The latest luxury residential project designed by Dariel Studio is located in the downtown of Shanghai. Thomas Dariel, founder and leading designer of Dariel Studio, has been designated to work on the entire space, re-thinking the structure, improving the original distribution and imagining the general feeling of this loft, with the aim to make an arty and sophisticated space.
Design Company: Dariel Studio
Leading Designer: Thomas Dariel
Designer: Giovanni Piccione, Marco Montanucci, Zhang Lingyun
Project Manager: Shiwei Liu
Location: Shanghai, China
Area: 700 m2
Completion Time: May, 2021
Taking into consideration the client’s age, personality and lifestyle, Dariel Studio has created a modern home, well equipped for a comfortable daily life, and complete of everything needed to host exclusive parties and entertain important guests.
The interior design of the whole space takes inspiration from a blend of modern European tendencies and Art-Deco reminiscences, combining a delicate color palette with visionary yet gentle shapes and volumes. The result, made precious by countless cultured citations, shows elegant colors and rich materials, managing to reach a unique aesthetic.
Taking into account the owner’s personal needs, Thomas Dariel has worked on the 3 floors of the loft, setting up public and private functions through a very close dialogue with the client: the first floor, with its indoor and outdoor spaces, has been designed specifically for the functionalities of daily life, whilst the second floor is exclusively laid out to accommodate the owner’s privacy.
Finally, the basement floor, with its double height space, is designed to accommodate social gatherings and parties with guests.
Upon entering the Loft, the guests’ eyes will be attracted by the dynamism of the smoothly shaped ceiling: its curvy yet strong lines match the sharp marble pattern on the floor, giving the whole space a powerful personality. The entrance is organically connected with a wide hallway which resembles, for its proportions, an art gallery: floor pattern and ceiling shapes suggest here a clear direction, and the purity of the walls creates a perfect background to admire artworks and decorative mirrors.
The living room, with its sculptural wall and powerful staircase is the true heart of the house. The main wall is a complex but elegant element of the design: pure and clean in its light tone when closed, it reveals its complexity once open, showing the large TV screen above the triangular fireplace, and the attention to every detail of its interior finishing.
The enormous mirror, the marvellous chandelier and the colourful rug, all designed by Thomas uniquely for this room, create a special blend, resulting in a very mature and sophisticated design.
The staircase, itself a masterpiece, is intended as the true focal point of the first floor: it has the function to divide different spaces, with its sinuously modelled shape, bringing to the second floor.
Opposite to the living room is the dining area, visually linked to the open kitchen. The softness of this space, beside a luxurious brass block for the kitchen island, reveals a great ability to work with contrasting elements and finishing, and the clear willing to explore new combinations and possibilities.
Located beside the staircase to the lower floor, the powder room is carved in the sinuous wall at the entrance: It has been modelled like a hypogeum, with smooth edges and simple shapes. In the refined shelf, connected with the overall decoration, functionality meets aesthetic and attention to details.
Getting to the second floor, the study room is the transitional space in-between the owner’s private chambers, and the one for the guests. With Bright and cheerful colors, in its symmetrical composition, this room is a display of elegance. In fact, the fine shelving with sliding panels, the custom-made desk, the particular care for every detail, and the attention to the selection of all design elements give to this room an exquisite feeling of refinement and uniqueness.
Meant as a nest of flower’s petals, the master bedroom is one of the most inspired spaces of the house. Here a king size bed is embraced by enveloping soft panels: they create a delicate ambiance, in which everything seems smooth and light. The curvy panels, true focal elements of the room, have been designed and hand-crafted with a special attention, in order to reach an absolute smoothness.
The master bedroom’s bathroom has been thought as a pure space to spend time in relax, characterized by a timeless elegance. It reveals a softly carved marble walls and washbasins, matching delicate mosaic flooring and a curvy white ceiling: the purity of the space is the result of a careful combination of many different materials, playing into the space in a very harmonious composition.
Stepping down to the basement, the entertainment area has been imagined as an independent and separated space: new materials and details, finishing in copper instead of brass, manage to create here a different atmosphere. A big revolving door is the gate to this space meant for gatherings and parties: a long transitional space, equipped with closets and a bench, welcome the guest and brings to two visually connected areas, both in double height: the living and the bar.
Surprising for its proportions, with a very high ceiling, the living space’s focal point is the fireplace, a round element inserted into a black wall system; the whole composition is framed by two blue Leather panels, shaped as open curtains. While white is the main wall and furniture color, the floor stands out with its colorful rug.
On the other side we have the bar: the space, despite being a basement, has been naturally enlightened taking advantage of a pre-existing hole on the ceiling connected with the garden. There’s an exquisitely detailed counter at the center, surrounded by all needed comforts: a pantry on the back, the wine cellar with tasting area and the sofa area on its sides.
Warm light colors and a combination of blue and copper finishing make this space fresh and luxurious at the same time. The dramatic lighting, coming from the ceiling hole, and the exaggeratedly long pendants, contribute to reach a suspended atmosphere.
The space originally reserved to the garage, being over 6 m high, has been re-modulated to accommodate a mezzanine floor to be used as shoe room. Accessible by a spiral staircase, itself a vertical shoe-case, the room on the mezzanine is a true surprise: a roundish space surmounted by a white dome, where shoes are displayed like ancient relics in the niches of a classical temple.
About Dariel Studio
Dariel Studio is a multi-award winning interior design company founded in Shanghai in 2006 by French Designer Thomas Dariel. Since its establishment, Dariel Studio has completed numerous projects of the highest quality in main areas of design: hospitality, commercial and residential.
Dariel Studio manages to reach originality and creativity while also performing in project management, a double focus that led the company to be recognized and honored for its ability to lead projects from concept up to execution.
Dariel Studio’s tailor-made approach focusing on clients’ needs has allowed the company to create a large portfolio of clients – private, entrepreneurs, luxury brands and major real estate and hospitality corporations – Chinese as International.
With offices in Shanghai and in Paris, Dariel Studio relies today on a team of professionals coming from various countries and backgrounds driven by the same passion for design. Since ten years, Thomas is the leading Designer and creative mind behind Dariel Studio’s signature.
Thinking by making.
By confronting heritage and cutting-edge innovations, playing with sensations, mixing opposites and incorporating French design expertise with Eastern cultural influence.
Dariel Studio aims to transform reality into a five-sense emotional experience.
In its search of new forms, Dariel Studio’s open approach unfolds new perspectives and possibilities within the process of “making” while constantly observing rules and clients’ demanding standards. Through this way of creating interiors, a new language occurs on each project, driven by a passion for turning upside down traditional codes and clichés.
Boldness, elegance, youthfulness, expertise, innovation and an in-depth understanding of clients’ identity and expectations allow the studio to ensure the highest quality design.
Awards & Nominations
2020
Top Innovation Design
- Creative Design Studio of the year
2019
Architectural Digest – AD
- Selected as one of the Top 100 Talents in Architecture and Design
2018
Best Design Partner of the year for “Blossom Hill Boutique Hotel”
2017
EDIDA Asia
- Best Designer of the Year – Interior Design & Products Architectural Digest – AD
- Selected as one of the Top 100 Talents in Architecture and Design TRENDS HOME
- Selected as one of the Best Designer of the Year
2015
Architectural Digest – AD
- Selected as one of the Top 100 Talents in Architecture and Design
