Soul

I spend many hours with clients learning about who they are, their taste, their imagination, and their lifestyle. With that background I can create interiors that are about them rather than just somewhere to impress, or maybe even intimidate.

The images here are of a brand-new penthouse project. It is challenging giving life to new walls in comparison to older buildings which have layers of history.

To make this interior talk I needed to create layers of interest using interesting wall finishes, vintage furniture, art, and commissioned pieces. Designers often talk about juxtaposition, the art of mixing old and new, big and small, shiny and textured, to a level which has contrast and yet doesn’t look like a jumble, but instead something pleasantly cohesive.

I do love, when working on a super-slick modern interior, to drop in just one piece of furniture that is from a different era. That piece must be outstanding, a fine example that can stand up to the rest of the room, and, if provocative enough, be the star. It’s fun to do the research to find such a piece, trawling through such market websites as Pamono or 1stDibs where I learn much about different periods and what they have to offer. There I discovered such makers as Maison Jansen, who touched on so many styles influenced by Art Deco, modernism and the Viennese Succession, and to my surprise found that the suave actor Alain Delon designed for them producing outstanding pieces which would look impressive in an interior today.

From there I might look for furniture dealers that specialise in a certain period, for example Dorian Caffot de Fawes, who specialises mainly in European Deco. He, like other specialists, can give good advice and help find outstanding furniture.