Behind the scenes - Gunter & Co projects: Chelsea Residence
The Client
Our Chelsea Residence client is a young, dynamic Chinese couple - a fashion designer and entrepreneur - who travel extensively around the world. Their global outlook on life formed a large part of our brief for this property. Having been able to experience some of the world’s most glorious hotels, their inspiration was to replicate some of the comforts their favourite hotels offer in their own home space. They were set on us designing a space that exudes comfortable luxury and understood the elements we needed to make that happen - for example, soft, warm lighting.
The Brief
Creating the right lighting was imperative for this project. We wanted to give this Chelsea home a luxurious, textured and glamorous feel that was ideal for the client to entertain in as well as making it the perfect space to spend lazy evenings in. What struck me from the moment I met this client was their mutual love for clothes and shoes. This became a key driver in the transformation of two of the smaller bedrooms into dressing room spaces. One of the things we pride ourselves on is our ability to understand the day-to-day detail of our client lives. In this specific Chelsea project, we came across several unique habits they possessed that we were able to incorporate into our creative vision. For example, evenings in spent pampering themselves with luxurious skincare was as important to them as kicking back and watching TV. Solution? We hid a TV behind the mirror in their master bedroom dressing area. We knew they were big tea drinkers so, given the size of the property, we created a tea-making station on the second floor so that our clients didn’t have to go all the way down to the lower ground kitchen either at night or first thing in the morning.
I knew from the start that this client loved luxurious, beautiful stones but I wanted to understand the reason for this. I pressed them for more information to discover that they had both grown up in Beijing, where marble is such an important texture. Marble always features on the floor and in the kitchen throughout Beijing. Due to their extensive travel history, I wanted accents throughout the space to denote their travels. We integrated an unusual Patagonia granite - an exotic stone which plays a starring role as the splashback in the kitchen on the lower ground floor. Eye-catching stone continues throughout the property - from white Palissandro marble for the sinuous base of the dining table to translucent alabaster for the table lamp in the master bedroom.
What we did
We wanted to ensure the character of the house was brought to life so spent time analysing any character in the property and how we could accentuate it. We reinstated historically sensitive panelling, coving and moulding detail throughout the space. Playing into the architectural framework of a property is 100% my favourite way to work. Without that I often find that everything else feels a little flat and having it in place allows the finishing touches of the home to really come together. I wanted to make this space feel soft, feminine and elegant to counteract the square proportions of a London townhouse setup. To do this, we incorporated curves throughout. As previously mentioned, we made lighting a priority and created a soft but powerful design to install. Texture and colour play a strong role, particularly with dark and light stained timbers, satin and gold finishes and different marbles invoking different moods throughout the space.
When it comes to colour of this Chelsea home, our client’s go to interiors colour palette is predominantly soft and pale but we worked to encourage them to experiment with subtle colour additions: soft greens, gentle blues, golds and feminine pink - all counterbalanced with accents of warm antiqued bronze. The hues give energy to the rooms, enhancing the classic architecture that includes ornate cornicing and panelling.
How did we do it?
As with all of our design projects, we started the Chelsea Residence project with a moodboard concept presentation and developed the layout design over the course of lots of sketches shared with the client. The more I got to know the client, the more detail that was injected into the design - and there was a lot of detail! We did detailed materials presentations to make sure they were entirely on board with the textures I wanted to integrate - from the big ticket items such as flooring to the door handles to the downright mundane. Spending time and energy on the mundane is where our Gunter & Co magic really comes in to play. These are the details that set our London interior design studio apart from others. We make sure this NEVER happens. Details right down to the ventilation is designed to the greatest detail to make sure that even the small elements of a room are considered in the overall design. We visited many showrooms to make sure the quality matched their samples - seeing things in real life is so important. Where most of our lives are becoming really digital, this is one area I refuse to sacrifice my time on. 3D sketches allowed us to bring the whole thing to life before building in and allowed for us to make small tweaks as and when needed. Seeing the designs on paper really help me see what areas I can do better in with a design. Measuring the pieces our client already owns (even down to the shoes they wear), is an important element often overlooked. We can then make sure that the depth of every cupboard for example can adequately house them. Kitchen equipment? Making sure there’s either enough work surface to house it on or sufficient storage, makes it a really bespoke design.
The master bathroom was really a magic moment in this design. Since finishing the project, the client has often remarked how many times she just stands and looks at it - it’s a lot! The scheme includes panels lined with cloud-patterned wallpaper by Fornasetti and are complemented with oversized scallop-shaped sconces and a freestanding bath tub that is centred on the window to enjoy views of the garden.
To properly get the building to progress from plans to reality, there are an awful lot of drawings. Without having these, a build quite simply grinds to a halt as questions need to be pre-empted. Changes do get made on site (we visit a site at least once a week to make sure that no mistakes by the builders, or no other opportunities are left.) Even with all this documentation, working on a renovation projection means that walls are never straight forward, pipes come up where you don’t expect them. Questions come up from site that we need to allow time for on a weekly basis, urgently specifications will need to get changed, new products found or plans changed. In order for projects to continue at a pace we’re happy with, we need to be on standby at all times as we can’t leave builders lingering and risk having our clients pay for unproductive hours.
With clients travelling for business abroad, a lot of the furniture presentations were carried out via email. We worked hard to win the clients’ trust at the onset, and made sure we really understood what they loved. This meant we had a close relationship and were able to small and big improvements without the client ever seeing the site whilst construction was ongoing. We started the room design around a few big key pieces, and love combining bespoke designs with unique pieces made by talented craftsmen, right next to high street finds. It’s all about knowing what to spend and what to save on (we’re big on investing big in beds, sofa’s and armchairs, essentially anything you’ll be getting comfy on). Thankfully we can rely on some big international brands which meant that our clients could visit a (e.g. Minotti) showroom in Beijing to test a piece of furniture we then purchased via the local Minotti London store.
Doing our job also means sometimes being headstrong when we know what the clients will like, even if they don’t quite know it just quite yet. Doing this job day in day out for the past 13 years, with a portfolio of stunning projects under our belt, means that we can speak with authority when we tell a client something won’t work (it may not suit the scale or style of the property) whereas other times a client’s unusual suggestion can make the difference between a good design and a great design. It’s our job to distinguish the difference and remain open minded. Being away for the entire build duration meant it was such a MASSIVE surprise when they finally came home to a lovely interior -there were flowers, champagne and lots of hugs and smiles!
Irene’s Insider Insight
BIGGEST INDULGENCE ON THIS PROJECT
We were able to incorporate lots of beautiful curves throughout the property in the interior architecture, bespoke joinery and furniture, which was such a treat! We believe curves add elegance to a space and they are also a great way to make tight spaces work. The curviest room was definitely the master bathroom where we designed a bespoke vanity and curved shower screen – dreamy!
Greatest success on this project?
We loved the designing the study for our client. The space was beautiful and bright so we wanted to add pieces and design joinery that complimented this whilst ensuring we had sufficient storage for all of her files and shoes! Collaborating with the client on these designs resulted in a sophisticated and practical space for her to work – just in time for a global lockdown!
