CERTA CITO
A Military-Inspired Home Study
When this Groth & Sons client looks up from behind his custom-made desk, his eye is drawn to a hand-painted inscription above the entrance door. Certa Cito - Latin for Swift and Sure. It is the motto of the Royal Signals, a corps defined by precision, reliability and quiet competence. While the making of bespoke joinery rarely moves at military pace, the sentiment resonates deeply with the approach taken here - considered design, disciplined execution, and absolute attention to detail.
UTILITY & INTRIGUE
The inscription acts as both threshold and reminder. It speaks to the shaping of a disciplined life and sets the tone for a military-inspired home study and library. Groth & Sons were entrusted with a brief that sought to balance a strong, regimental aesthetic with the practical demands of a highly organised study - a space equally suited to client meetings, private reading, or quiet contemplation.
Bespoke detailing
This is the home of an ex-military gentleman; a man of taste and intellect. The room needed to reflect that duality. It is purposeful without severity, layered without clutter. A place to house a lifetime of interests, military memorabilia, cricket artefacts and carefully curated LEGO models which are all displayed with intention and restraint within custom-made bookcases and cabinetry.
SHOWCASE & Classify
Architecturally, the space takes cues from the home’s heritage detailing, but with a deliberate lift toward a more structured, military feel. The bespoke cabinetry is capped with a carefully replicated plaster cornice profile. The result is a home library that feels as though it has always belonged - not added, but revealed. Integrated lighting is subtly woven throughout the joinery, illuminating shelves and workspace while maintaining a calm, composed atmosphere. At the centre sits a custom-made desk, finished by hand, edged in solid brass and concealing a discreet hidden compartment - a quiet nod to utility and intrigue, and a clear expression of custom furniture making at its finest.
HERITAGE & CRAFT
Access to the upper shelves is provided by a bespoke library ladder, affectionately named The Sandhurst. Now part of the Groth & Sons custom ladder collection, its name references the Royal Military Academy. Polished brass pin-stripe inlays echo regimental piping, lending a refined note of military regalia to this otherwise functional object.
Certa Cito is a study shaped by discipline, heritage and craft. A space defined by bespoke cabinetry, considered interior architecture and precision-made joinery - designed and built to endure, and to be lived with daily.
Let’s talk bespoke home libraries
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COMING UP TROMPS! and CUSTOM CABINETRY FOR THE ULTIMATE HOME LIBRARY
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