Responding to the needs of the world’s global elite, David Collins Studio designed and delivered The Bryanston’s second show apartment, with guest curation from design editor Nick Vinson of Vinson&Co.
Project Name: Show Apartment, The Brystanston
Studio Name: David Collins Studio
Site Area: 256 Sq. M
Status: Built
Image Credits: Kensington Leverne
The result is an eye-catching, playful apartment which takes inspiration from the development’s surroundings, namely the expansive Hyde Park, and champions contemporary British design. The furnishings include David Collins Studio’s celebrated archive, vintage pieces, and new specially commissioned works. Creating a sense of arrival, the entrance lobby and hallway sets the tone of the apartment with a Wedgwood Jasperware inspired floral three dimensional relief, by London-based sculptor Lucy Smith.
Depicting a field of irises and wildlife found in neighbouring Hyde Park, the installation is cast in a pale pink jesmonite and extends the length of the 10-meter hallway. Other commissions by British makers include custom study furniture by Simon Hasan featuring a free form desk and shelving unit, both of which have been crafted using European oak, antique brass detailing and iconic Bentley Green Connolly Vaumol leather. In the dining area, custom-designed klismos dining chairs lacquered in sunburst yellow and upholstered
in soft yellow mohair by Bruno Triplet sit around a custom dining table in London
Plane tree made by Sebastian Cox.
The yellow colour palette is thread throughout the open-plan living and dining room – for example, The Connaught Bar’s iconic martini trolley has been reimagined for this residential space, realised in limed oak and rattan, with the interior lacquered in the same sunburst yellow. The use of low furniture suits the building’s curvature and maximises the breath-taking views. Considering every sense, each room has been styled with a scent from Perfumer H, including a custom cedarwood scent/candle in the principal bedroom created exclusively for the apartment. The second and third bedrooms are colour-blocked in teal blue and indigo blue respectively.
Design highlights in the second bedroom include a custom-designed bed with a teal velvet headboard which extends to the ceiling, accompanied by still life artworks by London-based artists Jessica Rose Bird and Sam Wood. In the third bedroom, the walls are lined in indigo raw silk. The bed was commissioned from London-based designer Bethan Laura Wood, as an exclusive version of her design which was originally developed with Philippe Malouin for the 2016 ‘Friends+Design’ exhibition at Dresden State Art Collections.
The principal bedroom provides another striking design moment – the walls have been upholstered in Loro Piana’s ‘Shaded Cloud’ cashmere-wool fabric, along with the bedroom furniture and curtains. Couture embroiderer Geraldine Larkin was also commissioned to create a unique applique artwork in the cashmere-wool which sits above the bed.
