Chelsea Pad

Travelling extensively between the UK and the continent, this home away from home was designed by René Dekker Design Limited for the client so that he could be close to his favourite football stadium. The apartment is situated in a brand new building and required only cosmetic works which included the installation of a state of the art AV system as well as specialist decorations. Almost all of the furniture is bespoke and the combination of textures and finishes has created a balanced yet masculine appeal.

Our speciality is finishes and so we started by choosing various options for the walls in the open plan Living /dining /kitchen, the Master bedroom and the Guest bedroom. For the principle room we wanted something glamourous and sophisticated that had a little bit of sparkle, yet also masculine and durable. We settled on a cross combed polished plaster that had a hint of gold. The depth of the grooves within this random pattern finish means light bounces off it in all directions, giving the room a bright and vibrant appeal.

Once this was agreed we took on the task of planning the furniture layout, a slightly tricky consideration because one of the walls was not only curved but angled as well. This meant a bespoke sofa that would follow the lay of the room and a corresponding trapezoid rug. A dark but fresh raw linen was chosen for the sofa and this was softened with the use of some colourful patterned silk velvet scatter cushions. The curtains were chosen because of their subtle yet masculine ‘pinstripe’ pattern but again this is beautifully offset by the sheer silk texture of the fabric. We then chose a strongly figured walnut veneer for the occasional tables pulling the scheme together in a unique manner. As in all modern homes, the TV has become the central focus but the large black space this occupies often lessens the overall design of the space. To avoid this, we framed the TV with a large silver gilded frame that hid a rise and fall roller mechanism that could hide the TV when not in use. The client also owned some small ‘Master Graphics’ which we hung on the polished plaster walls. Finally we had a cream rug made using an almost eastern geometric design that at once makes the space warm and comfortable as well as breaking up the space.

To the rear of the room, we placed an extendable round table that suited the size of the space on a daily basis but could be extended when there were guests. Around this we placed 4 super deluxe dining chairs, close nailed and upholstered in 2 different colour leathers.

In the master bedroom we hung the walls with a subtle but textured silk ‘grass-cloth’ in a light hay tone. The headboard was upholstered in leather using a rough saddle stitch to create the ‘buttoned’ effect and we added some taupe mohair silk cushions. The colour comes in the form of two purple glass ‘bobble’ lamps with complimenting lilac silk shades and some matching bolsters also in lilac. The artworks were bespoke charcoals by the artist Norma Miller.