2019

WRITERS INCLUDE:

NATALIA MIYARLAURA HAMMETTMAURIZIO PELLIZZONIJO HAMILTONEDITED BY JADE TILLEY

INTERIORDESIGNY E A R B O O K

Published in association with the British Institute of Interior Design

UK

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Birgit ‘Bee’ KleinBirgit Klein InteriorsBirgit ‘Bee’ Klein is the founder of Birgit Klein Interiors, a Los Angeles, New York and London based interior design fi rm. Bee opened her fi rst design studio in London in 2006 and expanded to Los Angeles in 2009. In 2014, she opened an East Coast outpost in The Hamptons. www.birgitklein.com@birgitkleininteriors

Alizée BrionLight On WhiteLight On White is an international architecture and interior design studio specialising in luxury residential projects for private clients and property developers throughout the world. Born in Paris, raised in London, Alizée holds a Master of Architecture from Columbia University in New York. www.lightonwhite.com

Sophie PatersonSophie PatersonSophie Paterson formed her eponymous fi rm in 2008, which has grown in to a world leading interior design studio specialising in luxury residential design for private clients and developers across the UK and overseas.sophiepatersoninteriors.com@sophiepatersoninteriors

Laura HammettLaura HammettLaura Hammett was formed in 2008 and is run by Aaron and Laura Hammett. It has grown into a world leading interior design studio specialising in luxury residential property at the highest level for developers and private clients throughout the UK and abroad. www.laurahammett.com@laurahammett.interiors

Alice LeighAlice Leigh DesignAfter ten years working for a leading design studio, Alice set up her own company: Alice Leigh Design, in 2011.www.aliceleigh.co.uk@aliceleighdesign

Talia CobboldTalia Cobbold Interior DesignAfter a successful career as a picture editor for leading national newspapers, Talia Cobbold decided to transfer her creative skills to her long-held passion for interiors. In 2011, Talia set up Talia Cobbold Interior Design and has since completed a range of residential properties throughout London and the surrounding counties. www.taliacobbold.com@taliacobbold

Birgit ‘Bee’ KleinBirgit Klein InteriorsBirgit ‘Bee’ Klein is the founder of Birgit Klein Interiors, a Los Angeles, New York and London based interior design fi rm. Bee opened her fi rst design studio in London in 2006

grown into a world leading

specialising in luxury

Alice LeighAlice Leigh DesignAfter ten years working for a leading design studio, Alice set up her own company: Alice Leigh Design, in 2011.www.aliceleigh.co.uk@aliceleighdesign

Alizée Brion

specialising in luxury

Sophie PatersonSophie PatersonSophie Paterson formed her

which has grown in to a world

specialising in luxury

Contributors

Talia CobboldTalia Cobbold Interior DesignAfter a successful career as a picture editor for leading national newspapers, Talia Cobbold decided to transfer her creative skills to her long-held passion for interiors. In 2011, Talia set up Talia

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With the influx of luxury buildings, apartment living is on the rise.

Clients love having high-end amenities at the fingertips and living in a space that is comparable to their estate homes, but typically in more bustling areas. It seems as more and more people are turning toward apartment living as it allows people to be more flexible. The biggest challenges within designing for the apartment sector are in fact the kitchens and bathrooms. I am typically relegated to the existing layout so have to fit everything that you may want into the existing space all while trying to keep the walls where they are! If a kitchen is existing, I can reface the cabinetry and apply upgraded hardware to

Birgit ‘Bee’ Klein is the founder of Birgit Klein Interiors, a Los Angeles, New York and London based interior design firm. Born and raised in Germany, and a longtime London resident, Bee’s European background serves as a foundational blueprint for her residential and commercial projects. Her global experience, coupled with European connections and comprehension of the international design landscape, provides Bee with a unique perspective to personalised design. Bee is renowned for stylishly mixing old and new, utilising sophisticated monochromatic color palettes and sourcing unique furniture and accessories from abroad. Bee opened her first design studio in London in 2006 and expanded to Los Angeles in 2009. In 2014, she opened an East Coast outpost in The Hamptons. Klein’s international presence allows for complete collaboration with clients nationally and internationally. Here Bee considers the niche design sector of apartment living as an opportunity for ingenuity and creativity as apartment living becomes more popular.

Apartment DesignBy Birgit ‘Bee’ KleinFounder, Birgit Klein Interiors

Bee’s Los Angeles project

BIRGIT KLEIN

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APARTMENT DESIGN

transform the space, but of course prefer if we can design it from the beginning. The same applies to bathrooms and wardrobes; maximising their space is always the biggest challenge! I try and come up with creative storage solutions and pieces that work in a variety of areas.The most popular requests I get from clients is to create a luxurious and elegant home that maximises the space. They typically want their spaces to feel homey, but spacious. Apartment living has an element of glamour to it and I try to capitalise on that. Since the square footage is not as typically grand as a typical house, clients appreciate and want to utilise every inch while keeping it refined. Clients want aesthetically pleasing multifunctional spaces that allow them to easily transition from one activity to another, such as playing with the kids in the living room earlier in the day to seemingly hosting a party in the evening in the same space. I’m now noticing that people want to spend money on quality products, especially in apartments. Since more people are gravitating towards apartments, they want their pieces to remain high-end. I am seeing much more attention to built-ins and the permanent spaces in apartments than ever before. Clients want to invest in apartment spaces, which suggests people are making more long term plans for apartment living, not just as a temporary phase. Because of this, I am designing more multi-functional custom pieces. It’s a great shift for clients to view these spaces as more permanent homes than spaces to simply pass through.You now have access to so much more inspiration and can find products much more easily now thanks to platforms like

Instagram, Pinterest and the Internet in general. I use this as inspiration to inform the design process. With your ability to see so much more, I can better select furnishings and design a kitchen more in line with how you function and what you tell me through your social media activity. Often times a client will gravitate towards a piece from a retailer and suggest incorporating that item into the design. In turn, I use that piece as a departure point to source or create something a bit more elevated and refined and more suitable to their needs. Having clients exposed to ideas from the retail sector creates the opportunity for me to push my design. If it is a departure upon something they have brought to me, I know they will love it!When investing in any apartment building, good architectural bones are key. Make sure you like the architecture of the space, because that can’t be easily changed. Since it is much more challenging to

rearrange walls, kitchens and bathrooms in apartments, make sure the main layout of the space is desirable from the start and the higher the floor in the building, the better. Finishes can be easy to change; structural walls are not! High ceilings are also a major bonus when it comes to apartment living.For 2019 and 2020 we’re still thinking about thoughtful spaces crafted out of high end materials to create an overall elegance. I think people will want to keep spaces open, but have the flexibility to segmented them off if need be. I also think people will be attracted to utilising more striking, saturated colors in these smaller spaces than they have before. I think there will be a big emphasis on architectural elements within apartments. My clients want specialty moldings and details, not just sparse blank canvases.

www.birgitklein.com

Bee’s Paris project

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