Tag: Taylor Howes

Compact Luxury Design: Taylor Howes

This designer’s Knightsbridge pied-a-terre is a lesson in compact luxury design. London-based luxury interior designer Karen Howes transforms a small, dated apartment into a charming city abode.

The 1,100 square-foot apartment occupies the first floor of an early 19th-century building. The space originally served as the formal reception rooms of a private townhome. The designer reinstated the original period features while introducing clever design touches and bespoke detailing to create a sophisticated home for contemporary life.

COMPACT LUXURY DESIGN INSPIRATION

With the main drawing room, the designer created three zones: a sitting area, dining area, and a kitchen. Full-height paneled and mirrored walls slide away to reveal a fully customized Bulthaup model kitchen. The apartment features high ceilings and large windows. The original crown molding, which features a unique continuous grapevine design, was reinstated and continued throughout the residence.

Button-tufted sofas from the Taylor Howes collection define the seating area, accented with Donghia’s Hollywood and Dedar’s Poulette pillows. Custom faux-leather chairs with gilt details, also from the designer’s collection, surround an Abbott dining table from Bernhardt. Beautiful curtains in Dedar’s Aplomb wool with Spina tie-backs and valance trimmed with a Greek key from Clarence House frame the windows. An over-sized pendant light combining antiqued plated bronze with Murano glass and a silk shade presides over the room.

“The idea was to create a timeless elegance with fabulous, glamorous features, which definitely fits my personal style.” Karen Howes

The designer reconfigured the remaining space into a master bedroom suite with dressing area and a guest bedroom with en-suite bath, carefully utilizing every inch of available space for this compact luxury design.

Taylor Howes bespoke designed pieces create a soft and glamorous master bedroom. The bed extends from a custom upholstered and antiqued mirrored wall. A pair of bespoke bedside tables made with lacquered goatskin stands on either side. A curved console holding a pop-up television stands at the foot. White Company bed linens dress the bed, accented with pillows in Dedar’s Mademoiselle and Circuit fabrics. Thibaut’s Stablewood grasscloth covers the walls.

In the hall, custom created niches made with lacquered wood lined with silk store and display shoes and handbags. A storage solution both practical and visually appealing.

The guest bedroom features bespoke wardrobe doors inset with linen and bronze fretwork. Thibaut’s East Gate grasscloth covers the walls. A pillow created with a Hermes scarf highlights the White Company linens that dress the bed.

Travertino Tiziano marble on the walls and forming the vanity create a spa-like ambiance in the master bathroom. Marble and mirror create sleek luxury in the guest bathroom.

The designer collects 20th-century artworks. She often uses art as the starting point in her interior designs. Spending time as an art-dealer herself led to her collecting, particularly British artist. The pied-a-terre includes a Barbara Hepworth lithograph and a Dennis Bowen painting from 1962.

“I think art and accessories are what tell you about the character of the owner, and then good hospitality adds to the rest!” Karen Howes

That concludes our design inspiration for today, my friend.

For more projects by this designer, be sure to see:

St Saviors Mansion: Church Conversion

Luxury Interior Design: Mayfair

Park Crescent Luxury Homes

Compact Luxury Design in London

Founded in 1993, Taylor Howes is a multi-award-winning, international luxury interior design studio based in Knightsbridge, London. Over the last two decades, the studio has established a reputation for creating luxury interiors of distinction.

Interior design: Taylor Howes

Photography: Jon Day

media

Thank you so much for reading along with me. I look forward to hearing from you in the comments. I hope you enjoyed the compact luxury design in this London pied-a-terre.

Have a great day!

July 23, 2018
Luxury Interior Design: Mayfair

This elegant residence, finished in marble and gold leaf, set a new standard for luxury interior design in London’s Mayfair district. The exceptionally refurbished apartment is located on the city’s largest and oldest garden Square, Grosvenor Square.

Grosvenor Square is the centerpiece of the Mayfair property developed by the Duke of Westminster in the 1700’s. The area was designed to serve as residences for the fashionable elite of its time. Today, with three centuries of distinguished aristocratic history behind it, Grosvenor Square remains synonymous with style and luxury design.

This apartment is the creation of super-prime developer AION who brought in luxury interior design specialists 1508 London and Taylor Howes to complete the interior design and specification. It is ideally situated on the fourth floor with expansive views overlooking the garden. The 3,500 square-foot home features bespoke designs of the highest quality and fine attention to detail. The interiors combine clean, contemporary design with an understated classical elegance for a timeless mix of exquisite detailing and modern sophistication.

LUXURY INTERIOR DESIGN INSPIRATION

The home’s double volume reception room spans 42 feet wide and boasts five south facing windows providing panoramic views. Here and throughout all the principal rooms, the white wall paneling and moldings feature hand-gilding with a gold leaf. A herringbone pattern completes the hand-laid solid oak floors. A full-height polished marble fireplace punctuates the room at both ends for balance. The spacious room holds both the formal living and dining spaces. A bespoke designed rosewood partition with antiqued bronze trim separates the two. On the living room side, leather inserts create bookshelves. Contemporary furnishings, upholstered in soft, neutral shades gather symmetrically on the custom silk and wool rug for a serene setting. I like this look a lot.

The formal dining area includes a bespoke dining table that seats 10-12 comfortably with plush upholstered chairs arranged on a pale, cream-colored custom rug. On this side of the rosewood partition, antiqued mirror backing, and lower cabinets create a full bar feature wall.

The entrance hall’s luxury interior design provides a stunning first impression for visitors. The spacious passageway radiates out from a central bespoke cube which the design team had entirely clad in antiqued mirror; laser etched with a diamond pattern for added interest. The mirrored cube captures and reflects the natural light from the reception room throughout the center of the home. The coffered ceilings, here and in all the principal rooms, glow from within with bespoke LED lighting features. Low-level runway lighting creates a dramatic effect as it shines across the honed marble Serpeggiante floors. Gilded French salon chairs pair with an ebony console to emphasize the timeless appeal. The look is high gloss and glamorous.

The residence features a very sleek, custom-designed Modulnova kitchen with an eat-in breakfast area. Naturally, only the best-integrated appliances from Gaggenau and Miele complete this kitchen including a wine refrigerator, plate and food warming drawers, and soft touch controls. The marble floors continue from the hall in here with Silestone Quartz on the counter tops and backsplash. Without a doubt, this is a seriously stylish kitchen.

The 19-foot-long master bedroom suite includes a large bedroom, a dressing room with floor-to-ceiling, hand-crafted, leather fronted wardrobes and the master bathroom. The entire suite features classical proportions complete with specialist materials of the finest quality and a bespoke lighting scheme. The same serene color palette established in the formal reception room continues in here. Of course, the upholstered walls and deep pile carpet render the suite a tranquil cocoon.

The spacious master bathroom’s luxury interior design features book-matched, polished statuary marble on the floors and the full height of the walls. The bespoke designed marble double vanity unit with high gloss oak fronting includes THG faucets. Very handsome indeed!

The residence includes four bedrooms, each with an en-suite marble bath and custom created dressing areas. Our last photo shows one of the guest suites with its bespoke headboard reaching the full height of the room. All of the bedrooms are supremely comfortable due to their customization and expert space planning.

The apartment also includes a private screening room. A secluded little pocket theater, located adjacent to the reception room and kitchen area, provides a comfy spot just for relaxing and catching up on the latest shows.

Once on the market with its record-breaking asking price, the agents described it as a “jewel box” of perfection and luxury interior design. This description found agreement, as did the price, for the home quickly sold.

That concludes our design inspiration for today.

I hope you enjoyed the luxury interior design details of this apartment on one of London’s finest garden squares in Mayfair. Be inspired by the incredible transformation of this historic apartment into a sleek contemporary-classic home. One perfectly equipped with the best for today’s modern luxury lifestyle.

For another inspiring Mayfair Luxury estate, be sure to see:

Classic Mayfair Penthouse: Oro Bianco

Alexander McQueen Penthouse: Style Homage

Mayfair Luxury Interior Design

Residential Development: AION

Interior Design:

1508 London

Taylor Howes

Thank you so much for reading along with me. Let me hear from you in the comments. What do you think of today’s Luxury Interior Design in Mayfair?

Have a wonderful day!

June 25, 2016
St Saviours Mansion: Church Conversion

St. Saviours is a former church that has been converted into a glorious private mansion in the heart of Knightsbridge, London’s prime residential neighborhood. This award-winning church conversion is the product of the collaborative talents assembled by the super-prime property developers, Rigby & Rigby, paired with the very esteemed international luxury interior design studio, Taylor Howes.

The home’s owners were international clients who lived abroad but were clear in their brief: create a chic, understated design while retaining the building’s original features. Ultimately, a neighboring mews house was also obtained and linked to the residence at ground and basement level in order to add additional bedroom suites to the existing five created in the main house, as well as to create an even larger basement level of living area. The addition brought the total to 11,500 square-feet of luxurious interiors completed with calm neutrals and custom detailing, all finished to the highest standards. This property really caught my attention when I initially came across it, and I immediately knew you would find it informative too. So, that is what makes this church conversion our design inspiration for today.

CHURCH CONVERSION DESIGN INSPIRATION

The entrance hall welcomes visitors with polished plaster walls with bronze inserts and marble floors. The ceiling above features a round coffered design which has been finished with platinum leaf, from which a platinized silver contemporary design chandelier is suspended.

To one side of the entrance hall is the comfy sitting/waiting room. If you must wait, this is a perfect place to do so. The glass wall before it is made with “electromagnetic” privacy glass which can change from clear to opaque at the touch of a button for those occasions when your visiting guest are super high-profile, and they don’t want the help to see them. The custom furnishings are smart with clean lines and neutral earthy shades including the mahogany cabinet which holds a pop-up television that disappears when not in use. The crocodile leather upholstered ottoman clearly is the star in this arrangement, after the painting whose colors defined those in the room.

Forward from the entry hall, the space opens wide in all directions. The central open locations of the former church are now the wide, open-plan drawing room that is the heart of the home. The room boasts 42′ vaulted ceilings with the original beams and stone pillars. A glass elevator of bespoke design rises through the center of the helical stone staircase that serves all four floors. The massive space is perfect for entertaining large crowds. The seating/conversational areas gather on individual area rugs that define their spaces along the marble floors. The walls are finished with limestone and polished plaster.

A cabinet of bespoke design placed behind the sofa defines the space between the dining and main reception area. The cabinet houses a double-sided pop-up television that provides for watching television from either the seating area or from the dining table, with the back-to-back televisions sinking into the floor when not in use. A mahogany temperature-controlled wine storage and display unit is stands behind the dining table. A discreet side door leads through to the kitchen.

Custom units by Boffi and Gaggenau appliances form the family kitchen and breakfast area. On the far wall, additional bespoke designed cabinets house yet another television. A Murano glass chandelier hangs above the breakfast table. Beyond this kitchen is a second kitchen of commercial grade in stainless steel and a full range of industrial kitchen appliances.

A mezzanine level living area provides a more informal place to hang and entertain close associates. The space gathers before the fireplace set in a thirty-one-foot-high limestone surround with a television mounted over it. Above the fireplace, a Damien Hirst butterfly painting hangs. There is a clear view through to the bronze and glass elevator that passes through the custom spiraling staircase around it.

Here we have the fabulous master bedroom suite up on the first floor, which includes vaulted ceilings and the ornate original beams. For this special space, the beautiful original church windows serve as the focal point. Three sections, divided by arches form the suite: bedroom, sitting area, and bath. The floors up here change from marble to walnut wood. Silk wall coverings dress the walls while silk curtains dress the windows. In the master bath, a specially commissioned bronze floating wall with cherry blossoms cast in bronze resin creates the focal point behind the soaking tub.

This is one of the several guest bedroom suites. It too features vaulted ceilings and original Gothic stone arches. The designers dressed the bedroom in silks and covered the walnut floors with a silk rug. The bathroom is just a harmony of natural light and smooth perfection; book matched marble, drawers finished in liquid platinum, and polished nickel fixtures, the list goes on.

Down on the lower level, we have the spacious media and entertaining room. Extensive mahogany cabinetry, built-in seating banquets, a full bar and countless fine details abound. The custom 120″ television with surround sound built-in makes for a wonderful experience. Mahogany and leather panels cover the walls. The designers finished the coffered ceilings with platinum leaf. This is quite a room!

To complete the home with the very best, more indulgent spaces were created down on the lower level. These include a thirty-foot heated pool with Jacuzzi, a spa area with sauna, a steam room, and private treatment rooms. All this, and a fully equipped gym and a juice bar.

There is a total of seven bedroom suites, plus additional quarters for the staff. The details are endless. This church conversion covered every detail while staying true to the original architectural style.

For more of this designers elegant work, be sure to see:

Luxury Interior Design: Mayfair

Compact Luxury Design: Taylor Howes

TAYLOR HOWES’ CHURCH CONVERSION

Over the last two decades, Taylor Howes has made its name within the industry for interiors that are intelligent, elegant, dynamic, and infused with passion and creativity. Their interior design practice is talented, friendly, approachable, and absolutely committed to achieving the best design solution possible for any given project, whether private residence, show suite, hotel, spa, or restaurant environment.

Property Development: Rigby & Rigby

Interior Design: Taylor Howes

Photography: Tom Sullam

Thanks so much for reading along with me! Let me hear from you all in the comments. What do you all think of this beautiful church conversion?

Have a great day!

March 7, 2016