Home » Sunday » Home and Design
Designer’s London home bursts with glamor
Print Edition
KAREN Howes’ phenomenally decorated house is comfortable, functional and boasts show-stopping bursts of color and eye-catching artwork.
The warm, intelligent, witty designer, who is the driving force behind the success of London-based interior design practice Taylor Howes, has created timeless elegance with some fabulously glamorous features at her house on Lowndes Street, Knightsbridge. These features capture her own personal interior style.
“The glamorous 103-square-meter two bedroom apartment in the heart of Knightsbridge is an elegant example of comfortable city living. The apartment provides the perfect showcase for my own designs and collections,” Howes said.
The designer said she looked for a property with character, and fortunately nobody else saw the home’s potential. “The height of the ceilings and the prospect of restoring some of the original features made the project very attractive,” she explained.
This involved some pretty extensive remodeling work. For starters, she removed a wall in the kitchen to restore the space’s original ceiling details. She also reconfigured the space to create a master bedroom with dressing area and ensuite bathroom, as well as a second bedroom with shower room.
“For the living room, I wanted to re-instate some classical paneling, high skirting; and the cornice detail in the ceiling was painstakingly restored — it’s a one off, a grapevine with no pattern repeat,” she said.
The living room very much reflects the new logo and branding of Taylor Howes, according to her. “Navy blue, white and gold — I find it sophisticated and glamorous.”
“The dining area and kitchen are all part of the living room so we created three different zones: a kitchen that we can hide behind paneled mirrored doors, a dining area and a sitting area,” she said.
The master bedroom is calm and glamorous — with elements of nautical design used to maximize space. The designer even created a display with a pop-up television that sits at the same height as the bed. The wall by the head of the bed incorporates beautiful paneling both of 100 percent wool and mirroring. The hallway to the bedroom houses storage and niches for shoes and handbags.
The bedrooms are decorated in calm, soft colors of sage green and dove grey. All of the fabrics are from Dadar, as the designer loves their quality and clarity.
Howes has prototyped some of her studio’s new range of furniture in the apartment, including the sofas, dining chairs, bedside tables and pop-up TV. The unit that houses the television in the living room was designed by Taylor Howes and bespoke made.
The designer favors bespoke pieces in all of her interior projects, designed in collaboration with artisans and craftspeople and made from materials of the highest quality.
Howes said she used some of the lights she designed for Urban Electric, a lighting company based in the US, such as the Betty and Jane lights in the master bedroom and the Karen light in her daughter’s bedroom.
“And the art is always for me what makes a home. I collect British 20th century art, so there is a Barbara Hepworth lithograph in the master bedroom hallway, a Dennis Bowen in the entrance hall which he stopped painting when Colonel Glenn re-entered the earth’s atmosphere in 1962. They all have a resonance and meaning,” Howes said.
Howes was passionate about interior design from an early age, but the real love affair began when she was 18 years old and rented a room in a tiny house in King’s Cross, owned by Martin Waller (founder of furniture retailer Andrew Martin). “This was a real treasure trove, full of unusual artefacts which shaped my eye for design!”
She founded the Taylor Howes design practice in 1993. It has since expanded and cemented its reputation as one of the world’s leading interior design practices. The studio has worked on many exciting high-end residential projects, from family houses in Connecticut to villas in Dubai. She aims to give clients a home that is personal and perfect for their needs, but with a minimum of fuss.
Taylor Howes will also be publishing an exquisite coffee table book documenting their design process.
Ask The Owner
Q: What’s the best thing about living in London?
A: I have lived here for over 30 years and you cannot beat the theater, museums and restaurants.
Q: Describe your home in three words.
A: Sophisticatedly, classically elegant.
Q: What’s the first thing you do when you get home?
A: I have a cuddle with my dog.
Q: How do you unwind?
A: A walk round the park with my dog and my husband, followed by supper in one of our local restaurants with good friends.
Q: What’s the best view outside your window?
A: The classical proportions of the white stucco buildings.
Q: How do you scent your home?
A: With our Taylor Howes scented candle, which smells of tuberose.
Q: What’s your favorite object at home?
A: My Barbara Hepworth lithograph — I dream of a sculpture by her, but this is definitely a dream!
Q: What are your favorite spots for furniture shopping in London?
A: We use and love Chelsea Harbour. To visit all of our favorite suppliers and have everything under one roof is fabulous, especially on a rainy winter’s day.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
