Some projects invite us to move beyond the practical into the poetic. Our work on the Rosemead House website was one such experience a rare opportunity to explore how digital design can evoke time, memory, and place, even when the final destination is still under construction.
Partnering with Free Agency Creative, we were tasked with creating a digital presence for a heritage estate still deep in restoration. What made this project unique was the tension between what was known and what was still unfolding. As digital creatives, we’re used to working with FPOs, but here, those placeholders felt more like narrative clues. With limited visuals and evolving brand assets, we leaned into a different creative process one that required intuition, reference, and a touch of imagination.
A Space Suspended Between Eras
Rosemead House is more than a hotel, it is a layered architectural biography. Originally built in 1906 by Samuel Maclure, the house’s Tudor Revival and Arts and Crafts heritage radiates a quiet, lived-in dignity. Decades later, it would become The Old English Inn, a themed hotel echoing England’s historic charm with replica cottages, costumed staff, and curated anachronism. Now, under the thoughtful stewardship of Aragon Properties, Rosemead is experiencing a careful restoration, one that honors its past while reinterpreting it for modern life.
This duality shaped our digital approach. How could a contemporary website echo the spirit of a home that once embodied Edwardian design, post-war romanticism, and now, boutique sophistication? The brief gave us the freedom to explore that space in-between.
Phantom Inspirations
While developing the early visual direction, a film surfaced in our creative conversations: Phantom Thread. Set in 1950s London, the film captures not only an era but a mood, a tactile, composed elegance that resonated with what Rosemead House represented. We weren’t trying to replicate the film’s aesthetic, but rather reflect its sensibility.
We asked ourselves questions that shaped both the UX and UI: What would a website feel like if it had the restraint of a well-tailored dress? If it moved with the quiet poise of an English drawing room? If it revealed information not all at once, but in layers, like stepping through a house filled with stories?
This line of thought guided us. Subtle transitions replaced flashy animations. Color palettes leaned into the muted richness of heritage interiors. Typography choices nodded to signage and print of the mid-century period, but remained grounded in digital clarity. In the same way Phantom Thread used modern cinematography to evoke a period story, we used present-day tools to echo a bygone atmosphere.
From FPO to Feeling
In most projects, FPOs (For Placement Only) are placeholders for what will eventually become content. At Rosemead, they became creative prompts. We weren’t just waiting for final photos—we were imagining what they should feel like once they arrived. This required close collaboration with the branding team and a careful read of the estate’s evolving personality.
What emerged was a site that doesn’t try to overstate its subject. Instead, it offers a restrained digital elegance a user experience designed to feel slow, intentional, and quietly confident. Just like the home it represents.
A Legacy, Framed Anew
The result is more than a showcase of a beautifully restored property. It’s a gesture toward timeless design, one that subtly connects the past to the present without losing either. As developers and designers, we don’t often get to frame history in this way…not literally, but emotionally, atmospherically.
With a palette of partials, prompts, and period references, we threaded time into a digital experience. And in doing so, we learned that sometimes, the most compelling work emerges not from certainty, but from careful observation, creative instinct, and a little room for imagination.
