La Bottega Interiors Create an Elevated Expression of Experiential Luxury Living

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a refined penthouse design by 2025 SBID Awards Finalist, La Bottega Interiors.

La Bottega Interiors was commissioned to design the Delano Penthouse, set at the pinnacle of the newly opened Delano Dubai. Conceived as a private sanctuary rather than traditional hotel accommodation, the 850-square-metre residence blends the warmth of a refined home with the elevated service of a five-star resort. The design balances bold identity with operational functionality, using intuitive spatial planning to separate guest and service zones. Rich materiality—including Calacatta Borghini marble, custom timber marquetry, and sculpted oak joinery—creates a tactile, immersive experience. Expansive terraces, an infinity pool, and bespoke amenities complete this elevated expression of experiential luxury living.

What was the client's brief?

The client’s brief was to create an ultra-luxury penthouse that feels at once like a private residence and an effortless resort retreat. It needed to reflect the Delano brand’s spirit of convivial sophistication and discretion, while providing generous spaces for entertaining, seamless indoor-outdoor living with panoramic terraces and a rooftop pool, five calm ensuite bedrooms, and high-performance service areas. The design was to balance understated glamour with timeless materials, bespoke detailing, and curated FF&E from leading international brands.

What inspired the design of the project?

The design embraces a neutral, light-toned palette of whites, creams, and soft natural shades that defines the Delano identity. Originating in Miami, the brand established a distinctive language of serenity and effortless sophistication, where texture and light are complemented by carefully chosen accent marbles and colors. In the Dubai Sky Villa, this palette is reinterpreted with feature marbles, tactile woods, and subtle metallics, enriching the brand’s signature clarity with a contextual warmth suited to its Gulf setting. The intricacy of Dubai’s cultural tapestry also inspired the flooring, expressed through a bespoke timber design that adds depth, artistry, and a sense of place.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

The toughest hurdle was adapting the space, which was originally conceived as a restaurant, into a residential penthouse. The ceiling heights were unusually high for a residence, and the arrival sequence was through a long corridor, both of which could have felt awkward. We turned these challenges into opportunities: the tall ceilings became a dramatic backdrop for layered interiors, and the long arrival corridor was transformed into a feature experience with an enfilade of columns and integrated lighting, creating a striking, ceremonial entry that sets the tone for the penthouse.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The team’s highlight was transforming the Penthouse into a seamless blend of residential comfort and an entertainment suite. Key moments included creating the feature arrival corridor with its enfilade of columns and integrated lighting, designing bespoke timber flooring inspired by Dubai’s intricate cultural tapestry, and layering the interiors with feature marbles, tactile woods, and subtle metallics to reinterpret the Delano palette for a Gulf context. Seeing the space come together as a cohesive, luxurious, and livable home that still embodies the brand’s signature sophistication was truly the most rewarding achievement.

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

We entered the SBID Awards because they are one of the most prestigious design awards globally, recognized for celebrating excellence in creativity, innovation, and functionality. Being based in London, the heart of international design, the SBID Awards provide a platform that goes far beyond regional recognition — it allows our work to be seen on a global stage. For us, this project embodies a unique design rooted in cultural authenticity yet expressed with modern refinement. Entering SBID not only highlights the project’s values of craftsmanship, detail, and hospitality, but also gives us the opportunity to position our practice within an international community of leading designers.

What has being an Award Finalist meant to you and your business?

Being an SBID Award Finalist has been an incredible honor and a milestone for our practice. It validates the hard work, creativity, and collaboration that went into this project, while giving us international recognition on one of the most prestigious design platforms. For our business, it has strengthened our visibility globally, positioned us among leading design firms, and reinforced the trust our clients place in us. Most importantly, it motivates us to continue pushing boundaries and delivering designs that are both meaningful and timeless.

Questions answered by Sahar Al Yaseer & Cristina Gallenca, Partners at La Bottega Interiors.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a sophisticated penthouse design by 2025 SBID Awards Finalist, United Architects Kyiv.

This is a multi-level masterpiece completed by United Architects, blends minimalist design with contemporary classicism. State-of-the-art automation and ambient-responsive lighting coalesce into a flawless living experience where innovation transcends functionality to become art. This four-level sanctuary harmonizes minimalist elegance with contemporary classicism, enhanced by bespoke furnishings and exquisite materials like luxurious hardwood walnut, marble, and illuminated onyx. This sophisticated space achieves seamless transitions and a cohesive architectural language, embodying cutting-edge technology and refined aesthetics for an unparalleled living experience.

What was the client's brief?

The client sought an exceptionally high-end, technologically advanced, and fully custom-designed multi-level penthouse that combined refined aesthetics, natural ecological materials, and rich textures with cutting-edge functionality. Every element — from integrated furniture to fit-out materials — had to represent the latest innovations available at the time. Their standards were extremely demanding, and they brought a professional design vision and a pursuit of perfection to the collaboration.

What inspired the design of the project?

The design was inspired by a minimalist aesthetic infused with contemporary classicism and functionalism. The concept emphasises natural materials, textures, and integrated furniture solutions to create a cohesive architectural language that flows seamlessly across four levels and connects indoor spaces with an open rooftop terrace.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

One of the toughest challenges was the integration and installation of large-format materials such as glass, tile, stone, and mirrors as seamless cladding across expansive surfaces. A particularly complex feature was the installation of a 4.5 x 6 m tempered-glass mirror on the ceiling, requiring precise engineering and execution. Another major challenge was eliminating visible seams at material junctions while ensuring flawless organic transitions.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The highlight was the successful realisation of a fully custom-designed penthouse that harmoniously fuses natural materials, cutting-edge smart technologies, and refined aesthetics. Achieving this level of seamless integration — from bio-adaptive lighting and full absolute automation to bespoke furniture and panoramic terraces — was a significant accomplishment for the United Architects team.

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

This is not our first entry to the SBID Awards, as we regularly submit our most outstanding projects to this competition. We regard the SBID Awards as one of the most credible and prestigious platforms in the field of interior design. Being recognised here is an honour and a confirmation of our commitment to achieving the highest standards of design excellence.

What has being an Award Finalist meant to you and your business?

Being selected as an SBID Award Finalist for our Penthouse Project is an exceptional honour for our team at United Architects. Recognition on such a prestigious international platform validates our years of professional dedication and passion for excellence. For our studio, it not only reinforces our reputation as a high-end design practice but also inspires us to continue pushing creative and technological boundaries in our future projects.

Questions answered by Iryna Hrynyk and Oleksii Shadyria, Lead Designers at United Architects.

In this week's interview with 2021 SBID Awards winner for the Residential Apartment Over £1M category, IAIA - Idea Art Interior Architects, Darine Jabeili talks about creating personal designs and maximising and manipulating natural light in interiors.

How important is it to enter the SBID Awards & receive industry recognition for your work? What are the benefits?

The SBID awards offer an international benchmark for design around the globe, featuring work from world renowned architects and designers. Entering the SBID Awards is opening a gate to international exposure and a chance to connect with many other professionals in the field.

What do you think made this particular design an award winner?

The unconventional client’s lifestyle led us to sit with them on endless discussions to guide our design and adhere to their best needs. This penthouse was created for a young and sophisticated couple with their own understanding of aesthetics and design. Coupled with the clients’ desires, daylight was delicately directed into the space, creating different scenarios and ambiances.

What inspired the design scheme of the luxury penthouse? How do you ensure the end result of an interior design is unique and personal to the client and their lifestyle?

Design is a process. In fact, it is a constant growth starting with a conversation with the client.

We always make sure, to sit down with our clients and understand their intentions and aspirations. The conversation gets personal, and we dive deep into their lifestyle and habits. We then brainstorm on many ideas and iterations that we think would suit the client and start working on developing them. Throughout the development phase, we discard some of the ideas, develop others and come up with new ones along the way. This process is what we love the most about our work, because it gives life to the project, and challenges us to outwork ourselves every time.

What are the key considerations when it comes to utilising or maximising natural light within interiors? Why is this important?

Whether we are designing spaces in the city or in remote locations, nature and the environment of the project are crucial. We, humans, are designed to live with Nature and be a part of it. One major natural component is: Natural Light. We study each space according to the depth of the slab, the ceiling height, and the openings proportions, leaving no room for deep or dark spaces with low natural light. We also work on the play of shadow and light in a space, by designing artefacts that respond to different scenarios of light.

Now that you’ve won an SBID Award, what are the next steps? Is there anything new you are excited to be working on?

We are happy to have landed the SBID Award this year, and for a project that we love. We are working on numerous projects which we are very excited about. One of our current projects is the interior of a residential apartment combining the four natural elements of Nature: Water, Earth, Fire and Air. The elements come together to sculpt the spaces and generate immersive design features in the apartment.

What advice can you give to young designers starting out in the design industry?

The design industry requires talented and self-driven leaders who are patient and enthusiastic. For all the young designers we advise that they never lose the spark and the curiosity to explore beyond the market and trends. Break the mould, and do not conform to what the industry has implemented.

Questions answered by Darine Jabeili, Head of Design Department, IAIA - Idea Art Interior Architects.

Today’s post is dedicated to the second installment about the recently opened The Wellesley hotel in Mayfair.

A lot has happened since Part 1 when A-Gent of Style reviewed the ground floor public areas of the already prestigious hotel.

But first and foremost, congratulations are in order: The Wellesley and award-winning Interior Design company Fox Linton Associates have been shortlisted for three awards at the 2013 European Hotel Design Awards; The Jazz Lounge and Oval Restaurant, The Crystal Bar and also The Suites are now in competition.

What an impressive achievement. Highly deserved.

A-Gent of Style was granted access to all floors of this 5-star ‘new kid on the block’ (The Wellesley itself confirmed it is not a 6-star hotel despite the media hype before its opening) and is taking you today on a private tour of the guest rooms.

Above the public areas of the ground floor, The Wellesley is graced with 36 guest bedrooms spreading over seven floors, the last two culminating in the signature Wellesley Penthouse offering a private terrace with stunning views of Hyde Park.

Every room offers 24-hour-butler-service and is individually finished with sumptuous décor and amenities, equipped with the latest state-of-the art technology ( electric curtains, 52″ flat screen TVs, in-room laptops, Samsung control tablets and complimentary Wi-Fi), all cleverly integrated in the bespoke elements.

The rooms are sheathed in a palette of cream, ivory and off-white – mostly faux leather panels on the walls, luxurious wall-to-wall carpets and beautifully drapes of pleated fabric on the windows – with different accent colours (gold or burgundy in the Deluxe rooms), and some of the bespoke joinery designed by Fox Linton Associates is made of Art Deco-favoured ebony Macassar in a high gloss, veneer-finish. There are hints of brass and bronze in the custom-made lamps by Dernier & Hamlyn (who also created the chandeliers on the ground floor) and also the ribbed lever handles by Joseph Giles (but polished nickel on the bathroom side). The stepped, coffered ceilings provide soft and flattering glow that complement the colour schemes. Elegant black and white framed photographs from Vogue and Vanity Fair archives, probably shot by Blumenfeld, are scattered around the rooms (and the corridors). The headboards are upholstered in leather and the deluxe king-size beds are enveloped in customised luxurious bedding.
A perfect night, no doubt, to be had in the arms of Morpheus.

The Penthouse floors comprise the Churchill Suite, Wellesley I, Wellesley II and Penthouse Suite which are the jewels in the crown of The Wellesley. The latter is situated over the top two floors which are linked by a private leather-panelled staircase. This suite can boast its own private terrace, boardroom and personal humidor.
All the rooms are interconnected and give a great sense of rhythm, fluidity, privacy and exclusivity.

Here, the rooms are wrapped in a palette of champagne and pearl, the accent colours on the sensuous mohairs and velvets are rich, saturated midnight blues and browns, and there are hints of silver and gold to express the glitzy “Roaring Twenties”/Hollywood feel.

A-Gent of Style found the stepped, travertine Art Deco fireplace simply sublime.

A humidor and a wine cabinet, both in high gloss Macassar, are flanked on both sides of the dining table.

All the bathrooms at The Wellesley are equally stunning: the focal point is unquestionably the beautiful, deeply veined Italian Carrara Arabescato marble on the floor and on the walls which give the rooms great character, substance and grandeur. The shiny mirrored, silver-polished vanity units and shelves add a sense of elegance. Top-end bathroom fixtures and accessories by Dornbracht and Villeroy & Boch finish off the décor superbly well.

So, whatever takes your fancy – a top-notch cigar, Cognac, cocktail, intimate meal, celebratory Afternoon Tea or romantic stay in a suite (A-Gent of Style will happily settle for all of them. At the same time) – The Wellesley is the latest ultimate hideaway in London to ‘Chanel’ your inner Agatha Christie in stylish and tasteful surroundings.

A-Gent wishes Fox Linton Associates and The Wellesley good luck on November, 19 at the EHDA awards ceremony.