Charlton House commissions Front Design to transform Boathouse No 7

Front Design's brief was to re-position and update the service counters, enhance the ambience, increase sales and customer satisfaction, while maintaining the structure and integrity of the Boathouse. Dave Davies of Front Design, commented on the project: "Once all of the design concepts, plans, branding and costs had been agreed, we allowed ourselves six working days on-site to achieve the refurbishment, which we delivered without any complications. "The Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and Charlton House teams involved in the mobilisation were extremely easy to work with and we all worked very well together to ensure the successful delivery of the space - within budget and on schedule." Front design stripped out the old service counters, replacing them with contemporary counters to display Charlton House's food to its best advantage. They replaced the furniture with a structured arrangement of chairs and tables to maximise the available space and introduced a stylish palette of colours to complement the historic building. Lighting was also key to accommodate both daytime and evening events. Rupert Pocock, operations manager for the Charlton House, added: "Our decision to place the design element into the hands of professional designers streamlined the entire process, from the concept stage right through to project management and completion." The designers worked to a budget of £140,000. Under a five-year contract worth a total of £8 million in turnover, the independent caterers took over management of the catering operation at the Historic Dockyard on 1st April 2009. As well as managing a 250-seat public restaurant housed in Boathouse No 7, Charlton House manages Action Stations Cafe in Boathouse 6 and a Costa Coffee outlet in the main Ticketing office.