Strictly dazzling finials

Maitlands of Pershore, along with its customer Conservatory Village, has completed a large scale installation for a well-known celebrity known for his love of glitz and glamour – so much so that the conservatory was topped off with three bespoke glitter ball finials, featuring 20,000 Swarovski crystals.

Scott Francis of Maitlands said: “We were approached by Conservatory Village to work on a huge portal conservatory for Strictly Come Dancing judge, Craig Revel Horwood. They told us that several companies had already walked away due to the complexity of the job but here at Maitlands we have 25 years’ experience of specifying and fabricating conservatory roofs and know the outstanding level of technical support that is available to us from Ultraframe should we need it.

“We agreed to survey, manufacture and help project manage the installation of the complex portal frame and roof and it was a fantastic project to work on.”

The 20m wide T-shaped conservatory features a second adjoining lean-to roof to the rear with an Ultraframe Classic roof and two-tier cornice. Finished in aluminum anthracite grey and with large span bifolds on every face, the resulting structure is impressively grand, yet still sleek and contemporary in appearance.

“The request for aluminium bifolds on each face of the conservatory posed an added complication due to the structural calculations needed, but with our design team and the backing of the proven Ultraframe system we achieved it,” Scott said. “As you would expect, Craig was a stickler for detail and asked if we could produce glitter balls as finials. Never ones to say no, we made three glitter balls with Swarovski Crystals – all 20,000 of them individually glued to each finial.”

Ultraframe marketing director Alex Hewitt said: “The project wasn’t without its technical challenges but, working together as a team, we overcame them all and are thrilled with the end result. We give it a perfect 10.”