Butlers Wharf Tower Bridge apartment design by Maisha Design
Our clients’ Thames riverside three bedroom lateral flat is situated in the famous and listed Butlers Wharf building. It is a stunning warehouse conversion with beautiful exposed brick and character cast iron windows. Situated on the third floor it has a stunning view of the iconic Tower Bridge, which is just 200 metres away which provides the perfect backdrop for our interior design.
Our clients wanted a London home for entertaining their friends and guests – a space that was exciting and special where they could stay and be very comfortable. The project took one year from start to finish which included a full reconfiguration of the floor plan, electrical plan and bespoke furniture and finishes.
The vision for the design was to create an elegant and comfortable space with luxurious touches and a drinks bar for entertaining. The floor and lighting plan was redesigned to allow more open spaces and more light to fill the flat, as the ceilings were low and the original design left the flat felling dark and claustrophobic. From the moment you enter, we used recessed wall radiators throughout the apartment to ensure a clean and sleek finish. The sitting area is highlighted with rich burgundies and creams, with smoked glass and dark wood accents, while the bedrooms have distinctive pops of colour and pattern – each with bespoke joinery and individual upholstery. Every area throughout has its own theme yet is connected to one another through its beautiful custom-made furniture and running brass and smoked glass theme. It was very important to us that each element in the design followed a subtle continuity.
The standout features of this apartment, are the spectacular illuminated Alabaster bar, the en-suite copper and brass marble bathrooms and the glass wall between the hallway and the guest twin bedroom which adds light to the inner hallway. All these features add to the design to elevate the apartment to a higher sense of luxury.
Our design concept for the kitchen which is located off the main sitting and dining area concentrated on a completely hidden kitchen with no visible appliances in the living area to create a living and dining space that is designed for entertaining. We discreetly tucked the kitchen away behind beautiful smoked glass pocket doors, which we incorporated into the design of what is the main feature of the living area: the bar. To create something truly spectacular for the bar, we designed a bespoke lit alabaster bar with tailored panels on each side, framing both the bar and pocket doors. This ensured that the main focus of the living area is the alabaster, which is simply stunning and deserves to be celebrated in this way.
In the living area and hallway, we chose a burgundy-pearl colour palette with delicate brass and smoked glass accents. The rich burgundy tones of the furniture and lamps complement the glowing alabaster bar beautifully and give the living space a soft yet elegant ambience. The smoked glass is replicated in the kitchen doors and the lamp details, while the brass is evident in both the lamps and studding of the bespoke furniture. Every detail has been carefully considered, such as the geometric pattern on the rug that is mirrored on the back of the dining chairs, to create a sophisticated coordinated interior. A pair of base lamps, on either side of the sofa, were chosen to provide low level lighting for intimate evenings and the lit up bespoke wall joinery adds a soft feature to the room, allowing the client to add a personal touch with ornaments, books and accessories. But the true star of this space for us is the bespoke Alabaster bar. It was handcrafted by Atelier Alain Ellouz and carefully designed to fit perfectly into the panelled wall.
All three bedrooms are situated at the opposite end of the apartment, facing the famous cobbled walkway of Shad Thames. It was important to our clients to inject colour into the bedrooms whilst maintaining a neutral backdrop. Each bedroom therefore has subtle pops of individual colour, whilst maintaining the underlying neutral-brass theme of the apartment. Bespoke wardrobes with a brass inlay and brass leather handles designed by Maisha are incorporated into each bedroom to complete the concept of luxurious touches. For the master bedroom we chose a purple and turquoise palette against a soft neutral base and followed the same concept for the guest bedrooms albeit changing the colours to stunning blue and yellow and vibrant blue and terracotta combinations. Each cushion, button and trim was selected to create a balanced colour combination.
One key aspect for our clients was to have luxurious and unique bathrooms for both the master and guest bedrooms. We therefore chose an elegant marble theme and combined this with distinctive taps by the Watermark collection and smoked glass shower panels for a stunning finish. In order to distinguish the master bathroom from the guest bathrooms we decided to choose a rich verde fantastico marble stone against antique brass taps in the master and a deep noir st laurent marble stone against copper taps for the two guest bathrooms. The lighting was designed to accentuate the best features of the bathroom: the stunning marble walls and copper taps. We designed three lighting circuits that could be used to highlight different parts of the bathrooms and so create different atmospheres within. The first circuit is dedicated to general lighting and is composed of a grid of down lights for everyday use. This is complemented by the second circuit, which creates subtle focal points and task lights by lighting up the niches, shower wall and mirror cabinet. The third circuit is more atmospheric – it is activated with a sensor and turns on a soft LED light wash under the sink and bath creating a beautiful floating effect and a soft night light. The result is stunning and makes these bathrooms truly unique.
The second key feature of this apartment for our clients is the alabaster bar. It is a spectacular piece of craftsmanship and gives the living space a unique look and feel. We chose this material not only for its stunning look and feel, but also for its hardwearing quality. It is treated with resin, which turns this incredibly delicate and fragile stone into a resilient and durable element, perfect for bar counter tops. What makes this material even more striking is the fact it is lit up by LEDs, which can be adjusted from warm to cool, depending on the mood and time of day. Our clients wanted a dramatic feature in their living area and this alabaster bar emulates drama and luxury gloriously.
Overall, we concentrated on a design that allows more light to shine through the apartment to eradicate the dark corridor-like feeling. The double doors of the middle bedroom were removed and replaced with a fixed glass panel to allow light from the riverside end of the flat to flow down the hallway and lighten the middle guest twin bedroom. This creates a new focal point in the apartment and has transformed a dark and claustrophobic area to a welcoming and light flooded space.
As a designer the highest form of approval is of course the one of our clients, who were delighted and quite emotional when we took them to see their new flat for the first time. They told us that they had never imagined the flat could look as beautiful as it does.
The interior design has since been voted Best London Residential Apartment Interior Design by the International Property Awards.
Wharf apartment by Maisha Design photography by Richard Gooding styling & pr by nick lee niche pr
