The Myers Touch Create a Pure and Modern Open-Plan Kitchen

A kitchen by ‘Kitchen Retailer of the Year’ 2021 KBB Awards winner The Myers Touch was designed within a period home in Southsea, Hampshire.

The client had previously lived in the US and loved Sub Zero & Wolf Appliances – she wanted to incorporate them into a pure and modern combined look kitchen with American-style bench seating.

Designer Keith Myers worked with the client to create a kitchen that would create the ‘wow factor’, so they could cook and entertain for their large extended family. Danetti bench seating was installed against the island unit.

SieMatic classic SC10 range cabinetry mixed with SieMatic S2 handleless kitchen range were included in the design, as well as Silestone and Dekton worktops and a Kohler Sink & Tap.

Photography credits: Phil Green

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SBID member Kay Hare Art creates unique art pieces by mixing different eco-friendly materials and using unusual techniques. Her art brings liveliness and positivity to the overall ambience of interiors, inspiring the clients and shaping their awareness to make more environmentally conscious choices. The oil on linen paintings reflect dream landscapes with natural gemstone diamonds and gold leaf.

What are the origins of your brand?

The paintings are not so much a brand as each one is quite different and as I work to the specification they do change. However, the roots lie in nature. I am inspired by trees and especially enjoy long walks getting lost in the woods. I love all the seasons and find beauty in the cold, wet weather of winter with frosty mornings. All my time spent outdoors is absorbed on a subconscious level and then translated into oil paintings. I work quietly alone in my studio with the paintings almost meditations in themselves often detached from reality.

How do you work with interior designers?

I work on commission and enjoy the challenge of turning abstract ideas into a plan I can discuss clearly with clients. I enjoy offering paintings I already created. If these are not quite to the style ie. the right colours or often the right size, I will go to length to sketch out what I think the client wants, sometimes it being watercolour on paper. Once the client is happy we decide on a deadline and I make sure to stay in touch throughout the working period. Providing weekly and sometimes daily updates.

What value does your sector add to the interior design industry?

I think I bring much more than just the painting. I often suggest ideas that the client has not thought about. I am keen on working with local materials and can often suggest more environmentally conscious ways of doing things. Working with nature and natural colours can really enhance an environment as well as remind people that the natural world is precious and something we have to take care of. I like my paintings to radiate positivity and I like to bring my own enthusiasm to the project, hopefully uplifting others and providing inspiration.

How do your services/offering enhance an interior designer’s projects?  

I am quite direct when I am working with clients as I find this approach saves time and money. I also like to recommend other services or sometimes artists that perhaps may work better or as well as my own work. I am disciplined enough to know right from the start if the project is something realistic or not. I can bring to the table many past projects and the experience of thirty years of working on commission. My outlook generally is a Pollyanna mindset that anything is possible, however, we do have a responsibility to be aware of our carbon footprints and find economical, non-polluting, and eco-friendly ways of working that can still be luxurious and comforting.

What are the latest trends you’ve noticed in your client’s requests?

I think the trend is very much in the natural world and it should be. We all have to monitor our consumption habits, choose biodegradable products, be accountable for our travel habits and conscious of our environments. How can we work harder to sustain an organic world? We can use more organic products and this can be hinted at through fabrics, prints, and décor generally. Encouraging eco-friendly environments through the way buildings are designed and then running this theme through to the interiors can influence and shape an individual's awareness and an entire community. Making natural product-based materials and overall styles that hint at the salvaged, second-hand market is important to influence and support the younger generation who will have to embrace more sustainable ways of living without giving up on beautiful interiors.

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In this week's interview with 2021 SBID Awards winners for the Fit Out Contractor of the Year – Residential category, ALTER EGO, the designers discuss creating interiors that perfectly align with the clients' desires and blending the architectural style of the residence into its interior design.

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

We are absolutely delighted and honoured to become a winner of the SBID Awards in the Fit Out Contractor of the Year - Residential category. Receiving recognition from one of the most prestigious and renowned awards in the global design industry brings not only status and global promotion but also inspiration for new incredible projects and hopefully the future victories.

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

This project on the Cote d'Azur is an example of successful synergy when the wishes of the Client and their willingness for innovative ideas coincided with our creativity and experience in the realization of unique and complex turnkey projects.

One of the customer's key desires was a house exposed to nature so in this coastline villa we implemented the concept of a space with blurred boundaries, open to light and air. The seascape of the French Riviera inspired our team and became the main visual component of the interior. From certain angles it seems transparent. Each room faces picturesque views from panoramic windows.

A high point and best illustration of the concept is a sophisticated light composition - a flock of glass birds "hovering" in the central room of the villa. These bespoke pendants of different shapes and sizes were created according to our designer’s sketches by outstanding glass artisans. The functional content of the house and all storage systems are designed to create a feeling of completely unfurnished space, where nothing distracts from the purity of lines and the beauty of proportions.

The exterior of the residence is an architectural statement in itself. How far did this inspire the design of the interior?

A good interior is always a consequence of high-quality architecture. The villa blends perfectly with the surrounding landscape and the design solutions correspond to the context of the place. Bionic forms present in façade design, inside the house turn into large-scale arches, the curved wall panels set up a unique plasticity of the space and create a feeling of perfectly smooth surface. The decorative effect is enhanced by Onyx Rainbow inlay of extraordinary colours and patterns, perceived as stunning pictures created by the nature itself. A mesmerizing Calcite Blue picked up as the main bathroom finishing material captivates the observer with the charm of its sugary tones that, on one hand, suggest the perception of ethereal beauty and, on the other, symbolise freshness and clarity. White colour, prevailing in the interiors, acts as a joint background, emphasizing the continuity of spaces.

When taking on a turnkey project, what is your approach to establishing a successful design scheme that achieves the client's vision/brief?

Our first responsibility and aim are to hear and understand the client properly. We do our best to ensure that our architectural or interior design concepts hit the customer’s wishes on the first try. This is a very ambitious goal, but there is no other way to start working on a complex, unique project.

Accurately hitting the client's wishes on the first try means that an invisible connection has been found, a person has been heard and understood, and understood not only at the conceptual level, but at the level of further interaction - we already know which project timeline to build, which team will be most effective in working on this project, which contractors will be able to meet the client's expectations, and much more.

How to achieve such an understanding from the first minutes? It is probably easier to answer how to be a human…

But there are simple ingredients: experience, good education, wide vision, and most importantly – passion for what you do.

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

Among new directions for the company’s development, we could highlight the sphere of hospitality. Our deep knowledge and many years of experience in private premium sector are highly demanded by hotel developers, allowing them to embody the principles of unique comfort and exclusivity in commercial hospitality projects.

Due to the change of travel conditions, that we are witnessing now, people’s requirements for a hotel are also changing, as they often have to spend more time there. So, new boutique hotels more often make use of the experience of bespoke residential construction, creating the most comfortable and thoughtful living conditions for their guests. And we are very pleased and excited to cooperate with developers in this industry.

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

Starting work with a potential Customer it is important to place the person in the centre stage, to hear and understand them. Therefore, in order to more accurately determine their concerns, interests, hobbies, favourite places and preferences, designers should listen to the Client more than talk about themselves.

Do not focus only on your ideas and sources of inspiration, always put the interests and wishes of the client first, and do not forget that the ideal interior is always created exactly for a specific customer and takes into account the smallest details, like a tailored suit, made exactly to measure.

Questions answered by Julia D. Lantieri, Founder and CEO and Vyacheslav Labzin, Architect and Creative Desirctor, ALTER EGO Project Group.

This week’s instalment of Project of the Week series features a light luxurious show home design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Elicyon.

Elicyon designed the three-bedroom show apartment situated on the 31^st floor of One Casson Square, one of Southbank Place’s tallest and most striking landmark buildings. The floor to ceiling windows that wrap around the property, led to a brief that focused on enhancing these incredible city views influenced by the location and history of the site. To complement the abundance of natural light, a warm sandy colour scheme was adopted interspersed with darker autumnal accent colours of burnt oranges, mustards and rusts, creates a space that is rich, warm and heartening. The rich, woven, and natural textures of linens, cottons, and boucle wool, add to this overall natural theme, contrasted with details in blackened metal and leather adding an extra dimension of interest and a touch of luxuriousness to the space. The furniture throughout  is  bespoke and highly detailed design making each piece feel timeless, and seamlessly incorporated within the space; a clear but subtle harmony flowing throughout.

What was the client's brief? 

This was a show apartment on the 31st Floor of One Casson Square, the three-bedroom apartment had views of the city skyline via wrap around, floor to ceiling windows. The client wanted us to draw on these views and inject some soul into the apartment by looking at the area’s industrial skyline. Being a show apartment, the brief inevitably was to create a space that would have wild appeal whilst at the same time being visually exciting.

What inspired the design of the project?

The project was inspired by the area’s history as a centre of manufacturing, Art and craft, with the space featuring a range of bespoke furniture and specially commissioned artwork reflecting that heritage. A palette of ivory burnt orange and ochre, gold, teal, and sandy tones was chosen to create a warm ambience. ‘We wanted to subtly reference the vibrancy, eclecticism and culture of the area
and its history as the home of woollen cloth manufacturing, potting, and weaving,’ said Charu Gandhi, Elicyon Founder & Director.

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

If we had to think of one, then the planning and logistics of installing for a project on the 31st floor of a building – in order to ensure the installation would run smoothly large pieces of furniture had to be manufactured in smaller sections to fir the dimensions of the lifts.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

We used some eclectic and contemporary furnishings, as well as designing our own tailor-made pieces. The entrance console table was spotted by the team during their last sourcing trip to Paris and is by Portuguese furniture maker Jose Leite de Castro. A retro modular joinery piece in the study meanwhile spans two walls and was designed in the 60s. It accompanies a freestanding desk and tub chair to provide a beautiful space to work from home.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

SBID is the most well-regarded and prestigious design community within our industry, and so to be recognised and accredited by such an establishment is to achieve support and acknowledgment from a well-respected and reputable platform.

Questions answered by Charu Gandhi, Director, Elicyon.

Photos Credit: Patrick Williamson

This week’s instalment of Project of the Week series features a creative apartment design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, TEN DESIGN.

What was the client's brief? 

Living in This Quadrant project was designed for a young jewellery designer, aiming to create a space for the owner to work and live in, as well as serve as a playful space for two cats.

What inspired the design of the project?

Having seen the jewellery design manuscripts and personal collections all over the house, we decided to borrow the mellow and full shape of gems, and the inlaying processing technique of jewellery as the design concept, penetrating the whole house with the element of a quarter of a circle (arc).

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

The space with an exceptional arc structure plays the role of a display and extends the space, while creating a soft, romantic atmosphere. The open kitchen, dining room and jewellery display are placed in the entrance area. In the soft, light, grey toned space warm wood materials and arc elements combine to create an open space for reception with personalized features.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

In this space, the formerly square living room is cut into a quarter of a circle. Drawing a half circle around the living room the design integrates the storage cabinet, work area and jewellery display wall into a quarter of a circle.

Another highlight of this design is the paradise created for the owner's cats. A couch and storage cabinet are placed by the window with the best views, while the original partition wall is opened to form a corridor of light, where the owner stays with the cats. The arc-shaped passage in the living room couch becomes a secret base for the cats. We designed quarter-circle shaped cat doors in the master bedroom and communal bathroom doors with inlaid stainless steel panels on the floor, so that the pets can come and go freely.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

The SBID is an influential award that attracts a large number of participants each year. We believe that achieving superior results at SBID is a testament to our work.

Questions answered by TEN DESIGN.

This week’s instalment of Project of the Week series features a luxurious villa design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Todd Interior Design.

Residential space has always been a complex place because, according to our team's understanding, the family life is divided into three layers: one is material life, the other is spiritual life, and the third is soul life. Material life is food and clothing, spiritual life is academic literature and art, and soul life is religious belief.

Cantonese architecture and interior design take the Lingnan culture as the basis, and then refine the modern space language and integration techniques to create the rest of the design. Lingnan culture has been a window of communication between Chinese and Western civilizations since ancient times, and it has developed a school of its own. The so-called design style comes from the local culture, customs, characteristics and aesthetic standards. The furniture in the project is given priority to with coriaceous material and bright colours to make the space appear less depressing.

What was the client's brief? 

The owner of this villa told us that he wanted to achieve a calm and atmospheric interior design effect and use as many big brand furniture pieces as possible to increase the overall luxury feeling.

What inspired the design of the project?

The design inspiration comes from the traditional interior design favoured by aristocrats, which is inherited with modern elegant elements and forms the effect presented in this project.

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

During the implementation of the project, the biggest obstacle our design team encountered was the little time reserved for the project. We only had four months from the design approval to the project delivery. Fortunately, we did it.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

One of the highlights of the project is the collocation of many big brands of furniture, that brings the luxury of the interior space to the international luxury standards.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

SBID Awards is a well-known international awards, and we are looking forward to participating in it. It is a great encouragement for our design team that our project has been listed as a Finalist.

Questions answered by Toni Wu, Creative Director, Todd Interior Design.

The beach house in sunny Barbados, on which Celia Sawyer and her design team had been working on, was a total refurbishment. The house was dated, with a pitched roof and internally not very beach like.

In charge of the whole design inside and out, Celia wanted to create a really simple, textured beach house, contemporary and cool. Her vision was that outdoor living was key here as the days and nights are very warm, so she wanted to create an outdoor living and dining area. The original house was completely opened up and the only areas existing were the exterior side walls. Everything was kept light and a stone effect tile was used to create some texture on the front and back of the house.

The bedrooms were given a recess so that the room could be given a four-poster type of feel without the four poster bed, using elegant soft curtaining on each corner giving the room height combined with glamour.

Wishing to add some drama in this room Celia decided on a very dark brown - almost black back feature wall, which was textured plaster, creating interest. The artwork was a large piece of coral in a large perspex box, and thankfully it made it in the container all the way from the UK in one piece! In fact as Barbados is an Island with limited supplies, Celia had to ship out every item, including taps, w/c’s sinks, lights, even the w/c flush and all the furniture and kitchen.

Celia used white in colour and loose covers for much of the furniture, and the bathrooms were made white with textured walls, to keep it with that cool, beach vibe. She also created a bar area outside, as it is the perfect country for outdoor entertaining; the outside areas were put into zones, so that there was faux grass in one area with a four poster bed, a jacuzzi tub in another and then, of course, the bar and the outdoor living and dining rooms.

The six-month project was a labour of love and a real success, and just in case the client wanted to put another floor on top, Celia designed the upper floor so that everything is in place for that if it happens. Another trip over to Barbados could be on the cards for Celia very soon!

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This week’s instalment of Project of the Week series features a family home design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Artwill Interior Design House.

Today, living well is many people’s dream… then “how to live well?” may be the next question. To the couple owners of this 1,792 sq.ft. duplex in Hong Kong, they want to live happily together with their sons and form a big family when their sons get married.

The couple prefers modern contemporary style, however, their sons have their preferences, too, making the task of the designer even more challenging. The designer has fulfilled the individual needs of the family members and linked different styles to form a harmonious atmosphere for the whole family. “Harmonized atmosphere should not only be presented in style and form, but also transformed into daily life. Our design has successfully encouraged interaction between the family members, which the owners have always longed for” said the designer Regina.

What was the client's brief? 

The clients are a family of five, including the owner couple, the elder brother with his girlfriend and his teenage brother. As the owners always wanted to build up a big family with their sons, and enjoy easy retired lives, we transformed the 4 bedrooms into 3 en suites. The master bedroom is set on the lower floor and sons’ rooms are set on the upper floor. Now the sons can share sweet moments with the family members, while at the same time retaining their own space.

What inspired the design of the project?

As always, our inspiration is derived from home owners’ needs - we restructured the house to cater for different requirements of the family members.
In addition, we were inspired by the magnificent view and the exquisiteness of the duplex, therefore we opened up the foyer, and used diverse range of materials like marble, leather, metal, wall paper so as to bring out the extraordinary taste of this mansion.

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

The toughest challenge for us was to revamp the foyer. Before the foyer was dark and cramped, the designer then turned the enclosed kitchen into a semi-open space and extending its functions to the foyer. She also changed the direction of the staircase and used transparent glass stair-rails to broaden the magnificent sea-view and enhance the exquisite taste of the house.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

Thanks to designer’s speciality in combining different styles, we are all in love with the harmonized atmosphere that we created. As different family members have different preferences, such as modern contemporary on the lower floor, the luxurious touch for the elder brother and his girlfriend's room, and the minimalism for the teenage brother’s room. These styles were linked up with neutral palette, black lines, metal finishing and wood flooring.

The harmonized atmosphere is also transferred into the daily life. Whether at the desk, the pantry, living area, or the common area on the upper floor, the goal is to encourage interaction between the family members.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

Project The Bond is one of our favourite recent projects, it does not only cater for the needs of the home owner and bring out the extraordinary taste of the mansion, but also has created a harmonised atmosphere for this sweet family. Therefore, we want to share our favourite design with the world.

Questions answered by Regina Kwok, Design Director, Artwill Interior Design House.

The Myers Touch designed a new-build family home based in Chandlers Ford, Hampshire for owners that wanted a sociable, connected, family kitchen space with neutral tones that they could entertain and cook in.

Designer, Keith Myers worked with the client and builder to propose a solution to the kitchen living space that involved knocking down a wall, redesigning a larger kitchen space and relocating the utility room to another area of the house.

Siematic S2 handleless furniture was chosen for the cabinetry with 12mm Silestone Niebla and Dekton Fossil worktops.

Three unique zones – cooking area, prep area and storage that connected the kitchen within the dining space.

Photography credits: Phil Green

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This week's instalment of Project of the Week interior design series features a spacious penthouse design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Lori Dundas Interior Design.

Imagined during the early lockdown days of COVID-19, “The Sweet Life” is a series of conceptual 3D renderings, of a 303.6 m2 penthouse located minutes outside the downtown core of Edmonton, Alberta.

With the rest of the building mostly finished and occupied, the owners strategically took their time to decide on how best to build out the unfinished space. By doing so, the 3D models evolved into case study of sort, showcasing an experience-based design which would live well regardless of outside circumstances.

What was the client's brief? 

The client’s primary concern was that the design would ultimately be a space that would function equally well supporting intimate family & friend gatherings, as it would larger social events. The brief also asked for the layouts to make the most of the nearby river valley and treed neighbourhood views.

What inspired the design of the project?

Friendship and finding a way to design a space that reflected the uniqueness of the clients. Turns out what the clients valued most is a common thread that connects us all - entertaining, showcasing things you love and that bring you joy, finding moments to sit with others, be with your thoughts and observe nature. Creating space for these moments to occur was the greatest inspiration for the designers.

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

The time spent to get the vibe right. The feeling you get when you look at the renderings is so important. And it takes a lot of time to get the materials and lighting to reflect accurately on the screen as well as in print.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

Taking the original project and rendering it again only at night-time light levels. Not only did the camera angles improve, but there were a couple areas where additional lights were found to be needed. Doing this extra bit of work it made the overall design even better.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

Purely an impulsive act. I was proud of the project and wanted to share it with the world.

Questions answered by Lori Dundas, President, Lori Dundas Interior Design.