When I was a kid, I had an old wooden tennis racquet with a long neck and electrical tape wrapped around the handle for grip. My sister and I would practice our back-swing at the weekends in a nearby tennis court and while I learned to hit the ball over the net, Stacey learned to receive a slice to the face. We were not the best tennis players around. As we grew a little older, our old wooden racquets were discarded in favour of newer lightweight alloy replacements, the necks shorter and the strings more sturdy. But when the sports equipment of yesteryear is replaced for newer stock, what happens to its predecessor? Here at The Design Sheppard, we think we’ve found the answer.
With the summer sporting events waving adieu for another year, we felt it time to showcase the work of Timothy Oulton, interiors aficionado and master of the installation. In its artistic range of dedicative pieces laden with the sports of yesterday, Timothy Oulton has taken every vintage sports cast off and made it into something current and fresh in its hand-picked selection entitled “Summer of Sport”. From the aforementioned Dunlop tennis relics to restored riding saddles, the company has transformed the innocuous into artistry worthy of the finest of households.
We wanted to give you a hint of what to expect from this daring selection, so here are a few of our favourite pieces.
Match Point: Using vintage racquets and balls, Timothy Oulton has crafted a signature oversized wall-mounted installation entitled Match point, a circular solar-inspired crafting with all the force of the sport itself. Bold and daring, this piece is nostalgia for the wall of anyone still smiling fondly over the sport before Andy Murray graced the courts.
Barball: The overall look is one of the sports clubs of yore, and with the Barball bar stool, all you’ll need is a Harvey Wallbanger and a fine cigar to finish the image. The coupling of a vintage pigskin football in a hefty metal frame sends tingles of my childhood down my spine when regarding this unique seating option.
Saddle Chair: Ever the equine enthusiasts, Timothy Oulton’s Saddle Chair is a must have for any show jumping rider, fitting perfectly in any interior, its subdued tones matching the trend completely. Timothy Oulton’s interior art is heavy on the horse riding theme, so a Frankenstein chair of vintage saddle covers, complete with stirrups, is a courteous nod to anyone enamoured with the sport.
The Oulton brand has taken its gift of design and infused it into a theme rarely experimented with, and here at The Design Sheppard, we are sold on these perfect pieces. Turn your home into a sports enthusiast’s stately manor in the blink of an eye with an original Timothy Oulton ‘Summer of Sports’ piece. They have certainly got a unique product. Game, set and match!