Our clients’ main residence is in the Far East, and this three bedroom property is based in the heart of Chelsea in a new development, and is used as a holiday home. The client brief was to furnish and style the apartment, and inject some much needed character into this new build. It was very much an uninspiring ‘white box’ initially, and she asked us to create a home that had more warmth, texture and interest.

To inject much needed personality into the scheme, we took inspiration from the client herself as she used to be an actress and is a very glamorous woman, her favourite fashion designer being Chanel, so our scheme was inspired by, and had to reflect all these different elements. We also wanted to create something that had a hint of ‘1950’s style glamorous chic’ as felt this look reflected the owners personality.

In the reception room the striking painting we commissioned from an artist in Ibiza was the inspiration for the scheme and the use of the pink was a direct play on the clients love of the baby pink colour used for the classic tweed Chanel jacket. A neutral scheme provided the backdrop for the pink colour injection to stand out. Detail was added with layers of texture in the form of different materials; a white herringbone rug, an antique mirror glass coffee table, linens, velvets and quilted cushions, again a playful and subtle take on the Chanel quilted handbag.

The second bedroom was not the most light filled in the apartment so we felt that the best solution for this dark room was to create a cosy and atmospheric space and try to work with the light levels, so we decorated in moody charcoal grey and dark neutral tones, accented with gold detailing and a black feather Juju hat provides a playful feature above the bed. We also found the perfect retro antique mirror with an illustration of a Chanel perfume bottle from Portobello market that completed the room perfectly.

We worked hard to ensure that the interior had some character and felt like a home as we really wanted each room to still have an individual feel so we ensured that different colour palettes and slightly different looks were used in individual rooms to ensure this was the case. The owner said they wanted something luxurious and unique to them, which we feel we have achieved.

Practically, we also had to complete the scheme within a relatively short deadline, just in time for the client to come over to celebrate Christmas and she couldn’t believe the transformation when she walked in as aside from her feeling that the property had lacked personality, she also initially had some real practical concerns and had been worried that the apartment was possibly too cramped for her storage needs.  However, with the addition of various walls that we clad with mirror glass in strategic places to give a sense of light and space, meticulous space planning to provide bespoke storage solutions and the addition of simple elegant furnishings, the apartment now looks both spacious and luxurious, which definitely exceeded the client’s expectations.