Mews magic

How Bodo Sperlein meshes history and hi-tech

‘I’M NOT YOUR run-of-the-mill industrial designer,’ muses Bodo Sperlein, as we tour his recently renovated Pimlico mews home. ‘I’ve been trained in the UK, so I take a different approach.’

The German-born designer, who studied at London’s University of the Arts, established his studio here in 2000, and at first carved a career creating delicate porcelain and ceramic vessels – some of which still adorn his two-bedroom home. But he’s diversified his repertoire since then, transforming the fortunes of heritage companies with new design collections that delve into their archives, reinterpreting each brand for the 21st century.

Sperlein initially achieved global recognition in 2006 when he resurrected luxury Spanish porcelain company Lladró with a collection of chandeliers and, subsequently, an equestrian-inspired Ascot range. Similar success followed with the Japanese ceramics brand Nikko. Then, between 2014 and 2016, he collaborated with historic Mexican silverware company Tane.

Now his Bild television range, inspired by Bauhaus and art-deco designs, is reinvigorating the German home-technology brand Loewe. ‘When I started designing for Loewe, people said, “Why pick Bodo? He does cups and saucers,” but it paid off,’ he says. ‘I created something people want to have in their houses.’ He gestures in

the direction of a large freestanding television, which is indeed a beautiful thing. Angled on a slender matt-gold frame, like a black canvas on an easel, the screen appears to float without a wire to be seen. Another of his recent designs, an extendable dining table for the furniture manufacturer Rolf Benz, takes pride of place in his ground-floor kitchen-diner – the space he calls the ‘entertaining hub’ of the house – beneath a trio of the Hadron pendant lights he designed for Tane.

In its combination of craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology, the table is signature Sperlein. The artisan detailing of the complex sculptural base was conceived using a CNC router (a computer-controlled cutting machine) and ‘lots of carpentry elbow grease’, he says. ‘It’s made from elm timber, but I used a pigment oil to get a warm colour to match the vintage Hans Wegner chairs. They’re 1950 first editions; I’ve had them for 12 years, but had the seats reupholstered in orange and turquoise.’ As the room’s centrepiece, and set against a backdrop of industrial Crittall-style windows, the dining set evokes a distinctly mid-century-modern aesthetic, yet the mews property dates back to the mid-19th century, perhaps even earlier, according to Sperlein.

‘When the builders removed the plaster to expose the brick, I realised how incredible it is,’ he says. ‘When mews buildings were made they used recycled materials rather than expensive stuff. So some of the stone masonry they reused is probably Tudor. It’s amazing, like being in a museum.’ It feels far from it: with his knack for reinvention, Sperlein has radically remodelled the home to suit contemporary living, from hosting friends to work.

Taking four years from initial planning to completion, Sperlein gutted the entire building, digging out the basement to accommodate a guest bedroom with an en-suite bathroom, plus a library-cum-study – now furnished with a modular Danish Cado shelving system,

The top-floor sitting room is designed to resemble a ‘’30s or ’40s salon’

which he’s collected over the years. The addition of a new top floor gained Sperlein a substantial sitting room – designed to feel like a ‘’30s or ’40s salon’ – and also a roof terrace, above, accessed by stairs. These modifications expanded the property from two storeys to four.

‘Each level of the house has a different feel,’ he says. ‘Downstairs feels more like Palm Springs, with the botanical wallpaper and stone cladding outside. The ground floor with the Bauhaus-style windows could be France, and upstairs is far more British in character.’ Sperlein’s master bedroom, bathroom and dressing room on the first floor feel a little Georgian, with a wood panelled-effect trompe l’oeil wallpaper.

Like many architects and designers, the root of Sperlein’s success is his recognition of and respect for what’s gone

‘Downstairs feels more like Palm Springs, with the botanical wallpaper and stone cladding’

before, and this has also guided his home renovation. The colour palette was inspired by grand historical houses that have strong accent shades. ‘I love greys,’ he says, ‘but chose colours I feel comfortable with to give the interiors warmth and more interest.’

And if the mid-century-modern style seems slightly at odds in a 19th-century mews, there is a reason for the ambience that extends beyond Sperlein’s personal attachment to the designs of that period. The previous inhabitant was the Hungarian artist Zsuzsi Roboz; her easel still stands in the dining room, displaying a poster from the 1972 Munich Olympics. ‘I have a few of her paintings and wanted to keep some things from her original studio as well,’ says Sperlein. ‘When we started renovating it was a very ’60s house – you could have imagined Christine Keeler in there – so it’s probably all a bit of an unconscious homage to that. I didn’t want to create a fashionable place, or something contemporary, just somewhere you feel comfortable.’ bodosperlein.com

From left On the lower level, the guest bedroom features Little Greene wallpaper and doors open on to the lightwell with an ornamental living wall; the library-cum-study is furnished with a mid-century Danish Cado shelving system (dk3.dk); Sperlein sits beneath a 1960s wall sconce, on the stairs that lead up to the roof terrace