{"id":201158,"date":"2022-10-06T14:46:20","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T18:46:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/?post_type=id_project&p=201158"},"modified":"2022-11-17T16:36:55","modified_gmt":"2022-11-17T21:36:55","slug":"apartment-design-owl-design-london","status":"publish","type":"id_project","link":"https:\/\/interiordesign.net\/projects\/apartment-design-owl-design-london\/","title":{"rendered":"This London Apartment for a Famous Singer Nods to Idol, David Bowie"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"In
In the living area,\u00a0Terje Ekstr\u00f8m\u2019s Ekstrem\u00a0armchair and a Puddle coffee table by Massproductions join a custom mohair sofa, the sinuous lines referencing the winding river.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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October 6, 2022<\/p>\n\n\n

Words: <\/span>Jesse Dorris<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Photography: <\/span>Rachael Smith\/Living Inside<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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This London Apartment for a Famous Singer Nods to Idol, David Bowie <\/h1>\n\n\n\n

When a famous British singer bought a pad in a Foster + Partners multi-tower apartment complex on the banks of London\u2019s 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\u2019s great party spots. And second, a beloved portrait of his idol David Bowie had to take pride of place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a few scrolls on Instagram, he found his players: Simone Gordon and Sophie van Winden of Owl Design<\/a>. The pair had met in an interior architecture course at Ravensbourne University London, rebelling against the school\u2019s partiality toward glass-box minimalism. By 2014, a few years after graduating, they\u2019d 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\u2019d have a hit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
The dining area, with a Greta Grossman GMG chaise lounge and Gropius CS1 chairs surrounding a custom table, boasts enviable views of the Thames. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gordon and van Winden\u2019s top-to-bottom redesign is indeed off the charts. The pair addressed the challenges of the building\u2019s distinctive curved walls\u2014lovely on the outside but hard to work with in the rooms themselves\u2014with 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\u2019s collectables. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThe principal bedroom was a really difficult shape as well,\u201d Gordon notes. A bed takes up most of the room\u2019s footprint, so the designers framed a custom headboard directly against the wall. \u201cIts curve mirrors the shape of the room, as do the bedside tables.\u201d Both are a rich, deep red. \u201cMonochrome always brings a room together,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s conversation pit. Bigger crowds can gather at the custom dining table while perched on Noom\u2019s 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\u2014albeit supersized.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe flooring was a completely bespoke design, and installing it was quite nerve-racking,\u201d Gordon reports. \u201cBut it ended up looking amazing.\u201d Owl didn\u2019t 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. (\u201cIt\u2019s mostly a place for caterers to cook in,\u201d Gordon notes with a laugh.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Servicing
Servicing the kitchen island, Sella Concept\u2019s Ladies Pond stools in Jesmonite and boucl\u00e9 nod to the curvy shapes of bathing beauties.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Owl did put a lot of work into the elevations of each room. \u201cThe living room walls are covered in Venetian plaster,\u201d Gordon continues. \u201cThat was a real challenge, getting all the nooks and crannies.\u201d Hallways are coated in high-gloss paint to amplify the abundant daylight. And the spare bedrooms boast eye-catching wallcoverings: a blue faux\u2013grass cloth for one, and an op-art repeating pill pattern for the other (the client\u2019s manager\u2019s favorite place to crash).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s famed lightning-bolt face paint, and a secreted stereo greets each partier with a timeless hit and timely exhortation to party: \u201cLet\u2019s Dance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
A chandelier by Utu Soulful Lighting illuminates the dining area, with linoleum flooring in a custom pattern that riffs on terrazzo.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"High-gloss
High-gloss blue paint backdrops the client\u2019s treasured portait of David Bowie, one of the his favorite musicians, in the hallway.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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A WC offers a shimmering tribute to Bowie, courtesy of bespoke sequin walls and a disco ball. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"In
In the living area,\u00a0Terje Ekstr\u00f8m\u2019s Ekstrem\u00a0armchair and a Puddle coffee table by Massproductions join a custom mohair sofa, the sinuous lines referencing the winding river.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Vinyl
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.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"In
In the living room, a built-in bar with fluted MDF doors is unmissable when open yet disappears after last call. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"In
In the second guest room, the designers covered the closet\u2019s existing doors with lozenge-shape graphic illustrations.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Owl
Owl clad the media room (aka the snug) in stained wood veneer, mimicking a recording studio\u2019s soundproof walls; the ceramic side table is by Daniel Schofield.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"The
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.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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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.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
PRODUCT SOURCES<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
FROM FRONT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
gubi through chaplins<\/span><\/a>: chaise longue (dining area)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
utu soulful lighting through do shop<\/span><\/a>: floor light, ceiling pendant<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
noom<\/span><\/a>: chairs<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
zieta through monologue<\/span><\/a>: mirror<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
viero<\/span><\/a>: wall plaster (living area)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
maman rugs<\/span><\/a>: custom rug<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
amy somerville<\/span><\/a>: sofa fabric<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
through jane richards interiors<\/span><\/a>: armchair<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
the conran shop<\/span><\/a>: side table<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
massproductions through clippings<\/span><\/a>: coffee table<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
doozie light studio<\/span><\/a>: chandelier<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Sella Concept<\/span><\/a>: stools (kitchen)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
shimmerwalls<\/span><\/a>: custom wallcovering (wc)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
mirror balls<\/span><\/a>: mirror ball<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
phillip jeffries<\/span><\/a>: wallpaper (guest bedroom)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Jonathan Adler<\/span><\/a>: cushions<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
holloways of ludlow<\/span><\/a>: table lamp<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
&tradition through clippings<\/span><\/a>: side table<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
warwick<\/span><\/a>: sofa fabric (snug)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
hung up<\/span><\/a>: custom cushions<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
gp & j baker<\/span><\/a>: cushion fabric<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
cto lighting<\/span><\/a>: wall light<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
the conran shop<\/span><\/a>: side table<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Arte<\/span><\/a>: wallpaper (second guest bedroom)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
warwick, kirkby design, larsen<\/span><\/a>: headboard fabrics\/bed upholstery<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
natural bed company<\/span><\/a>: side table<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
oyoy<\/span><\/a>: lamp<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
moustache through nunido<\/span><\/a>: chair<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
lydia hardwick<\/span><\/a>: vase<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
craft gallery<\/span><\/a>: framed print<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
hung up<\/span><\/a>: curtain fabrication (primary bedroom)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
m\u00e9taphores<\/span><\/a>: curtain fabric<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
warwick, nobilis, dedar<\/span><\/a>: headboard fabrics<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
utu soulful lighting through do shop<\/span><\/a>: wall light<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
Arte<\/span><\/a>: wallcovering<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
carpenter & carpenter<\/span><\/a>: custom bedside table<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
THROUGHOUT<\/h6><\/div>\n\n\n\n
forbo flooring systems<\/span><\/a>: custom flooring<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
hux<\/span><\/a>: custom millwork (living room, snug); custom table (dining room)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
the cotswold bed company<\/span><\/a>: custom beds (bedrooms)<\/span><\/section>\n\n\n\n
fixup<\/span><\/a>: general contractor<\/span><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n