The LuxDeco design team’s most recent luxury apartment project
There are few neighbourhoods which showcase the greatness of renowned Regency architect John Nash as spectacularly as London’s Regents Park. Replete with fine examples of his quintessential Nash townhouses, the area boasts classical symmetry, thoughtful design restraint and elegant palettes.
For such a neighbourhood, a dignified interior resonates, which is exactly why the LuxDeco design team opted for a carefully considered, refined aesthetic for their recent Regents Park apartment project.
“As the property overlooked Regents Park we wanted to give a nod to the traditional heritage of the grounds and the area, so the design was one of updated traditional luxury rather than a super modern apartment design,” senior lead designer Joanne Quinn explains before Interiors Director Linda Holmes adds, “That’s right. We wanted to create something that suited the modern Londoner, since our clients were an international family, whilst maintaining the sense of refinement which the neighbourhood is so well-known for.”
The design team quickly set to work on the 4-bedroom property which required a full renovation. “Before we started, the apartment was very dated and lacking in life,” designer Rhiannan Evans reveals, “The lighting was old, aircon units [were] outdated and the flooring was worn out. We updated the base features by refreshing the flooring and rewiring the entire electrical circuits. The bathrooms were a very old style 70s design and were wasting lots of precious space. In an apartment, it’s crucial to make sure space is used correctly. We ripped these out along with the kitchen, and redesigned them to create maximum usage of the space.”
Now the space feels refreshed, but not just refreshed, well-dressed too.
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“We added panelling through the hallway and intricate joinery throughout and added mirrored wall panels to the entrance to create a bold statement design as soon as you entered the property,” Joanne says of the now well-appointed entryway. A neutral space which is remarkably more inviting than its previous condition, just the entryway alone is a testament to the power of good design.
And the custom mirrored wall panels, whilst certainly a bold statement design, have another purpose—tricking the eye. The brass-trimmed mirrored wall immediately doubles the space, offering a light and bright area which belies its size. Its contents are doubled too.
A custom sideboard reflects back into the space for double impact and the light and glisten from two bespoke wall sconces, with their delicate gold speck droplets, is multiplied exponentially.
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Continuing into the transitional living room and dining room area, the design intent shifts slightly from open and airy to layered and rich. The space channels a sophisticated grey living room colour scheme, benefitting from a dusky grey base which is warmed slightly with a gentler dove white tone. At once, a timeless and an inviting palette.
Offering a slew of functional and decorative advantages, the design team chose to line one wall with a custom storage media cabinet. The design—crafted from dark stained oak and accented with antique brass trim—is a streamlined retelling of the traditional built in entertainment centre of years gone by.
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“We really wanted to have complete control of how the living room looked so we custom-designed the wall unit to disguise the radiators and audio visual technology,” says Linda, “It gave us a clean, uncomplicated canvas to decorate.”
And decorate they did. Acting as a focal point for the other sitting room furniture, the unit layers a selection of carefully curated accessories against more mirror in a way that is the epitome of transitional design. Agate discs provide pattern; shagreen hurricanes; bowls of greenery hint at the greenery outside the windows; and classic books are held in place by brass-accented bookends.
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To speak of the room’s occasional furniture, two custom grey velvet sofas—simply but beautifully decorated with accent piping—are joined by sloped arm Selva armchairs in a soft cream velvet, cube stools and a La Fibule coffee table—a masterclass in creating a concise yet generous living room layout. No space of the luxury living room’s prime real estate footprint is wasted and the result is a welcoming lounge area to relax in as well as entertain guests.
“It just feels completely different to its previous life,” Linda remembers.
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The elegantly cosy living room adjoins the dining area, its Rubelli-upholstered dining chairs reflecting the same colour palette with formal high gloss furniture in place of the living room’s warming dark stained oak.
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“Although they are part of the same space, we wanted the dining room to have its own feel,” says Linda, “It was important to our clients to have a designated dining area and we chose to do that through a formal dining room set. We selected a high-gloss finish for the table and sideboard which instantly suggests formality and antique brass studding for the bespoke dining chairs. The grey and bronze tones of the coordinating abstract art tie it all together.”
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As beautiful as its furniture is, the space’s most captivating piece is, without doubt, its central focal point—its chandelier. Recognising lighting as the major dining room decision that it is—one which can truly elevate a space—the design team settled on a custom chandelier (also seen in the Alexander Square project). Its glittering droplets, suspended from a network of gold-coloured branches, don’t disappoint.
“Dining room lighting is key to creating ambience, especially in an open-plan living room/dining room space. We wanted to focus the dining space with a beautiful overhead chandelier so we designed this piece which is a chandelier version of the hallway’s lovely sconces. It’s beautiful even when it’s turned off but it’s spectacular when it’s on.” Linda says of the choice.
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With the social areas taken care of, the design focus moved to the private spaces. “The apartment itself had a good flow from room to room [and] we predominantly kept to the same neural palette throughout which linked each room together,” says Rhiannan of the home’s common design thread. And if the goal of the home’s design thus far was a sense of calmness, calmness comes into its own in the master suite.
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Combining ethereal imagery with luxurious trims and unique shape play, the room is an urban retreat. Its main feature is a bespoke headboard—a piece geometric in design but subtle in nature courtesy of soft taupe upholstery. Deep splashes of navy blue cushions (fringed cushions, at that!) add an extra layer of opulence along with nearby glass bedside table lamps by Bella Figura, their ringed bases as delicate as spun sugar. For cabinetry, the design team chose white oak nightstands and a custom-made wardrobe—designed and handcrafted in Britain—to create a tonal effect against the room’s walls.
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“The purpose of the master bedroom was to create an elegant look which can be easily updated with new colours and textures,” Linda mentions, “We chose a deep navy for the final design but the neutral palette will work with any accent colour. That’s the whole point of timeless design.”
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Having fostered a sense of calm and ready to imbue some unique personality into the clients’ children’s bedrooms, the design team prepared three unique schemes. All of which can proudly serve, one day, as interesting and personality-full guest rooms (guest room decor can be notoriously underwhelming).
Taking its style cues from the ever-loved Art Deco movement, the clients’ oldest child’s room models itself after that of a glamorous hotel suite from the 1920s.
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“For this bedroom, we blended the intrinsic luxury of Art Deco’s most popular materials with contemporary lines, reflecting the modernity of the Art Deco style as it enters its second century.”
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Inspired by the designs of the legendary Art Deco furniture makers such as Émile-Jacques Ruhlmann, the team selected high-gloss radial macassar bedside tables and architectural detail prints by Quintessa to flank the creamy faux suede headboard, resulting in a look that is considered and distinctive from the rest of the home—perfect for a dapper twenty-something.
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The next bedroom—for the clients’ younger twin daughters—offers a more playful space which graduates turquoise bedrooms to luxury status with alabaster, velvet and eglomise glass as its credentials. In the space, a shared custom bedside table with antiqued mirror panels separates the upward-reaching turquoise headboards of the twin beds; cushions embellished with a bookmatched agate motif add pattern whilst Visual Comfort’s Rings table lamp in a pure white alabaster pops against the scene; and the complementary tones of abstract artwork and Louis de Poortere’s Fading World rug add the final layer.
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“The most elegant little girls room ever,” says Linda of the space, “It feels so immersive and the colours are even more wonderful in the flesh.”
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“For the little boys’ bedroom, we were inspired by Hermes’ lovely Éperon D’Or print which we loved for its suggestion of heritage,” Linda says, describing the home’s last bedroom, “Equestrian motifs are so traditionally British so we used the print for accent pillows and that was our base point for the room’s red and grey colour palette. We then brought in the leather element from the print—reminiscent of a horse’s leather bridle and straps—by specifying leather door pulls and leather trunks.”
The room also features a custom dual headboard with integrated shelving, a reading nook and a wall of storage.
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“Each of the children’s bedroom has a unique style so that the children feel as though they have their own identities,” says Linda “And the rooms also had to be versatile for the family. The children can enjoy the spaces now and they can enjoy them as they grow into them.”
The concept of growing into the home seems to be true of the property as a whole. Neutral spaces for the family to continue developing now that the designers are gone and rooms which can be repurposed for various needs. All necessities for a growing family. And, of course, the beauty of Regents Park not too far away.
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