In the living area, Terje Ekstrøm’s Ekstrem armchair and a Puddle coffee table by Massproductions join a custom mohair sofa, the sinuous lines referencing the winding river.
In the living area, Terje Ekstrøm’s Ekstrem armchair and a Puddle coffee table by Massproductions join a custom mohair sofa, the sinuous lines referencing the winding river.

October 6, 2022

Words: Jesse Dorris

Photography: Rachael Smith/Living Inside

This London Apartment for a Famous Singer Nods to Idol, David Bowie

When a famous British singer bought a pad in a Foster + Partners multi-tower apartment complex on the banks of London’s River Thames, a duet of desires played in his mind. First, he longed to transform its undoubtedly luxurious but standard-issue interiors into one of the city’s great party spots. And second, a beloved portrait of his idol David Bowie had to take pride of place.

After a few scrolls on Instagram, he found his players: Simone Gordon and Sophie van Winden of Owl Design. The pair had met in an interior architecture course at Ravensbourne University London, rebelling against the school’s partiality toward glass-box minimalism. By 2014, a few years after graduating, they’d founded their own firm, lending their signature blend of fluid shapes and bold colors to hospitality and office projects across the country. The pandemic moved them mainly into residential spaces, freshening up homes with a touch of post-Memphis here, post-Modernism there. With Owl remixing the 2,000-square-foot three-bedroom apartment, the singer knew he’d have a hit.

The dining area, with a Greta Grossman GMG chaise lounge and Gropius CS1 chairs surrounding a custom table, boasts enviable views of the Thames.
The dining area, with a Greta Grossman GMG chaise lounge and Gropius CS1 chairs surrounding a custom table, boasts enviable views of the Thames.

Gordon and van Winden’s top-to-bottom redesign is indeed off the charts. The pair addressed the challenges of the building’s distinctive curved walls—lovely on the outside but hard to work with in the rooms themselves—with a Memphis-inflected preference for clear geometric forms. The living area walls boast built-in bookshelves that trace the curves, divided into snappy triangular compartments for the client’s collectables.

“The principal bedroom was a really difficult shape as well,” Gordon notes. A bed takes up most of the room’s footprint, so the designers framed a custom headboard directly against the wall. “Its curve mirrors the shape of the room, as do the bedside tables.” Both are a rich, deep red. “Monochrome always brings a room together,” she adds.

The burgundy-ish tone pops up in ceramic side tables throughout the space, brightening a shadowy media room dominated by a beckoning, oversize green-velvet-upholstered custom sofa and plush carpet right out of a 70’s conversation pit. Bigger crowds can gather at the custom dining table while perched on Noom’s groovy Gropius chairs in eye-popping orange wool, quaffing drinks shaken up at the full-height built-in bar cabinet nearby, its interior lacquered a zesty tomato hue. Both rest on linoleum floors in a custom pattern meant to recall terrazzo—albeit supersized.

“The flooring was a completely bespoke design, and installing it was quite nerve-racking,” Gordon reports. “But it ended up looking amazing.” Owl didn’t touch the kitchen much, apart from spraying the cabinets a snappy mint green to match the walls and installing a tidy grid of backsplash tiles. (“It’s mostly a place for caterers to cook in,” Gordon notes with a laugh.)

Servicing the kitchen island, Sella Concept’s Ladies Pond stools in Jesmonite and bouclé nod to the curvy shapes of bathing beauties.
Servicing the kitchen island, Sella Concept’s Ladies Pond stools in Jesmonite and bouclé nod to the curvy shapes of bathing beauties.

Owl did put a lot of work into the elevations of each room. “The living room walls are covered in Venetian plaster,” Gordon continues. “That was a real challenge, getting all the nooks and crannies.” Hallways are coated in high-gloss paint to amplify the abundant daylight. And the spare bedrooms boast eye-catching wallcoverings: a blue faux–grass cloth for one, and an op-art repeating pill pattern for the other (the client’s manager’s favorite place to crash).

While guests inevitably dash into the dining area to check out the blockbuster views, the true VIP spots are the hallway in which the Bowie portrait holds court and, unexpectedly, the nearby WC. Its walls are clad in sequin homages to Aladdin Sane’s famed lightning-bolt face paint, and a secreted stereo greets each partier with a timeless hit and timely exhortation to party: “Let’s Dance.”

A chandelier by Utu Soulful Lighting illuminates the dining area, with linoleum flooring in a custom pattern that riffs on terrazzo.
A chandelier by Utu Soulful Lighting illuminates the dining area, with linoleum flooring in a custom pattern that riffs on terrazzo.
High-gloss blue paint backdrops the client’s treasured portait of David Bowie, one of the his favorite musicians, in the hallway.
High-gloss blue paint backdrops the client’s treasured portait of David Bowie, one of the his favorite musicians, in the hallway.
A WC offers a shimmering tribute to Bowie, courtesy of bespoke sequin walls and a disco ball.
A WC offers a shimmering tribute to Bowie, courtesy of bespoke sequin walls and a disco ball.
In the living area, Terje Ekstrøm’s Ekstrem armchair and a Puddle coffee table by Massproductions join a custom mohair sofa, the sinuous lines referencing the winding river.
In the living area, Terje Ekstrøm’s Ekstrem armchair and a Puddle coffee table by Massproductions join a custom mohair sofa, the sinuous lines referencing the winding river.
Vinyl faux-sisal wallcovering lends texture to one of two guest bedrooms, with a Verner Panton Flowerpot lamp on a Palette side table by &Tradition.
Vinyl faux-sisal wallcovering lends texture to one of two guest bedrooms, with a Verner Panton Flowerpot lamp on a Palette side table by &Tradition.
In the living room, a built-in bar with fluted MDF doors is unmissable when open yet disappears after last call.
In the living room, a built-in bar with fluted MDF doors is unmissable when open yet disappears after last call.
In the second guest room, the designers covered the closet’s existing doors with lozenge-shape graphic illustrations.
In the second guest room, the designers covered the closet’s existing doors with lozenge-shape graphic illustrations.
Owl clad the media room (aka the snug) in stained wood veneer, mimicking a recording studio’s soundproof walls; the ceramic side table is by Daniel Schofield.
Owl clad the media room (aka the snug) in stained wood veneer, mimicking a recording studio’s soundproof walls; the ceramic side table is by Daniel Schofield.
The primary bedroom is a play of geometry, with lacquered panels framing a curved velvet-upholstered headboard and a gloss-lacquered bedside table, both custom; the rattan-accented Frame light is by Utu.
The primary bedroom is a play of geometry, with lacquered panels framing a curved velvet-upholstered headboard and a gloss-lacquered bedside table, both custom; the rattan-accented Frame light is by Utu.
A graphic wallcovering accents the headboard wall in the second guest room, with a Bold chair by Moustache and a framed print by Karel Balas.
A graphic wallcovering accents the headboard wall in the second guest room, with a Bold chair by Moustache and a framed print by Karel Balas.
PRODUCT SOURCES
FROM FRONT
gubi through chaplins: chaise longue (dining area)
utu soulful lighting through do shop: floor light, ceiling pendant
noom: chairs
zieta through monologue: mirror
viero: wall plaster (living area)
maman rugs: custom rug
amy somerville: sofa fabric
through jane richards interiors: armchair
the conran shop: side table
massproductions through clippings: coffee table
doozie light studio: chandelier
Sella Concept: stools (kitchen)
shimmerwalls: custom wallcovering (wc)
mirror balls: mirror ball
phillip jeffries: wallpaper (guest bedroom)
Jonathan Adler: cushions
holloways of ludlow: table lamp
&tradition through clippings: side table
warwick: sofa fabric (snug)
hung up: custom cushions
gp & j baker: cushion fabric
cto lighting: wall light
the conran shop: side table
Arte: wallpaper (second guest bedroom)
warwick, kirkby design, larsen: headboard fabrics/bed upholstery
natural bed company: side table
oyoy: lamp
moustache through nunido: chair
lydia hardwick: vase
craft gallery: framed print
hung up: curtain fabrication (primary bedroom)
métaphores: curtain fabric
warwick, nobilis, dedar: headboard fabrics
utu soulful lighting through do shop: wall light
Arte: wallcovering
carpenter & carpenter: custom bedside table
THROUGHOUT
forbo flooring systems: custom flooring
hux: custom millwork (living room, snug); custom table (dining room)
the cotswold bed company: custom beds (bedrooms)
fixup: general contractor

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