Interior design has the power to turn a house into a home. While everyone has their own taste in design, professionals can make a vision come to life more effectively than a time-pressed homeowner. Lisa Preece talks to award-winning designers Landmass London to see how they work their magic.

Interior designers at Landmass London only settle for perfection. Established in 1998, the experienced team are renowned for creating London’s most desirable homes. Their unrivalled imagination has earned them numerous accolades including Best Interior Design in London. They specalise in commissions from home owners wanting to produce the most prised configuration of their property, complimented by timeless interiors and beautiful features.

They were recently hired by an art collecting family living in a hidden away home in Little Venice, London. The clients wanted to accentuate the original period details of the property and make the most of the vast ceiling heights and use the spacious rooms to provide an impressive sense of grandeur and scale.

Three of the key rooms that were given a full makeover were the lower ground family room, the living room and the kitchen. The two designers, Eleri Lloyd and Ruth Soria, talked to Exclusive Home Worldwide to explain the thought behind the finished designs.

Ground living room

After talking to their clients, Eleri and Ruth learned that the ground floor would be perfect as an entertaining space. From the start of the project they were very eager to knock through the dividing wall between the hallway and dining area to flood the space with light and have a large open plan entertaining space.

As the property is Grade II Listed, they had to obtain planning permission to make the change. It also meant that they carefully protected and restored original features such as the cornice, skirting, doors and frames, which are original to the building. “The restrictions caused some problems as the ceiling was traditional lath plaster, which is also a protected feature in certain areas of the property,” Eleri points out. “This meant we had to consider alternatives to spot lighting in the ceiling in these parts of the house.”

A new marble fire place was installed and oak chevron flooring was introduced with a bespoke stain and oiled finish. Subtle paint colours were chosen to enhance the sense of space.

“The client’s art work was also a key factor for the design and a hanging system was introduced around the room, which enabled our client to hook lights above paintings as they wish,” Ruth discloses. “The neutral surroundings let these art pieces speak for themselves.”

Lower ground family room

“The brief for the lower ground floor was all about creating an area for the family to relax, watch TV, and allow the children to play in the garden while being supervised from the kitchen area,” Eleri explains. The space is very flexible, with the kitchen separated by sliding pocket doors which can disappear into the wall to have an open plan kitchen living area when desired.

“We designed the bespoke joinery in a simple elegant shaker style around a subtle marble fireplace,” says Ruth. “The shelving is back lit with diffused integrated LED lighting, which can create lovely mood lighting when the main lights are dimmed. The TV is recessed into a niche to give a neat modern finish and to avoid any unsightly brackets or wires.”

In the family room, they created a more relaxed look and installed wide board oak flooring with bespoke stain and oiled to match the ground floor finish.

Kitchen

“When it came to the kitchen we looked at a number of styles that would work,” Eleri reveals. “The client loved the elegant shaker style option and decided on a Tom Howley kitchen.  Once the company and style was chosen we then guided the client on decisions that had to be made on finishes, materials, internal subdivisions, appliances, taps, and socket locations. We also sourced the pendant lighting and ensured the light spots were installed in suitable locations for working in the kitchen.”

Tom Howley, Design Director at Tom Howley, comments: “This classic contemporary kitchen features stunning cabinetry by Tom Howley and the latest state of the art appliances, ideal for any lived in kitchen. The client wanted a space that would allow a whole family to interact, and the integrated curved dining area will allow the family to enjoy more time together in the kitchen.

“The use of the soft, neutral colours like cabinetry painted in Tom Howley’s bespoke colour Tansy, emphasises the lightness of the room and creates an uplifting environment to start the day. In addition to looking striking, the large American style range by WOLF and fridge freezer by Sub Zero are ideally positioned for easy access when preparing dinner. The kitchen perfectly complements the timeless design of the rest of this stunning Grade II listed property.”

To discover more about Landmass London visit https://www.landmass.co.uk/

As seen in Exclusive Home Worldwide magazine in Spring 2016.

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