design et al are delighted to announce that Run For The Hills have been shortlisted for Interior Design Scheme – Global Award within The International Design and Architecture Awards 2017.
The design brief was to furnish and style the client’s large, light-filled second floor apartment in the heart of Kensington, W8 in London. The core property is bathed in light, with very high period ceilings and beautiful original coving and other period details. It was a wonderful empty backdrop to begin with, but it was tired and unloved decoratively and Run For The Hill’s client was looking for the designers to re-invent the space for her. She wanted the designers to devise a glamorous decorative scheme, which would reflect her personality and add a feminine touch to the space. The work would include the dressing of windows, walls and floors and the sourcing of an entire suite of new furniture, lighting and accessories.
The client is an international business woman and Run For The Hills needed to make a home for a huge amount of storage for clothes and shoes, which they housed discreetly in fitted wardrobes and cabinetry. The designers opted for a calming but rich colour palette of neutrals from the contemporary Farrow and Ball range including All White, Purbeck Stone, Dove Tale and Ammonite. Then adding warmth and organic touches via a beautiful oak wood floor and mid-century pieces of furniture in rosewood and antiqued oak. They turned hallways and stairwells into dark and moody spaces, in a mix of beautiful Farrow and Ball chalky paint shades. Designed to create an atmospheric backdrop for the client’s colourful artwork.
The hallways were not the most light-filled areas of the apartment, so the designers also chose a dark palette to play against that and create a cozy, alluring atmosphere, rather than trying to make them feel ‘brighter’ by applying light paint colours. The moody blues work perfectly and create an enticing juxtaposition to the lighter palettes used in the Living and Sleeping spaces. Brass and smoked glass bedside lights cast a beautiful glow when illuminated and look gorgeously architectural during the day. Glass side tables created a sense of airiness and space either side of the giant bed. The dining table was another gorgeous vintage find and the dining chairs were re-upholstered in a bold mix of blue and neutral hues. In the light and airy open plan front room the designers injected bold flashes of colour, with a burnished gold sofa and gorgeous pink toned over-dyed vintage rug, adding a beautiful circular marble coffee table and iron mirror.
Run For The Hills handled the entire project for the client, who was travelling overseas, bringing their design scheme to life and co-ordinating all of the trades involved. The final design features a panoply of beautiful props, accessories and decorative items sourced by the designers from antiques fairs, online boutiques, and vintage sellers. Beautiful one-off pieces which add that final layer of authenticity and personality to a design. More than anything, the success of the design is in the aesthetic execution. It is glamorous and refined, answering the client brief perfectly.