Thoughtful, captivating and spectacular; today’s interior designers are boldly demonstrating how to create statements through conceptual interiors. Whether expressing reserved minimalism, flamboyant playfulness or organic naturalness, there tends to be a strong and elaborate idea behind the interior concepts being developed currently. Just take a look at the increase in and popularity of design hotels, as well as the number of distinctive and highly stylized restaurants. The impact that our physical surroundings have on us –the shapes, colors, materials and lighting– plays a central role when new hospitality and retail venues are being developed. Interior design delivers definitive experiences and so can be cleverly implemented to speak to our senses and therefore induce specific emotions and reactions.
Style inspiration for residents
At the recently launched Xavier building at Coppermaker Square, a new residential development in Stratford, East London, a selected group of award-winning interior designers has unleashed a playful, artsy and vivid range of proposals for the pristine new rental homes. The three design studios –Studio Heff, 2LG Studio and Holloway Li– all based in the UK, were chosen for their experience as well as their impressive portfolios of dashing and fashion-forward designs.
The brief was clear: show the full potential of rental space decoration and provide style inspiration for the residents. Based on existing residents at Coppermaker Square, each studio was given a specific target audience and an apartment to decorate. The designers from 2LG Studio describe their project like this: "This two-bedroom apartment is filled with curated pieces that reflect the lifestyle you expect from this vibrant urban setting in East London. Hand-printed wallpaper, hand-made craft pieces and re-imagined waste materials combine with rich colors that reflect the urban landscape and wealth of creatives in the area. Layers of textiles and rugs soften the modern space, whilst vintage pieces bring soul and personal stories to this rented home."
A multitude of furniture options
Besides the existing walls and the straightforward brief, the designers were also provided with a multitude of furniture options from the Danish furniture brand BoConcept. As a partner on the Xavier Building project, BoConcept was selected to bring contemporary and high-quality furniture into 281 new homes. "This collection of apartments offers living spaces that will inspire and allow tenants to express their personalities through a variety of interior collections to suit their lifestyles. We are thrilled with the vibrant results," says BoConcept Business and Contract Director, Michel Baumgart, and emphasizes: "Coppermaker Square’s ambition to create a 'new standard for rental' is perfectly aligned with BoConcept’s vision of designing furniture for urban living."
The response to the show apartments has been a great success, providing both new and existing tenants with ideas on how to accessorize their own individual apartments and showing what a positive impact thoughtful design and styling can have on a space. A series of focus groups –that were created to better understand the priorities of modern renters– pinpointed more comfort and space, a community focus and the ability to stamp individuality to create a personal sanctuary, as the most significant factors.
A simple formula
Penny Cameron, Head of Development UK at Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, one of the three development partners, comments: "Like fashion, our homes have always been a form of self-expression and the results of the collaborations to mark the launch of the Xavier Building have been striking, unique and a great celebration of creative minds coming together. The designers’ unique takes on what can be achieved with home design have really exemplified how residents can infuse their personal taste into their decorating choices and home furnishings to create a sense of belonging."
Developed using a selection of BoConcept's staple pieces, the show apartments in the Xavier Building project clearly, and joyfully, demonstrate how it’s possible to create outstanding and personal homes based on a simple formula: timeless furniture styled with talent, imagination and conviction.