Finchley Penthouse, North London

A new home created in just four and a half weeks

Our Woodside Park client came to us at a time of significant change in his life. He needed a new home quickly, but more importantly, he needed somewhere that felt comfortable, settled and completely his own.

The apartment also needed to work as a family home when his children came to stay. Creating a welcoming bedroom for them was therefore just as important as designing the spaces for our client himself.

With only four and a half weeks to complete everything, we immediately set about creating a home that would feel warm and established from the moment he walked through the door.

More than furnishing an apartment

Our brief extended far beyond choosing furniture.

We sourced the furniture, lighting and soft furnishings, but we also considered all the smaller things that turn an empty property into a functioning home: bedding, towels, kitchenware, soaps, clothes hangers, cleaning products and everyday household essentials.

Cleaning was organised and even the kitchen was stocked with food.

Our aim was that our client should be able to arrive with his bags, put away his clothes and start living in the apartment immediately, without having to think about everything that still needed to be bought or organised.

At a time when he already had a great deal to deal with personally, we wanted the process of creating his new home to feel as effortless as possible.

Designing around the person

The interior itself needed to feel sophisticated and grown-up, but above all comfortable and relaxed.

Understanding how our client spent his time was an important part of the design. Music and writing are particular passions, so we sourced the right desk, furniture and pedestal for his music equipment, ensuring these weren’t simply added afterwards but incorporated into the way the apartment functioned.

We also furnished the outdoor space, extending the home beyond the interior and giving him another place to relax.

For his children, we created a dedicated bedroom so that when they came to stay, they had a space of their own and the apartment could feel like their home too.

Ready to live in

Just four and a half weeks after starting the project, the apartment was furnished, equipped, cleaned and ready.

This was a relatively small project in scale, but one that demonstrates how thoughtful interior design can support someone through a major change in life. Sometimes a client doesn’t need a lengthy renovation. They need someone to understand what is required, take responsibility for hundreds of individual decisions and create a home quickly.

The most rewarding moment came when our client saw everything completed and told us:

“You are the best thing that I have ever done for myself.”

For us, that summed up the project perfectly. We hadn’t simply furnished an apartment. We had helped create somewhere our client could settle, feel comfortable and call home.