SBID Accredited Partner, KI Europe has published new Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for its portfolio of UK-manufactured products to help customers meet their sustainability objectives. Valid for five years, these documents help to achieve credits towards SKA, BREEAM, LEED and other certifications and standards.
KI’s furniture helps the world leading organisations create happy, healthy, high performing working and learning environments for their people; bringing together good design, advanced engineering and sustainable resources.
An EPD is a standardised and verified way of quantifying the environmental impacts of a product based on a consistent set of rules known as a PCR (Product Category Rules). Conformant with ISO 14025 (ISO 14025:2006 Environmental labels and declarations – Type III environmental declarations – Principles and procedures), these cradle-to-grave EPDs are concise and include environmental information and life cycle assessments (LCA) which have been conducted by Giraffe Innovation Ltd. LCAs cover materials, production, distribution, use, through to end of life; helping specifiers and customers to confidently make more sustainable procurement decisions.
Jonathan Hindle, KI’s Group Managing Director, EMEA, comments: “Sustainability is a top priority for a growing number of public and private sector projects. These EPDs show our commitment to tackling our shared issues such as climate change, carbon footprint and environmental impact. Additionally, analysing the environmental performance of our products over their lifetime can help us to develop even better products and processes in the future.”
KI’s products manufactured in the UK with third-party verified EPDs, published on Environdec (www.environdec.com) include:
Additional KI products including bespoke items have self-declared third party reviewed EPDs that have been produced by using the same calculator and standards.
If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here to find out more.
This week’s instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features a residential design by Ledbury Studio. This London pied à terre is located in a leafy square of imposing mid-19th century properties in Pimlico. The owner was completely refurbishing the two-bedroom apartment and wanted a copper kitchen for her stylish open-plan kitchen-living space. Ledbury Studio’s Metallics Collection kitchen – the first copper kitchen our client had ever seen – was, therefore, the perfect fit.
Company: Ledbury Studio
Project: Pimlico kitchen
Location: Pimlico, London
What was the client’s brief?
The owner had a very definite vision for her whole apartment that included rich colours, mid-century furniture and metallic accents – and the copper kitchen was a key part of this. The kitchen was to be situated on one side of the room with sitting area on the other, so she didn’t want something that looked like standard square kitchen cabinets. They had to resemble standalone pieces of furniture that would blend into the look of the whole room.
What inspired the interior design of the project?
Our client was searching unsuccessfully for a copper kitchen when she saw the first incarnation of our Metallics Collection at the Chelsea Flower Show in 2018. When creating that kitchen, I had chosen copper because I wanted to harness the beauty of solid metals and use them in a contemporary kitchen setting that was different to anything else out there. Which is why our client was so excited to see the kitchen in her head become a reality!
The design needed to be a beautiful but practical working kitchen in a compact footprint. As such, the antiqued copper doors are kept to one side away from direct contact with heat or water but still provide the focal point our client wanted. For the worktops and splashback, I chose hard-wearing Bianco Macaubas quartzite, rather than the marble that was originally specified in the Chelsea kitchen. Thus, the island serves as a functional sink and prep area, as well as a breakfast bar to gather around. And finally, to answer the brief for furniture that looks like standalone pieces, I included a glass-fronted display cabinet in black-stained oak with an unusual dropped worktop.
What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?
The biggest challenge was to create a glamorous design that worked in this relatively small space. With the kitchen and sitting room forming a multi-functional area, I had to ensure I got the balance of the design right between having an island, a breakfast bar, a wall of cabinetry, and then having a really attractive sitting room as part of the whole set up.
What was your team’s highlight of the project?
This was one of our earliest projects and I think the highlight was that it showed us just how different and how attractive the use of the copper could be. Seeing the copper combined with the stone and the wood in a kitchen context and seeing how well it could work – that really was very exciting.
Questions answered by Charlie Smallbone, founder of Ledbury Studio.
We hope you feel inspired by this week’s residential design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire.
If you missed last week’s Project of the Week, featuring a unique restaurant design, click here to see more.
This week’s instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features a 2019 SBID Awards finalist in the restaurant design category. As the next step in their expansion plans, Peggy Porschen asked Kinnersley Kent Design to design a new flagship parlour on the King’s Road in Chelsea. With demand for everyday indulgences growing and a huge following, Peggy saw an opportunity to create a new, all-day destination for her baked delicacies. The new Chelsea parlour consists of two floors over 220sqm in an attractive corner site which had been the Chelsea Quarter Café.
KKD’s concept loosely centres around the idea of a ‘Peggy Porschen Home’ and each room offers a slightly different experience. On arrival, you are greeted with the magnificent five-metre-long patisserie counter followed by the ‘salon de thé’. Downstairs the grand dining room acts as an event space for private parties or extension of the parlour for busy periods and customers can enjoy a drink at the bijou ‘pink bar’. The aim was to try to capture the charm of the Belgravia parlour while adding something new and exciting for the customer.
SBID Awards: Restaurant Design sponsored by Blooms Art
Company: Kinnersley Kent Design
Project: Peggy Porschen Chelsea
Location: London, United Kingdom
Our brief from the beginning was to create a space which embodied the spirit of the brand through every touchpoint whilst capturing the magic of the original Belgravia parlour. As Peggy has such a large social media following the new space also had to be inherently ‘Instagrammable’. The Chelsea location is a two-floor site. The space needed to cater for takeaway, coffee and cake, light meals, provide a flexible event space for customers to hire for children’s parties, friends or family events which could be used as an extension to the main parlour in busy periods. It also had to provide an opportunity to grow the existing retail offer.
Peggy’s beautiful baked creations were the main inspiration for the branded interior. From the outset, the focus was on the culinary artistry and the ‘food being the hero’. For that reason, the design and details are toned up and down according to the location within the parlour- for example, the patisserie counter is very modern and monolithic with minimal elegant glass displays which allow the artistry of the cakes to shine, whereas a more decorative and playful mix of traditional details and modern references are toned up within the seating areas.
Every project comes with its own difficulties but for Peggy Porschen the design involves a rich palette of materials, pattern and detail along with the design of lots of bespoke and one-off pieces. ‘Attention to detail’ is at the heart of both the Peggy Porschen brand and Kinnersley Kent Design’s approach as a creative studio. To deliver this in such an intricate and detailed project requires close collaboration, coordination and a shared philosophy across every team involved was vital.
Working with founder Peggy and her husband Bryn so collaboratively on this project was a pleasure and I think the highlight for us was being given the responsibility to take this iconic brand, which is a real labour of love for them both and expand it to offer something new and exciting without losing any of the Peggy Porschen charm.
Why did you enter the SBID Awards?
We’re extremely proud of this project and it is an honour to have our work recognised by SBID who are known to celebrate some of the best international work in our industry.
Questions answered by James Scott, Associate Director at Kinnersley Kent Design.
We hope you feel inspired by this week’s restaurant design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire
If you missed last week’s Project of the Week, featuring a Victorian-printworks-turned-office-space, click here to see more.
Through over 500 tile designs, SBID Accredited Industry Partner, Parkside is a trusted tile specification company with the versatility to provide solutions for any commercial interior.
With a philosophy of developing thoughtful responses to the unique demands of clients and their projects, Parkside delivers a range of additional services including waterjet cutting, colour matching and bespoke digital print. Chymia, a collaboration between Mutina and Laboratorio Avallone is the latest porcelain tile collection available in full exclusively at Parkside.
Chymia fluctuates between the discipline of graphic design, expressive gestures of mark making and the two extremes of black and white, where symbols and textures are combined to create patterns of light and shadow on the surface. Black forms the basis, in a distinctive tone created by designer Gennaro Avallone, with the patterns taking on various shades of black all the way through to white. Throughout the collection, black and white are never separate but co-exist, with each pattern also available in white, taking on various shades all the way through to black in a reversal of role.
Each of the 22 (11 black, 11 white) designs in Chymia is obtained by combining the principle black and white structures with 11 patterned textures, achieving a tile that can be used randomly in monochrome compositions. The collection involved research on glazes and raw materials, along with the combination of traditional applications and modern technology to achieve the absolute colours used.
Chymia came to life in a collaborative project between ceramics manufacturer Mutina and Laboratorio Avallone, a Milan-based studio whose research reaches in to painting and sculpture to create unique objects of contemporary furnishing. The collection was developed with the aim of making a break with traditional styles, restoring an original quality to ceramics with unexpected outcomes.
Sarah Holey, marketing manager, Parkside: “Chymia is a collection that’s full of surprises. Taking the apparent simplicity of monochromatic pattern, it reveals that careful experimentation and attention to the creation of pure colours can bring depth and new-found results to a seemingly traditional black and white palette. Infusing new meaning into checkerboard or bringing more depth and nuance to all-over black or white, it offers some hugely exciting opportunities for designers and we’re delighted to welcome it to the Parkside portfolio.”
This week’s instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features a retail design by GP Studio. Following the successful opening of Hershesons ‘one-stop beauty’ flagship in Fitzrovia, the brand has now launched its greatly anticipated new site in Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge.
Much like the vast, 5000 sq ft space opened on Berners Street, this super salon is a one-stop-shop for all your beauty needs. Rejecting conventional ideas surrounding the traditional salon model, it’s now the turn of the Harvey Nichols location to experience the new concept, but of course with its own iterations.
The new ‘super salon’ brings together a unique mix of top industry brands – James Reid, Dr Dennis Gross, as well as hosting a collective, a first for the hair industry, with the world’s best stylists and colourists taking up short-term residencies – Jenny Choo and Lena Ott to name a few. Farm Girl completes the list of amazing names, providing the uber-healthy food and refreshments across the space, creating a unique café-come-work-come-social-space.
SBID Awards: Retail Design sponsored by Perennials & Sutherland
Company: gpstudio
Project: Hershesons Harvey Nichols
Developing on from the flagship space in Berners Street, create a true destination ‘beauty playground’ within 4th Floor Harvey Nichols Knightsbridge, that combines high-end convenience with an injection of playful excitement – A home from home hangout, a workspace, a beauty space.
As with Berners Street, the space breaks the traditional salon norms – customers are encouraged to explore and sit wherever they want, creating their own unique journey and experience. Retractable mirrors prevent you from having to stare at your reflection whilst surrounded by foils, window benches provide a spot to watch the world go by whilst having your nails attended too and the treatment rooms provide an air of calm and sanctuary. Two VIP rooms provide complete privacy, raising the level of service to a complete luxury experience – Polished bespoke terrazzo floors juxtapose with traditional rattan and timber, whilst the existing windows fill the rooms with daylight to create a high-end Parisian apartment feel. Gone is the green marble and reeded glass synonymous with Berners Street, replaced by sumptuous yellow travertine and Georgian wired glass giving the Harvey Nichols space an identity all of its own. The existing traditional critical windows make for a striking architectural background, which bathes the bespoke terrazzo floor in natural light late afternoon creating a stunning centre piece to the main salon area.
Creating a new design DNA for 4th Floor Harvey Nichols, whilst still retaining the same essence, vibe and experience synonymous with Hershesons Berners Street.
Seeing the bespoke terrazzo floor with the beautiful natural light late afternoon cascading over it. It creates a stunning centrepiece to the main salon and has been a talking point by all who visit every since.
Questions answered by Gemma Ratcliffe, Associate Director at gpstudio.
We hope you feel inspired by this week’s design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire
If you missed last week’s Project of the Week, featuring an office and members club, click here to see more.
Safety has always played an essential role in our design choices, but this is particularly true at the present time, driven by a genuine revolution in the way we organise our living spaces around post-pandemic lifestyles. This transformation has obliged us, starting from the design phase, to contemplate new hygiene measures that enable us to enjoy our living and working spaces in total freedom and safety.
SBID Accredited Industry Partner, RAK Ceramics, an international player renowned for its products and complete systems in porcelain and ceramic for floor and surface coverings, sanitaryware and bathroom fittings, has now launched RAK-Sanit, the company’s own health and safety revolution.
The research and development laboratories of RAK Ceramics are always at the forefront of technology and were the first in the world to supply antibacterial interior design solutions as early as 2009, thanks to the development of special certified antibacterial glazes.
Today, with the new RAK-Sanit programme, RAK Ceramics offers an even wider range of solutions for floors, surfaces and sanitary fittings, produced with glazes that reduce the possibility of contagion and therefore contribute to creating safer environments, both in residential and commercial projects.
RAK-Sanit is the ideal solution for domestic dwellings, modern and safer schools, public and private offices, restaurants, hotels, laboratories and, indeed, all those premises in which hygiene is of primary importance. All those places generally described as “community spaces”, in which numerous people of different ages, genders and cultures make random encounters. Inside, toilet facilities destined for use by all and sundry are increasingly in need of strong, antibacterial elements with a long product life.
The RAK-Sanit bactericide action is permanent, guaranteeing built-in protection throughout the entire expected product lifetime, thanks to its constant action against microbial colonisation; this technology, which has proved its capacity to reduce or eliminate the quantity of bacteria up to 99.99%, including MRSA, E. Coli, Salmonella and Legionella, actively prevents the growth of microorganisms 24 hours a day.
In more detail, the RAK-Sanit programme comprises:
Solutions for floor and wall coverings in gres porcelain and ceramic, treated with an incorporated glaze that is 99.9% effective in just 8 hours. The products for floor and wall covering solutions are tested and certified* in compliance with the Japanese Standard JIS – 2801:2000 and the International Standard ISO 27447:2019.
Solutions for sanitaryware (WC, bidets, washbasins, toilet seats and lids, rinsing systems) treated with RAK-ProTeK glaze fired at high temperatures onto the ceramic to guarantee a smoother antibacterial surface, unlike standard ceramic material with its rougher surface.
The silver ions bind to the cells: once inside, silver denatures the enzymes essential to the production of energy. Being unable to produce energy, the bacteria are unable to reproduce. This technology is therefore able to reduce or eliminate the quantity of bacteria up to 99.99% and its action is effective against a vast range of gram positive and gram negative bacteria, as well as fungi. RAK-ProTeK glaze has been tested by the Artest laboratory in the Italian ceramic district of Modena.
*Certified effectiveness
RAK-Sanit tiles are tested by CERFRIT Laboratory – USA, according to the Japanese Standard JIS Z 2801:2000. This Standard specifies the testing methods to evaluate antibacterial activity and efficacy on bacteria on the surface of the products.
RAK-Sanit tiles are tested by METS Laboratory – UAE, according to the International Standard ISO 27447:2019. This Standard specifies the test method for antibacterial activity of semiconducting photocatalytic materials.
Test method for the determination of the antibacterial activity of materials that contain a photocatalyst or have photocatalytic films on the surface, by measuring the enumeration of bacteria under irradiation of ultraviolet light.
Designing a home specifically with entertainment in mind requires a completely different approach and introduces another layer of consideration for the end-user and end result. Some people love elegant cocktail parties, others like a cozy space that exudes comfort. If you are a homeowner who loves entertaining and you’re about to remodel your home, you will have the perfect opportunity to really incorporate everything you need to make the space more enjoyable for yourself and your guests.
Founder of Katie Malik Interiors shares some of her tips and tricks to consider to make your home design more equipped for guests and gatherings!
The kitchen. The open plan nature of modern kitchens means that having guests, family and friends round for get-togethers has become a prime function of the space and is top of the list of requirements in most briefs. It’s important to balance the essential elements and day-to-day needs of a family kitchen with the desire to entertain. Regardless of the kitchen size, the key to making it work for entertaining is to consider how people will move around it. As well as thinking about where and how you’ll be cooking, you need to plan where to serve food and if you want your guests to gather around a breakfast bar, sit at a table or make use of more casual seating.The open floor plan trend means a kitchen space often also includes a comfortable seating area and fireplace as well.
Flexibility is the single biggest thing that an entertainment-friendly home should have. The multi-use trend extends outside as well. Outdoor kitchens are becoming increasingly popular, in part because they serve to keep guests and hosts together. There are other, less structurally invasive ways of making a home ready for entertainment. Music is one way to bring energy to a party and to tie several different spaces together, so investing in a sound system that connects rooms inside and outside is a great idea. Also, introducing both direct and indirect lighting with dimmers can help achieve a multitude of desired ‘atmospheric’ effects to set different moods, inside and outside.
If you’re entertaining, especially frequently, it’s important to have ample space to store items, such as platters and serving ware (either in a separate room, a pantry or a sideboard), but also provide some storage for your guests, even if they’re staying with you just for a night or two.
You can also make small changes that will make a big difference to how welcome your guests will feel in your home; think about providing a set of fresh guest towels or ways to fragrance your home that’s not too overpowering!
About the Author
Katie Malik, founder & creative director of Katie Malik Interiors built her career in residential interior design, assisting on projects in New York, Chicago and London before setting up her practice in 2014. Inspired by colours, the interplay between symmetry and asymmetry and wellbeing, Katie’s aim is to bring authenticity to each project.
This week’s instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features an office design and members club. 2019 SBID Awards Finalists Squire & Partners designed this first social workspace and private members’ club by Ministry of Sound as the antithesis to a nightclub environment. Housed in a former Victorian printworks in London, light-filled flexible workspaces for 850 people are as suited to morning coffee and lunch meetings as evening networking and social events. A concept of ‘premium raw’ was established, with stripped back raw elements of the existing building contrasted with a layer of premium finish including refined furniture, artwork and lighting. The bold aesthetic delivers a distinctive and desirable offer for different sized organisations and pushes the boundaries of current workplace culture. Combining the creative and social aspects of a members’ club with dynamic workspace for those in music, film, arts, fashion and technology sectors, the aim was not just to offer a place to do business, but to provide an environment for a convivial and creative way of life.
SBID Awards: Office Design sponsored by KI Europe
Company: Squire and Partners
Project: The Ministry
Image credits: James Jones
Ministry of Sound’s brief pushed the boundaries of current workplace culture, referencing film, art, fashion and music, and sought to create a bold aesthetic that would allow them to deliver a distinctive and desirable offer for The Ministry’s members. The space needed to adapt for an evolving series of uses over the course of a day – from working breakfasts through to social evenings – and be capable of increasing its tempo in all senses as the week progresses. Ministry of Sound required an original response that would distill the raw ingredients of its brand and extract the DNA from the historic industrial building to develop a vision that would be completely authentic to both and create something unique.
Combining the creative, social and networking aspects of a members’ club with dynamic workspace for up to 850 people, the aim was not just to offer a place to do business but provide an environment for a convivial and creative way of life. The design concept stays true to the origins of the mother brand by retaining the bold, raw elements of the former print works and contrasting this with a layer of refined furniture, lighting and artworks to establish a ‘premium raw’ aesthetic – a stripped-back simplicity with a high-quality finish. This established a highly creative and energetic environment that transforms throughout the day and has the ability to shift tempo through the week and evolve between seasons. This concept underpinned every creative decision, from the furniture and fabrics to the branding, uniforms, fragrance and art.
Our challenge was to create an aesthetic style for the new brand that was different from the clichés of shared workspaces and members’ clubs and create a link back to the Ministry of Sound’s mother brand in a more fundamental way than displaying logos everywhere. The first thing we did was go back through the brand’s creative archive and select key characteristics that ran through its best work – we then used these as the building blocks for The Ministry, and in doing so we effectively remixed Ministry of Sound for a new industry.
Highlights include the unexpected tequila bar outside the washrooms and the bespoke Polish ‘pajaki’ chandelier hanging above it, handmade by Karolina Merska using the same intensely coloured polymer cord as the suspended daybeds by Patricia Urquiola from Moroso that the hanging sculptures are paired with. What also stands out is the appreciation of light, smell and sound, where we carried the design aesthetic through to all of the senses using a carefully crafted layer of visual stimulus, house scents and curated soundscapes by sound architect Tom Middleton. These moments, along with guest services create a holistic experience for members and visitors.
The awards celebrate international design excellence and so the chance for new work to be showcased internationally and recognised by our peers is rewarding for the whole team.
Questions answered by Maria Cheung, Director of Interior Design at Squire & Partners
If you missed last week’s Project of the Week, featuring a Bejing Hotel, click here to see more.
This month we’re serving up the stylish interior inspirations from the SBID Awards 2019 finalists in the Show Flats & Developments category; from trendy residential apartments in the city to contemporary luxury villas abroad. As we look to upgrade tired interiors now we’re spending so much more time at home, browse through these interior designs for award-worthy styling ideas.
Angel O’Donnell – Poland Street
19-20 Poland Street is a stunningly curated, warehouse-style development in the heart of Soho. The lovingly restored building is host to nine exceptional apartments on the upper floors and a ground floor restaurant. The design of the building created reams of light and heavenly rooftop terraces, together with revealing the original steel frame, exposed brickwork and stunning Crittall windows and doors for the ultimate New York-style loft living in the heart of London’s West End. Angel O’Donnell crafted a sensational show suite that reflected the building’s location and character. By maximising space, using bold colours and textures, the scheme delivered a wonderfully curious home, coupled with a tailored choice of books and objets, to create an end result that reflects the very epitome of life in Soho.
Beijing Serendipper Space Design – Royal Palace Xia Die
Royal Palace Xia Die is another demonstration of the designer’s continuous concept of ecological protection as the whole design respects nature. By introducing the colour forest green and using colourful furniture as well as delicate artworks, the designer creates a breathing green garden that conducts a dialogue with nature. The whole design expresses a life attitude of ecological protection and reveals the pursuit of an ideal natural lifestyle.
The space features a Chinese and Western kitchen, an oriental-style tea room, and a delicate and elaborate fragrance-blending room, together they form a comfortable and flowing space, while at the same time depicting the pursuit of a high quality of life. Artwork adds intrigue to the space to provoke deep thinking and the exploration of lifestyles of the urban elite.
DA GROUP – Jingrui Providence Place Model Villa
DA Group was invited to design a model villa of the residential development Providence Place by Jingrui Real Estate Group. Situated in Ningbo, China, the project combines both functionality and aesthetics to present quality living. The designers applied minimalism to the interior design and created a dynamic and diversified spatial effect. The unique duplex space brings more privacy. With a modern and minimalist style, every inch of the space was fully utilised and optimised.
Elicyon – Chiltern Place Apartment
This unique and eclectic show apartment, located in one of London’s most prestigious postcodes, was created by Elicyon. A fresh, warm base palette is complemented with nude and blush tones, enhanced by bold patterns and bright accents of aqua, sky blue, peach and raspberry. A characterful collection of artwork and antiques, carefully selected by the Elicyon team and sourced from an array of antique fairs and galleries, elevates the scheme of the apartment.
Layered textures and finishes throughout the space, lend the apartment a distinctive look that’s enriched with personality, which is further complemented by wild and rustic floral arrangements that bring freshness and femininity to the scheme. Bespoke and made-to-order pieces were designed to maximise the space in the property and enabled the team to be explorative with interesting pattern and fabric that perfectly complemented the style of the home.
HONKY DESIGN – Petite Route de Campagne
HONKY DESIGN created a luxury, yet relaxed design aesthetic by introducing a mix of pared back, minimal furniture with bold art and textures. Combining a blend of soft textures, natural materials and bespoke elements created a refined feeling of luxury that is still family friendly.
Jeffrey Beers International – 108 Leonard
108 Leonard is an elegant landmarked condominium conversion located in Tribeca. Originally constructed in 1894, the McKim, Mead & White architectural masterpiece will house more than 150 condominium residences within the Italian Renaissance revival-style exterior, which was meticulously restored to its original glory. The ornamental majesty offers dramatic details of scale, proportion and volume paired with contemporary design by award-winning hospitality design firm Jeffrey Beers International.
World-renowned SLCE Architects was enlisted as the architect of record for the beloved landmark, which pays homage to a gilded bygone era. On the inside, JBI has designed a bright canvas of modern restraint, ready to adapt to homeowners’ individual lifestyles. Soaring ceiling heights ranging from approximately 10 feet to more than 14 feet, architectural windows and five-inch wide oak floors bring authentic European glamour to organically flowing layouts.
Rigby & Rigby – Project WC2B 130
Rigby & Rigby had the opportunity to develop and drive a full-scale revision of two contemporary residential apartments, one lateral and one duplex penthouse in the central thoroughfare of Covent Garden. The brief was to provide a design scheme, which accentuates the original features of the building with contemporary furniture and fittings. With close proximity to Covent Garden, the scheme captures the dynamic and vibrant atmosphere of its surroundings, while marrying with the traditional Edwardian architecture of its own, and its neighbouring buildings.
SWS GROUP – Shanghai Arch Showroom II
Located on the banks of Huangpu River, the project is developed by one of Hong Kong’s largest real estate developers, Sun Hung Kai Properties. Situated in the core area of Lujiazui, the show flat overlooks the river and takes in the Pudong skyline and its shimmering city lights.
The 2020 edition of the SBID Awards is open for entries!
Entries close this Friday at 5pm (BST) on 14 August.
Visit sbidawards.com to enter now!
Many homes tend to look similar because they share similar features, such as plain white coloured walls, simple neutral furniture, and wall to wall carpeting to name a few. To achieve a ‘wow factor’ in the design of your home, you must have something that is unexpected… There are things that you can do both structurally and internally – depending on your budget. The sky really is the limit, but SBID Accredited designer and founder of Katie Malik Interiors shares some of her expert ideas for simple ways to add that extra ‘wow’ to your interiors.
If you’re looking to create an architectural statement, add value and space to your existing property, you can definitely get creative with an extension. Instead of opting for simple rectangular roof lights and a standard flat ceiling, this is the perfect opportunity to introduce an angular ceiling-scape to complement or highlight the shape of your kitchen for example.
Adding something different in the structure of your extension with a unique ceiling design can really help add that extra dimension and visual intrigue. A combination of sloped, angled and vertical elements can definitely enhance the drama of a room! If you do decide to extend or rebuild, opt for a double-height. Not only does it provide an impressive vastness of space, but seeing it from different viewpoints can create multiple ‘wow’ moments.
If building up is not an option, consider adding skylights or even an octagonal roof lantern for a similar effect; adding glass to low ceilings you can make it feel higher, flood the room with natural light and create the illusion of bringing the outside in!
If you’d like to work within the existing space, there’s still a lot you can do. The right mirror, in the right size, in the right finish, can add a touch of glamour as well as make the interior space look and feel bigger and brighter. If you experiment with different shapes, sizes and even positions of a mirror, this could certainly help you achieve wow factor. You can also add unique features such as oversized artwork to a hallway or entrance walls – really going big will create an eye-catching statement with a contemporary, gallery-esque feel.
Another trick is to introduce shiny surfaces; reflective surfaces such as mirrors, metal and high gloss is sure to add an expensive edge to any space. For an additional wow effect, lighting is a key consideration too! Pick statement lights, for example a feature lamp; choose the one that is spangly and oversized for the ultimate look-at-me designer luxury.
Don’t be afraid to get experimental with dark colours, or any colour for that matter! The use of bold colours in the right amount, can definitely give a room some extra punch – whether dark and moody or bright and playful. You can also try using luxury, patterned or textured wallpaper – it will give your walls a more opulent and intimate look. If you’d rather not wallpaper the whole room or even just one wall (which is not recommended for certain rooms), you can always frame a piece of wallpaper instead!
Adding a stand-out headboard is a simple way to take your bedroom design to the next level, and look much more luxurious – like a boutique hotel! If you have a headboard already, why not re-upholster it in a bold fabric with interesting patterns or colours? If you decide to have one made, go big! Instant designer look guaranteed!
Choose a statement rug or a cowhide – this should instantly pull a room together and tie in the whole scheme. The size of your rug is quite important too – make sure it’s big enough to cover the area between the sofas or under the bed. If it’s too small, it might look out of place and you definitely won’t achieve the designer look.
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