Park Street, W1
Practical living in modern luxury
129 Park Street is the award- winning luxury home of interior designer duo brothers Alexander and Michael Christou at 1.61 London.
The apartment is set in a former commercial building in highly desirable Mayfair which was transformed into a residential development completed with a gym and swimming pool on site. The designer duo bought the original flat consisting of 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and converted it to an upscale open floor living space with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms apartment along with a bar area. Using their continual drive for aesthetic perfection, they turned this retro property into a contemporary stylish smart home, winning 4 international design awards along the way.
The interior design approach throughout the property is inspired by London and its evolution through time. The vision was based on the traditions of London design as the central focal point but with a modern interpretation through evolving material with flow in colours, space and design with a symmetrical structure.
Alex Christou, Director at 1.61 London explains:” We always design every project with careful care and considerations to achieve aesthetic perfection and we wanted our flat to showcase this where every single space in the flat was meticulously designed with the highest finishes created in collaboration with prestigious international brands ranging from Roberto Cavalli(Italy), Lalique(France), Hacker(Germany), Billi(UK) and Sonos(USA) amongst many more.” With a thoughtfully considered layout the apartment emits class and sophistication. Every detail has been considered throughout the design for effortless practical living.
Symmetrical wall elevations were intricately designed, using only changes of texture and materials to distinguish each area. To increase fluidity, elevation framing was limited, where elevations do not border off areas, but run floor to ceiling. Wall elevations in the same finishes run from the ceiling down to the vanity unit tops and doors augmenting the free-flowing feeling in the bathrooms. The lighting pops at different layers from floor lights to LED troffers, refracting effortlessly with reflective mirrors and glass.
Different textures were employed to add contrast. In the kitchen, back lit onyx panels stand opposite to elevational identical doors, finished in mirror, polished plaster and metal. The reception room main elevation of rebated metal bead lines the polished plastered TV wall and sits centred above a remote-controlled marble clad ethanol burner.
Either side are bookcases with 50mm thick walnut open shelving and triangular chainmail upholstered doors. Natural stone mix with polished plaster, paint against wallpaper, engineered wood flooring against metal profiles and carpet inserts. In the kitchen a mixture of liquid metal doors, ostrich feather lacquered bass units and black glass wall units were chosen. These materials are interchanged and reimplemented throughout to keep continuation but to make each space distinct and interesting.
To tie these textures together muted colour tones were chosen, the finishes gradient through the property elegantly with a blend of taupes back dropped with whites and dark browns for depth. No accent colours were used, but rather textures were used to distinguish the different areas and provide contrast. The furniture pieces were chosen with care to emulate the wall elevations with their mixture of metal and upholstered taupe sections and dark leg contrasts. The dining table base for example, picks out the same mixture of bronze tinted metal and glass from the kitchen.
The property is an uber smart home with full Audio-Visual design including: integrated motor-controlled blinds, iPad/iPhone-controlled systems, Sonos and Amazon Alexa voice activation control. The entire property is operated through Alexa voice control smart system which includes controlling light settings, blinds, electronic equipment like TV and music and even changing the channel selection on Sky. The smart system is coded to control almost all the commands in the flat and is also personalised for each individual’s needs and preferences.
