A Luxury London Penthouse

When design consultancy Living in Space was called upon to decorate a 9,000-square-foot Central London penthouse, they found it brought with it some unique challenges…

There are big flats, and there are 9,000-square-foot penthouses. This one, located on the fourth and fifth floors of an apartment building in Central London, was being refurbished for resale, and design firm Living in Space, based in Primrose Hill, was called on to deliver its soft-furnishings package. The client’s deadline was nothing if not tight.

‘He wanted us to turn it around in four to six weeks,’ says Living in Space’s operations director Sarah Southern.

Even so, getting everything together in time was a tall order. ‘We had to contact our suppliers and see what was available,’ says Southern. ‘Forty per cent of what we put in was stock items and 60% was made bespoke. Our long-standing relationships with our manufacturers allowed us to complete a record turnaround so we could meet the deadline.’

‘The living room had four areas, so the challenge was coming up with a clever way to divide that.’

There was also the question of how best to utilise such a vast area – the apartment has a master suite, incorporating his-and-hers bathrooms and dressing rooms, along with five extra bedrooms (all en-suite). There’s also a study, a kitchen with separate wine room, a larder, snooker room, gym – with sauna and steam room – and a media room.

Even designing the main living space brought its own issues. ‘The living room had four areas, so the challenge was coming up with a clever way to divide that,’ says Southern. ‘In the end we incorporated a formal reception room, a TV leisure area, a formal dining room and a chill-out drinks space.’

Their brief was to create five-star luxury, using a harmony of colours and rich texture. ‘The client has a passion for Missoni, so we added Missoni robes in the bathrooms,’ says Southern. Indeed, it was in the details that the firm was really able to go to town. There are standout pieces throughout the home, not least the four Damien Hirst skull paintings that decorate the hallway. And dotted throughout are fossils and crystals sourced at Aura, based in Chelsea Harbour.

Other pieces, such as the L-shaped sofa in the cinema room, were made bespoke, as were all the curtains, blinds and window dressings. The snooker table, meanwhile, was shipped over from the USA. ‘We went to every one of our suppliers and negotiated really hard,’ says Southern.

But the real challenge was coordinating the sheer number of furnishings and accessories. ‘Items had to be designed and sourced to suit the access to the property,’ she says. ‘Clients always say they want the biggest bed, but really what you need is the biggest bed you can get into that space.’ And a fourth-floor flat with just a small passenger lift and service stairs was never going to offer the best access. ‘We hired a crane for a couple of pieces,’ says Southern.

The result is a one-of-a-kind apartment boasting countless covetable features, not least the roof terrace, which offers views of Hyde Park in one direction and Big Ben in the other. Indeed, Southern is hard-pushed to name her favourite feature. ‘The master suite is wonderful,’ she says, ‘a really lovely big room. And the his-and-hers bathrooms are beautifully done using stone and mosaics.’ She also loves the entrance hall. Yes, there are the Hirsts, but ‘it’s so nice to walk in and have a surplus of space,’ she says. And at 9,000 square feet, this showstopper apartment certainly offers that.

Living in Space – www.living-inspace.co.uk