The project: This is part of an open-plan living space in a London apartment that includes a sitting room, dining room and kitchen.
The designer: Stephanie Dunning (01722 710608; www.stephaniedunninginteriordesign.com) started working with her father’s construction business, where she learnt the art of detailed technical drawing, a skill that she still uses today and which is the basis of all her projects. After working for the interior designer Nina Campbell, she was commissioned to make curtains for King Hussein of Jordan, which led to her setting up an interior-design business that is now based in Wiltshire.
Commissions have included the complete refurbishment of King Hussein’s family home and, more recently, a hunting lodge in Scotland, a house on the banks of the Beaulieu River and villas in Mustique and Lake Como.
Arabella Youens says: A career in both interior design and construction has given Stephanie Dunning a rare ability to transform period buildings into stylish and comfortable family homes.
Part of this project involved installing new double-glazed Crittall windows, which offer an opportunity to maximise the light from the west-facing elevation and fashion a clean, contemporary look, enhanced by the muted neutral background created with the paintwork and curtains. The scheme is typical of the designer’s use of texture to add a rich, layered look. A mix of burnt-orange cushions, navy sisal flooring and a navy-and-white rug add a tactile quality that also helps to deaden sound (essential in an apartment block). Furniture and lighting include a mixture of new pieces, as well as the client’s own antiques. A club fender creates extra occasional seating in what is a supremely social space.
How to get the look:
Fabrics The circular tables are from Julian Chichester, whose shop is at Queen’s Elm Parade, Fulham Road, London SW3 (www.julianchichester.com; 020–7622 2928)
Cushions The cushions are from Inky Velvet, Stephanie Dunning’s online business (http://inkyvelvet.com), which sells a wide range of deeply textured cushions and throws
Windows The steel windows are made by Crittall, which has been making this distinctive style in Essex since the late 19th century—it’s now enjoying a revival in both period and new-build properties (01376 530800; www. crittall-windows.co.uk)
-
If the future of Ferrari is electric vehicles, then it is our future tooIt's widely believed that Ferrari will unveil its first electric car this year. It's the signal that the internal combustion era is coming to an end.
-
Gaze over Cap Ferrat in this four-bedroom French villaIgnore the wind and the rain. Imagine yourself in this hillside home with some of the best views the Mediterranean can offer.
-
The best interior designers in BritainOf all the decorating trends that have been in vogue over the last 50 years – be it Scandi, Minimalism or Industrial – none has been as powerful or as enduring as that of the English Country House.
-
The chimneypiece by Sir John Soane that still inspires designers to this dayThe reductivist simplicity of a chimney piece designed 200 years ago by Sir John Soane explains the architect’s reputation as a founding father of Modernism.
-
Room with a cru — how an 'enduring legacy of lockdown' is the latest must have in interior designLong gone are the dusty cellars of the past. Now is the time to make the place you store your wine as pleasurable as drinking it.
-
Four ways to give your bedroom the luxury hotel treatmentGiles Kime explains how hotels can teach us to be ahead of inspirational design trends and how we can make our bedrooms design masterpieces.
-
Bright ideas: How to light your kitchenThe secret to successful kitchen lighting is creating a variety of moods at different times of day, says Sally Storey.
-
Top 10 design dilemmas – solvedAn interior design project presents a maze of head-scratching conundrums, from choices between plain and patterned fabrics to whether you really need a club fender.
-
Get the look: The dining room inspired by Long IslandThe soft colours of the scheme Philippa Thorp created for this dining room reflects its Long Island setting.
-
Beyond 50 shades of grey: Subtle colours for your homeAmelia Thorpe goes in search of new hues.
