Design house: A London apartment tailored to perfection
What began as a characterless white flat in a newly built block has now been transformed into an elegant city bolthole, rich in colour, texture and style
The owners had two stipulations when they began looking for a London flat two years ago: it had to be within easy walking distance of Covent Garden and the wider area that makes up the north bank of the River Thames, and it had to have sufficient space to allow for comfortable entertaining.
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The property
The couple, who split their time between the capital and a Georgian house in the country, eventually decided to buy a smart apartment with glorious full-height windows, within a newly built block that answered their needs perfectly.
However, the empty ‘white box’ presented challenges of its own, prompting the couple to engage the services of interior designer Katie Goring, who helped them realise their dream of an elegant yet functional London home.
Living room
The owners worked with interior designer Katie Goring to carefully craft this open-plan room, ensuring that every detail looked good from every angle.The dark painted feature wall provides the perfect backdrop for treasured artwork by Slovenian artist Jože Ciuha.
‘We have a few of his pieces and part of Katie’s brief was to display them to their best advantage,’ explains Nick. ‘Ciuha lived on the island of Sipan, which is a favourite of ours, so these are very special.’
Kitchen
The kitchen that came as standard has been transformed with brick-format marble tiles, which were simply applied to the existing white tiles. Glass and copper pendants and wooden-topped spice jars add warmth.
Hall
Floor-to-ceiling mirrors with metal detailing not only add a touch of glamour to the built-in utility cupboards but help to open up the narrow space.
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Guest bedroom
The extra slim bespoke console table ensures that this compact room does not feel cluttered, while the seat in the corner can be used as a dining chair when required.
Main bedroom
This soothing scheme is complemented by a pair of bronze figures, which Katie sourced and had mountedon tall plinths to fill this particular space. Accents of geometric pattern add further interest, while the bedside tables were chosen for their stylish design and also because they match the height of the bed perfectly.
Photography ⁄ Jan Baldwin
Interior Design ⁄ Katie Goring
Jennifer is the Digital Editor at Homes & Gardens. Having worked in the interiors industry for a number of years, spanning many publications, she now hones her digital prowess on the 'best interiors website' in the world. Multi-skilled, Jennifer has worked in PR and marketing, and the occasional dabble in the social media, commercial and e-commerce space. Over the years, she has written about every area of the home, from compiling design houses from some of the best interior designers in the world to sourcing celebrity homes, reviewing appliances and even the odd news story or two.
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