Former England rugby captain commissions Daval Furniture for Twickenham suite

Daval Furniture’s special projects division has been commissioned by former England rugby captain Dylan Hartley to design and manufacture fitted furniture for his private suite at the Allianz Stadium in Twickenham.

Daval’s special projects division delivers a small number of bespoke non-residential projects per year and has previously been commissioned by brands including technical outdoor apparel maker, Thrudark, for their headquarters in Poole, Dorset, and television personality and influencer, Lucy Mecklenburgh.

Under the brief, Daval creative director, James Bodsworth, is working closely with Hartley to create a bar and entertaining area for the corporate suite that will be used for hospitality on match days.

James said: “Twickenham is known as the home of English rugby and, as a brand rooted in our own British heritage, we couldn’t be more pleased to be working with Dylan on this exciting project or think of a better fit.

“Dylan has given us free reign to design a space that is both modern yet classic and provides comfortable yet luxurious surroundings for him and his guests on match days, and we are working on an exciting scheme centred around a made-to-measure bar using our Lugano Boston Oak cabinetry that will be complimented by a raised bench with seating that looks directly out on to the iconic pitch.”

Furniture for the project will be manufactured on -site at Daval’s 100,000 sq.ft factory in Slaithwaite, Huddersfield, and installed in Hartley’s Twickenham suite at the end of October.

Dylan Hartley said: “With Twickenham being the home of English rugby, I was keen to use a British brand that manufactures here in the UK, so Daval’s manufacturing heritage and excellent product combined with James’s creative and design expertise is the perfect match. I’m really looking forward to seeing the finished result.”

Hartley captained the England rugby team from January 2016 until the end of his international career in 2019 and is the team’s most capped hooker of all time, earning his first cap in 2008.