our customers’ requirements and ideas will look and work as a custom-built electrical accessory. In this case Sir Stirling needed bespoke plates in his selected finish which Hamilton produced to his specifications which included a Special Plate containing: 2 gang Intermediate, retractive switch, double pole switch, two way switch and a Telephone Master Socket. Via 7 switches in all Sir Stirling has beside control of his environment - the air conditioning, curtains, overhead, reading, half and total ceiling light plus landline telephone socket.
The plate finish was particularly important in Sir Stirling and Lady Moss’s bedroom as it needed to complement a feature wall of hand painted wall paper depicting tree blossom in a Japanese style called Plum Blossom by Colefax and Fowler – a particular favourite of Lady Moss.
Sir Stirling Moss is delighted with the end result: “I was spoiled for choice when I first looked at Hamilton’s range but knew the Linea-Rondo CFX® was the perfect solution for us as soon as I saw it. The bespoke service allowed me to specify exactly what I needed from each plate in every location and room. I’ve dealt with many companies over the years and it’s not easy to impress me but Hamilton have achieved that and more. A pleasure to work with and an inspiration when it comes to design and innovation in this sector!”
