There is much to distinguish the commercial interior design sector from its residential cousin. Designing for a family home, for instance, is very different from designing an airport lounge.
Commercial design usually has to be tough; there are often stringent safely regulations and, generally, it’s on a larger scale. It also has to have a more universal appeal than a family home.
But there are times when a touch of homely luxury is just what’s called for in a commercial environment. Design in the past decade may be hard to characterise, but in the hotel sector at least it was the individual approach triumphing over the identikit. Boutique hotels, such as those represented by Design Hotels, have blurred the boundaries between hotel and home, workplace, spa and even hospital.
Trend-spotting company LS:N has identified a trend for traditional luxury in commercial interior design. What the company calls ‘Omnilux’ is, it says, a result of financial uncertainty which has led luxury consumers to demand better value, not just in monetary terms, but in an aesthetic and emotional sense too.
Talking to FX last year, Claus Sendlinger, the man behind Design Hotels and often described as a ‘lifestyle prophet’, identified a ‘value shift’ in consumers of luxury leisure, and a ‘rediscovery of simple, human values’, adding that individual boutique style is more popular than ever.
Property developer and designer Brandon Kinsman, the man behind the Eight Bank and Eight Moorgate private members clubs, is a master of the elegant, classic-meets-cutting-edge interior. Eight Moorgate, a rooftop club, uses dark leathers, wood and fabrics to create a sophisticated, intimate feel.
The bar and lounge is replete with classic furniture, a 7m bar in pewter, and traditional Brunswick pool tables. Bespoke oak cases in which members can store their own bottles of fine scotch or cognac add to the at-home feel.
Interior designer Katharine Pooley, who established her eponymous design studio and boutique in 2004, honed her skills on her own homes before going on to design the interiors for a luxury beach villa in Phuket, an historic Scottish castle and a Colorado ski lodge. But recent projects at Heathrow Airport have seen Pooley transfer her skills to the commercial sector.
In 2007, Katharine Pooley collaborated on the redesign of the terminal’s Windsor Suite, a VIP lounge for visiting heads of state and diplomats. The project was a huge success and has led to VIP suites at Terminals 1 and 3. Katharine Pooley designer Amelia Carter explains that ‘for T5, BAA did the accessories and artwork, but we came in to keep that classic and worldly look going, and also to soften it and make it look a little more luxurious. The antiques and the artwork… make it feel more like a living space than a lounge’.
Katharine Pooley took on the whole scheme for the suites at Terminals 1 and 3. ‘These are unlike any airport lounges anywhere in the world in their feel,’ says Carter. ‘We’ve used very rich colours and we worked with artists to create art and sculptures in those colours, which also gives a more worldly feel.’
Carter says recreating a homely look in an environment such as an airport isn’t always straightforward: ‘The suites had to stand up to a lot; when you’re choosing upholstery fabrics there are different rub tests, so something that I would typically use at a house in Chelsea I wouldn’t use at the airport because it’s just going to wear out.’
Many of the tables have been topped with glass to protect them from scratching without compromising the look. ‘You have to make sure you’re not compromising the design with the materials, she says. ‘For instance, you have to have certain CRIB 5 fire-retardant materials. There are materials like that on the market, but it’s a poor selection so we had to go to the client and say that we could use any fabric, but have it treated for an extra cost. It wasn’t much, but it makes a difference.’
Most of Katharine Pooley’s work is still in the residential sector, but demand for this kind of niche project is increasing so there may be many more commercial opportunities to come. Carter agrees with LS:N, that a more traditional style of luxury has made a comeback: ‘People are perhaps making a bigger investment, but on things that will last them longer, and I think that’s become more important than just buying the new faddy chandelier. Luxury is important, but so is value.’
Another designer who has made the transition from residential to commercial projects is Helen Green, whose practice Helen Green Design recently completed projects for the Coral Reef Club, a luxury hotel and spa complex in Barbados, and its island sister hotel The Sandpiper. The company has also had huge success with suites for The Berkeley, Knightsbridge.
Green agrees that experience in the residential sector was ‘absolutely vital’ in taking on these projects: ‘We only work in top-end, 5-star-plus hotels and the experience of residential design interprets incredibly well into those high-end hotels: people who stay in that level of hotel aspire to that same standard of design in their own homes. All three clients chose us for our high-end residential background and our homely look.’
Green also agrees that there has been a resurgence in traditional, classic luxury. ‘People appoint us because they like that classic look. Our style is timeless, elegant and modern – we’re probably more “old school” than some hotel designers.’
This ‘old-school’ style has worked particularly well in The Berkeley. ‘Here, they wanted something timeless and future-proof. They do really spend the money on making the place look fabulous, so they want something that’s going to have longevity.’
Helen Green Design has done several projects for the Coral Reef Club, including the spa and treatment rooms, luxury suites and a cocktail bar. ‘We worked closely with the client on creating a very local look inspired by Barbados,’ says Green. ‘When it comes to design, a mantra of mine is “When in Rome”… I think, when you’re in a hotel in Barbados, for example, you want to wake up and feel like you’re in Barbados, not some anonymous hotel.’
Green and her design team used tropical prints, local materials and architectural finishes such as coral and mahogany to perfect the look of Caribbean luxury.
‘While experience in the residential sector had a huge benefits when it came to these projects, working in the commercial sector comes with new challenges. Lots of the homes we design are very low-maintenance and low-use, because many of our clients have two or three houses so they don’t get used as much as a hotel suite such as ours at The Berkeley, which are used every night,’ says Green.
But not all commercial interiors need to stand up to such rigorous use. Interior design company Target Living recently completed an interior for the HQ of real estate company Chelsfield Partners in Mayfair, which manages to strike a balance between home comforts and cutting-edge office technology.
‘The building is so exquisite and it’s listed so there’s a sort of heritage which you have to embrace,’ says Target Living founder and head designer Tara Bernerd. ‘The building has its own grace and elegance and we wanted to make sure it had a sophisticated design. So it has an alluring, home-like quality despite that it’s also commercially very practical.’
Bernerd saw no reason to compromise on the quality of materials just because it was for commercial premises: ‘The footfall isn’t going to be as heavy as it is with a restaurant or a nightclub, so the nature of the business and its people allowed us go for really high-end finishes. We did boardrooms with Paul Smith carpets and Ralph Lauren silks.
‘With clients visiting from all over the world, it was important that the office had plenty of relaxing areas where they could really feel at home. In this office, sitting rooms are used while people are waiting. In much the same way as when they visit a home, clients need to be entertained.’
Bernerd says this is a trend she’s seeing more of and suggests that our workplaces will continue to become more like our homes.
‘Chelsfield is one of many projects I’ve worked on like this. It’s incredibly important to create a work atmosphere that we want to be in and incentivises us, and isn’t just the drab box that we remember from years ago.’
