DESIGNED TO PERFECTION
BRITISH DESIGNERS ARE COLLABORATING WITH LUXURY PROPERTY DEVELOPERS TO OFFER A MORE CURATED HOME TO BUYERS,
British designers collaborate with property developers to choreograph homes to bespoke specifications
IINTERIOR DESIGN IS VITAL WHEN CREATING A HOME; IT IS NOT ENOUGH TO SIMPLY FILL A SPACE WITH BEAUTIFUL ITEMS IF THEY ARE NOT GOING TO WORK WITH YOUR LIFESTYLE.
t’s funny the things that haunt you. I once watched an old couple being interviewed in their living room about how they had decorated their home. They basically hated everything they had ever bought. They lived in a kind of purgatory of regret, resentment and feeling uncomfortable in their space. They have haunted me ever since: they were the people I didn’t want to be.
Where you stand in the interior design debate has started to become more and more a defining feature of who you are as a person. Are you one of those people who has interior design websites book marked, Pinterest boards filled with Mid Century Modern furniture and are actually thinking of colour sorting your paperbacks to make a ‘ feature’ out of them? Or do you just not think about it at all?
If you had the good fortune to work with an interior designer the first thing that you do is sit and you talk about your lifestyle choices and who you are in relation to you living space. Which is all very lovely but, really, who has the time for that? People’s increasingly hectic lifestyle doesn’t give time for the choosing of fabrics and the matching of towels to tiles. Buyers want it perfect from the moment they exchange and get the key. Their new place must imme-
WE LOVE WORKING WITH ARTISTS EARLY ON IN A PROJECT SO THAT ART GETS EMBEDDED INTO THE INTERIOR RATHER THAN MERELY BEING ‘ APPLIED’ AT THE NEAR END
diately have the perfect look that captures their own attitude to living, but how this is reflected the city they are in.
Developers globally are responding to this need by putting apartments and penthouses on sale that have already been done up by a cache of top international interior designers. These will come at a premium but they have no problem in finding similarly international clients who are willing to buy the whole package. For the developers going this extra mile allows them to transform peoples response to the space and present them as a home.
Property developer Robert Soning at London Newcastle sees the collaboration with top name interior designers as a force for good, “There is a fantastic community of gifted and experienced interior designers that we can tap into who work on individual high- end commissions and appeal to international buyers who value their sense of style and commitment to good craftsmanship.”
Soning has just finished working with rising British design superstar Tara Bernerd on The Henson— a development in the old Muppet studios in London’s rock’n’roll area of Camden. Bernerd’s designs reflect intelligent space planning and layouts, with a strong use of texture and colour which typify their projects. Her involvement turned what could have been yet another warehouse development into a warm, atmospheric place to live that reflected the cool edgy neighbourhood. Bernerd is working increasingly on a global platform with projects on going in New York, Chicago, London, Hong Kong and Switzerland for hotels, restaurants and property developers. She does have a select few private clients who, as always, remain anonymous.
It might be thought that working with a developer rather than a private client might make for a rather bland result? The risk of this is something that is fiercely denied by all designers. Fiona Naylor who runs the architecture and
design collaboration Johnson Naylor says, “With large scale projects we don't have the benefit of an individuals brief, so we try and create an elegant, intelligent and understated canvas for their home, their possessions and memories.”
Its a tricky thing to keep all the different demands in place. Reigning Queen of international interior design Kelly Hoppen says, “Well when it is a private client it is, of course, a private space. A large scale project means there is much more to take into consideration. I have designed yachts, hotels, residential buildings and airway cabins and for each one there is something different to consider.”
The key is keeping the inspiration flowing. Natalia Miyar the head designer at London’s secret favourite design company, Helen Green Design who’s stunningly successful work at Chelsea riverside development - the improbably named Bramah - has received great acclaim says, “We are continually inspired by what we are surrounded by and exposed to from fashion, nature, art - you name it. I am currently very inspired by stones and crystals, especially unusual colour combinations you find in nature.” But that good interior design does have one thing in common “Great style, which is so hard to define. But equally important is functionality. No matter how beautiful a space looks, if it doesn’t work it isn’t a great design,” she sums up accurately.
The place and space that the property is in, is of course, key to the design. Kelly Hoppen told me, “I recently completed the design of two show apartment situated in Hong
IT’S MY AIM TO HIGHLIGHT THE RELEVANCE OF THE INITIAL CONCEPT, THE VALUE OF DETAILING THIS AND THUS PROVIDING THE ULTIMATE TAILORED DESIGN TO ALL MY CLIENTS
Kong overlooking the famous Happy Valley racecourse. I really enjoyed this project, firstly because I love Hong Kong and have always been inspired by the Asian way of life when it comes to designing. The layout of the apartments is very fluid with clean lines and sumptuous textures which is what my design is all about.”
Trying to find out exactly how much extra a flat designed and done out by a designer will cost is not easy. Sellers and designers are both reluctant to commit to percentages or define the premium. However one source that doesn’t wish to be named, suggests that on the really good properties with a top branded designers can have a premium of 10 – 15%. Robert Sonning prefers to suggest that the addition of a designer can support a price point rather than dramatically add to it. It is clear that there are no deals to be done when you are dealing at this level but if you are getting fixtures and fittings and a job superbly well done then perhaps ‘ getting the deal’ isn’t the point. Natalia Miyar points out “As designers we don’t just pick wall colours, we craft every element of the space including the interior architecture and we translate our client’s wishes for how they want to live into something tangible. I think that deserves equal billing.”
It seems as if this trend towards designer branded flats and properties isn’t going away. Globally, we are all becoming more devoted to buying into brands, not less. Because let’s not forget that buying an apartment ‘ by’ someone, by a brand, gives the buyer a common language with others in the know. You are then part of the club of people
GOOD INTERIOR DESIGN USUALLY TRANSFORMS PEOPLES’ PERSPECTIVES OR FEEL FOR A SPACE. FOR DEVELOPERS, IT ALLOWS THEM TO PRESENT SPACES TO PURCHASERS AS HOMES
who know the right people to choose. An exclusive design by Fiona Naylor in her words, “gives a sense of well being to the people who use that space… a home is an incredibly important space for our well being and tranquillity.” But it is also a short hand, defining your relationship with your living space, the city and your socio- economic place in it. You are never going to be that sad old couple on their ugly sofa in Hull!
There is such a variety of artistic talents and temperaments designing today that it gives clients a fairly wide choice. From cool English comfortable minimalism of Helen Green Design, the richly textured luxe modernism of Tara Bernerd, to the art driven quirky cool of Fiona Naylor, their palates are richly textured to suit even the most demanding.
A brief word of warning from property agent Roarie Scarisbrick, who sees these perfect designer flats come up for resale: “If you are going to sell on in a few yeas, remember to choose classic design; it ages better. The thing that ages a place the quickest? The technology. I can date a flat’s refurb to within months by the technology. Hold back from the touch screen control panel lighting— nothing dates a place like an out of date light switch.”