Portrait.

What would be your dream space to design?

A double-height penthouse in a mid-century building.

What is your favourite part of a renovation project?

Designing the lay-out of the scheme to ensure that the space is exciting and flows smoothly from one space to another. And then seeing that scheme lay-out realised once the builders carry out the configuration work.

Are you personally a wine lover?  If yes, would you share your personal wine cellar with us?

I love wine - I mostly drink French wine, and usually mainly Burgundy and Bordeaux. For whites I love Meursault and St Aubin and am a big fan of Sauternes too. Champagne is never far away from the lips.

Is it a luxury, fashionable or just the norm to have a wine cabinet?

Ivar London installs wine cabinets as part of the norm - for anyone with any interest in wine it makes such a difference to have a wine cabinet - particularly if you are based in high value central city locations where you may not have access to decent storage.

We find that clients for our projects will want both a wine fridge and also separately a drinks cabinet in their reception to display both wine and spirits and associated glasses. Ivar London has been featured regularly in design magazines for their collection of drinks cabinets - it’s one of our most sold items!

The project.
South Kensington

Can you describe this renovation project of this British appartment?

Situated on the fifth floor (lift) of this handsome pre- war mansion building with stunning views over the Pelham Crescent in London’s South Kensington, this two-bedroom lateral flat provides generous accommodation. Entered via a smart communal entrance, the apartment features a central entrance hall and a large reception with large doors opening towards the master bedroom, maximising the sense of space and light in the apartment. The property has been sympathetically developed, with a focus on craftsmanship, quality, with a focus on a bespoke design chevron-style wood flooring and bespoke joinery in kitchen with copper-clad doors, entrance and throughout the apartment. In addition, high quality fixtures and fitting have been employed, in the kitchen and bathrooms.

What was your inspiration behind this project?

We always also focus on creating homes full of energy, happiness and contentment, something we achieve through a focus on light, flow and the liberal use of nature materials. Space in central London is expensive so we focused really hard on making the apartment feeling as spacious as possible.

The owners wanted to incorporate a wine cabinet into their kitchen.  How did you take on board this request?

We always focus on balance of design in each space we work in. So when we incorporate a tall object such as a wine cabinet, we work hard to make sure that the design scheme we develop feels natural and correct. In this instance we balanced the wine cabinet in the kitchen by placing the fridge opposite and making sure that the cabinetry around these two items were of the same proportions and materials.

What materials did you use for this project? How did you choose them?

We wanted to create a high-end distinctive city-centre feel for this apartment. For the kitchen we went with copper-clad doors - so stunning - and combined this with fresh white spray -painted low doors and a pure black granite top. For the rest of the Ivar London apartment, we used natural materials including high quality oak flooring and our own Ivar London drinks cabinets, wardrobes, radiator covers and coffee tables to finish the look.

What about EuroCave furniture? Easy to integrate in a such project?

We love working with EuroCave products! There’s such a feeling of quality and the shape and proportions are easy for us to integrate into our design.

What was your clients’ reaction when they discovered their new living space?

It was wonderful - they were so visibly excited that it was a real pleasure to see. What was satisfying too was how the new home resonated both with the parents and the teenage children too.