Sable & Stone Collection
A unified material language curated across a 40-home development.
Location
Manchester, England
Project type
Public & Cultural
What we did
Material and palette consultation, sample testing, and full specification documentation across a residential development.
Sable & Stone was a material consultation commission for Northline Developments, developing a consistent palette of finishes across a new residential scheme in Manchester — from show-home interiors through to individual unit specifications.
The Challenge
With 40 homes and multiple show-home configurations, the developer risked either a flat, repetitive palette across every unit or an inconsistent one that felt disjointed from home to home.
The Strategy
We developed one flexible material language — a small, considered set of stone, timber, and plaster finishes — that could be recombined differently across units rather than designing each palette from scratch.
The Solution
A development where every home feels individually considered but unmistakably part of the same collection, with the developer able to apply the specification consistently across future phases.
We began with palette exploration, building an initial material and color direction from the developer's brief and the surrounding context. That shortlist moved into sampling and specification, tested in situ against the development's light and finishes. The final phase was sourcing and documentation — full specification packs handed to contractors, with direct supplier coordination through to installation.
