Interior designer Robert Kolenik was asked to give a hyper-modern villa in London a high degree of luxury and personality. With a warm palette of colours and materials, the interior designer created a striking family home.

This modern villa was built in one of London’s most stylish suburbs. The owners used an architect to design the exterior. As Kolenik explains, ‘that means that he designed the hardware; the carcass of the house. We sat down together to discuss the interior routing and space division.’ Kolenik then took over and came up with the home design. He designed all the different rooms and took care of the furniture, finishes and styling. ‘People sometimes find it hard to imagine exactly what an interior designer does. In a complex project like this, my role has been to advise, but also to create, produce and organise.’

Handmade

Kolenik first discussed the home design with residents – a young family with three growing children. He then thought the design through and got the drawings down on paper. From the layout right through to the material and colour choice for the floors, walls and ceilings. ‘We then designed the individual pieces of bespoke modern furniture and other items. These could then be hand-made and produced in workshops and studios. Each room was given a different look, using custom made objects and items.’ He laughs: ‘Even the children’s bedrooms fit them like a glove.’

Openness vs. privacy

The striking thing about this family home is the large amount of daylight that floods in. ‘This is due to the high volume of glass, which gives the villa a spacious feeling.’ At the same time, the family wanted a house that would cocoon them and offer privacy. Although these wishes seemed to clash, Kolenik managed to strike the right balance. ‘I looked for homely materials, like an real walnut floor and lined silk curtains.’ A tour of this London gem reveals other warm materials like leather, wood and suede. Rugged plastering gives a robust effect, adding to the overall luxury.