Home tour: Inside a glamorous London apartment with custom shelves for showbiz trophies

Interior designer Naomi Astley Clarke transformed her showbiz clients’ pied-à-terre in the English capital from a shell into a luxurious home, complete with made-to-measure shoe closets and places to display their Brit Awards and MTV Awards

Inside a red brick mansion in the heart of London’s coveted Sloane Square neighbourhood stands a showstopping apartment, transformed from a dilapidated shell into a elegant home with bold hues, rich textures and luxurious finishes—as well as special storage solutions for a collection of showbiz award trophies—by the interior designer Naomi Astley Clarke.

The 2,000 sq ft, three-bedroom, three-bathroom home is a pied-à-terre for its owners, who live overseas. They asked Astley Clarke to revamp the residence, creating a home to entertain and relax in, whenever they were in town.

“The aim was for a cosy but bold result—one that exudes glamour, while maintaining a chic, crisp simplicity,” says Astley Clarke. “And so a blend of comfort and style was essential.”

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Above In the dining room, a black marble table and yellow upholstered dining chairs echo the ceiling wallpaper’s colour scheme

Above Natural light pours into the living spaces

Prior to the nine-month revamp, the apartment was “falling apart and had no character”, says Astley Clarke. Working with what is described as a blank canvas opened up a myriad of possibilities for the designer.

In the living and dining spaces, moody dark tones and gold accents are enlivened with playful details—something that results in an opulent, glamourous atmosphere.

“My interiors are glamorous spaces that allow you to get cosy,” says Astley Clarke; dynamic, rich textures are the key ingredient in their creation.

Above One of the bedrooms features a calming palette of blue and white, offset with luxe brass detailing

Above One of the apartment’s three bedrooms features a delicate white and blue palette and elegant wall mouldings

Featuring a similar colour scheme, the kitchen boasts bespoke off-black cabinetry and shelving with brass inset, as well as white walls and chequered tiled flooring. An ochre velvet bench, meanwhile, adds warmth to the monochrome space.

Rooms painted in dark shades “add a wonderful drama”, says Astley Clarke—but to avoid what she says is an awkward and dated colour scheme, committing to painting all walls in the same dark colour is essential.

Above In the kitchen, bespoke black cabinetry with brass insets is laid against white walls and chequer tiled flooring

Above An ochre velvet banquette adds a pop of colour to the kitchen’s monochrome scheme

Above Inside the master bedroom's dressing room

Above The made-to-measure shoe cabinets

In contrast to the living spaces, the bedrooms display feature lighter white and blue palettes, offering a more gentle sense of calm. Brass detailing and gilded finishes throughout the home offset the deep black, grey and blue tones.

Above An opulent marble bathtub with gold inset and fixtures

Above Luxurious gold fixtures and detailing add sparkle to the bathroom’s dark palette

Features that accommodate the owners’ interests and lifestyles include made-to-measure shelving for their Brit Awards and MTV Awards trophies, a bespoke shoe closet that is customised to their shoe size, and lounge seating selected for the comfort of script-reading. Only limited wardrobe space is required—“this is just their London residence, meaning it [storage] is more for glamorous clothing,” says Astley Clarke. In response to the desire for entertaining, quality audio-visual systems are made a priority across all spaces.

Meanwhile, the designer also worked with crafts specialists and art dealers to source pieces for the home. One of the most outstanding pieces is the custom black and gold ceiling wallpaper in the living and dining rooms, created in collaboration with the handpainted wallpaper and fabric specialist de Gournay. It adds an ethereal, dreamlike quality to the space, says Astley Clarke.

Above The living room has playful patterns and details

The owners were heavily involved in the design process, but when they arrived back in their newly revamped London home, they were “blown away”—and this proved to be the most memorable part of the project for Astley Clarke. The ultimate goal in interior design is to fill a home with positive energy, she adds. “Our living spaces should delight the senses.”

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London Home Tour Naomi Astley Clarke

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Home tour: Inside a glamorous London apartment with custom shelves for showbiz trophies