There’s more than a touch of farmhouse influence in the interior design of the new Morlaix, the latest addition to Swift’s holiday home lodge range. Panelled cabinet doors with neat circular handles, traditional check-patterned cushions and a dining suite that has a double chunky, sculpted central pedestal base, all contribute to the classic farmhouse-influenced character. The welcoming, cosy look is impressive as soon as you step inside.
Throughout, the design blends rustic charm with modern styling. Nowhere is this more evident than in the dining area, which has bench-style seating forming an L-shape on one side, and three chairs, one on the end nearest to the kitchen and two on the side. The dining chairs are open-backed, and simple design, with cushions pads. Six large cushion backrests supply superb comfort to the bench-style seating. In total this dining area is capable of seating eight; that’s more than the vast majority of holiday lodges.
Natural wood plays its part in the lounge décor, in the form of cabinets below the television position, an oak-effect coffee table plus a matching side table that can be moved anywhere. The coffee table is an intriguing design that incorporates two upholstered cube stools that can be moved out away from the table and placed anywhere. It’s an optional extra – but one that most buyers would go for. This is a lounge clearly designed not just for sumptuous comfort but for capacity; eight can sit in the lounge when you factor in the stools. And the double sliding door at the front ensured the lounge is light and bright.
Our review Morlaix is the 40ft x 14ft model with two bedrooms. It’s fitted with the optional sofa bed option plus the coffee table with stools, a dishwasher, a washing machine and a Velux window in the kitchen. The pale sage green of the kitchen cabinets brings modern styling to mix with the farmhouse influence – and it works superbly. Oak effect for the worktops and the low splashbacks keep the country theme going.
In terms of practicality, the Morlaix kitchen scores highly, with three lower cabinets and five wall cabinets, plus plenty of surface space, in three areas. There’s even a built-in wine rack; five bottle slots alongside the cooker. We love the clean, crisp styling of the kitchen – and the injection of the farmhouse style statement in the form of a wooden shelf unit, bordered both top and bottom in oakeffect; somewhere to put ornaments, perhaps – things that define you and let you put your own stamp on the décor of your Morlaix.
In the bedroom zone the pale sage green theme continues, for the wardrobe doors, frames of the bedside cabinets and the large dressing table which has three drawers and an upholstered cube stool. The shower room that is en suite to this room is complete with a heated towel rail. In the twin room, the cabinet above the beds that reaches into the slope of the ceiling line is finished in sage green, as is the wardrobe with two drawers beneath. The darker, soft brown bedhead accent wall, in a shade that Swift delightfully calls “espresso”, with padded pale grey bedheads, create a simple, modern, yet also cosy style. Opposite is the shower room, identical to the en suite, and also complete with a towel warmer.
A number of options are available to buyers, including a slimline dishwasher, a washing machine, a Velux window in the kitchen, voiles to the lounge and bedroom windows, a lift-up-base storage bed in the main bedroom. Buyer can also opt for a coffee table with two integral cube-shaped upholstered stools. And if you want an extra bedroom, a pull out sofa bed is an option for the lounge. The Morlaix Lodge is available in three layouts, with either two or three bedrooms, the options are: 40ft x 13ft with two bedrooms; 40ft x 14ft also with two bedrooms, and 42ft x 14ft with three bedrooms. The twin beds in both of the 14ft models are standard domestic 3ft width. And the bed in the main bedroom is king-size.
And the details that you can’t see: The Morlaix Lodge is built to residential specification BS 3632. It has a galvanised chassis with a finish that’s guaranteed for 10 years. Its floor insulation is 100mm; it has 200mm insulation in the roof and 115mm insulation in the walls.
And the name? Swift’s holiday homes are all named after French towns. The medieval town of Morlaix, with its cobbled streets and 16th century half-timbered houses, in Brittany’s Finistère region, is full of character, as is its lodge namesake.
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Val Chapman
Val’s experience of the world of holiday homes, lodges and residential park homes spans more than 20 years and her industry knowledge is second to none.
