Pe r s i a n Pe r f e c t i o n Interior designer Louise Bradley’s working of a 30,000 sq ft villa in Kuwait has created an interior that exudes style and luxury from every corner. Unlike chefs, alchemists and magicians, interior designers are usually eager to share the secrets of their trade. The acclaimed Billy Baldwin, for example, recommended “a dark colour scheme for bad furniture and a light scheme for good furniture”, and stressed the importance of an aesthetic connection between different items of furniture. Baldwin’s mentor, meanwhile, the celebrated designer Ruby Ross Wood, cautioned against showy designs; a design is no good, she stressed, if it becomes a topic of conversation. Baldwin and Ross may be long gone, but their generous spirit lives on in designers such as Louise Bradley, who is more than happy to demonstrate how she continues to pull the decorative equivalent of prize rabbits out of her designer’s hat.
Words: Alexander Fitzgerald / Photography: Ray Main
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A widely respected, London-based interior designer with a comprehensive list of high-end international residential and commercial projects to her name, Bradley’s repertoire of ‘design tricks’ proved invaluable when it came to a recently completed five-bedroom villa in Kuwait. Presented with a vast but blank canvas, Bradley’s design brief was to inject luxury, glamour and sophistication throughout the proper ty, which is laid out over four floors and extends to a staggering 30,000 sq ft. “The clients, who are young and well-travelled, wanted something different,” she mentions. “They required a unique space that had the ‘wow factor’ and in which the standard of finish would not be compromised” And so began an extensive yet hugely rewarding interior design project that, from concept to installation, took almost two years. Much time was spent conceiving colour schemes, designing bespoke pieces, sourcing materials, fabrics, furniture and paints and then, ultimately, unifying them into one glorious whole. The result, as can be witnessed here, is an interior of jaw-dropping luxury. No expense has been spared in creating a home that exudes lavish opulence from every corner, on every surface and in every finish and detail.
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The villa is not merely a series of easy-on-the-eye room sets, however ; it’s also a high-tech home boasting more mod cons and gadgetry than the average James Bond film set. Highlights amongst its exhaustive list of features include a fully automated home technology system, a custom-made lift and a bespoke privi glass fitting around the front door which, with the flick of a switch, can transform the surface to provide light or privacy as required. There’s also the small (sic) matter of a fully equipped home spa, indoor swimming pool and even a bowling alley. The decorative tone is stylishly set in an expansive hallway where a palette of warm whites has been complemented by misty shades of grey and silver. Aside from the impressive dimensions and the presence of a series of bespoke benches with studded detail and silver grey damask upholstery, a lavish flooring suggests that this not your common-or-garden villa. “It’s premium-grade marble from Antolini Luigi,” Bradley explains. “We designed two feathers and inlayed them into the marble with Mother of Pearl.”
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Casting light on the space is a series of wall lights, which have been mounted on bespoke feature mirrors, and, most notably, a five-metre long bespoke Baccarat chandelier which hangs glamorously overhead. To meet the client’s request, Bradley worked closely with Baccarat to ensure this statement light’s proportion and design worked perfectly within the villa’s decorative scheme. Embellishing the hallway fur ther still is a dramatic, sweeping marble staircase with black marble handrail, which winds opulently to the sleeping quar ters overhead. Access to the bedroom accommodation, as well as to the basement and upper level, is also provided by a bespoke glass lift with a polished stainless steel outer frame and marble floor finish.
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“[The lift] was specifically designed for the project and provides uninterrupted 360-degree views of the interior thanks to the full clear glass body with no framework,� Bradley mentions, adding how it features a silent movement mechanism which is completely concealed from view. The spec in the marble-floored, open plan reception room, which leads off the hallway and is based around a sophisticated palette of soft teal with silvery greys and flecked with rich purple, reads like a roster of upmarket design. The majority of furnishings and accessories are from the Louise Bradley collection, although the respective pieces have been made to bespoke sizes for the client.
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Seating options in the room are wonderfully varied and include a selection of elegant sofas, ottomans, day beds and armchairs upholstered in mixes silks and velvet fabrics. In a deliciously playful touch, there’s also a custom-made cr ystal swing with tasseldetailed cushioning.
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While aesthetics are of paramount importance, these have not been achieved at the expense of function. The use of super-soft yet durable fabrics ensure sybaritic comfort levels which are further enhanced by a collection of cushions made from the finest silks and handmade Gaufraged velvets in teal, silver and purple. There’s cosy comfort underfoot too thanks to the addition of a bespoke, eight-metre long silk rug whose design represents a contemporary reworking of an Islamic motif. Bradley highlights the piece as a “key item in the room”, remarking how it “brings all the seating together.” Equal consideration has been given to the room’s lighting – a crucial component of any successful interior. Natural light – which is bounced about the space by a selection of Louise Bradley mirror pictures and an antique Venetian mirror – is supplemented by a number of handmade table lamps from Bradley’s collection, as well as an unusual, antique Art Deco lamp in shell. The undoubted scene-stealer, however, is a circular, rock crystal chandelier which provides a stellar presence overhead. A more muted décor is evident in a second reception area, which is more intimate in scale yet still magnificently proportioned. One feature wall of Striate Olimpico marble from Antolini Luigi stands out in sleek contrast to the silk wallpaper used elsewhere.
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The starring role in the room is taken by a four-metre sofa with a classic French influence, which stands proudly on another custommade rug. The supporting cast, meanwhile, comprises pieces such as a lotus water gilded side tables, curved armchairs with deep buttoning and a mirrored coffee table, which is juxtaposed with a pretty orchids and an eclipse lacquered plate. Lighting is provided by a combination of tall column lamps in black shagreen and chrome, and, more discretely, overhead spotlighters, which have been recessed in order to reflect the room’s silver gold gilded ceiling. Bradley’s exquisite eye for detail and finish manifests itself in the room’s various finishing touches. The curtains, for instance, are handembroidered and boast leading edges in silver gold metal threads, while the cornicing has been designed with stunning bevelled antique mirror inlays. Completing the look is a series of bespoke glass sculptures which sit on Perspex plinths in the mirrored alcoves along the rear wall. Silk fabrics and distressed aged mirrors provide a visual feast in the villa’s dining room. Here, bread (or khubz) is broken at yet another bespoke piece, a 5-5-metre long table which seats 16 and whose design, Bradley mentions, was influenced by an antique table and incorporates an aged mirror surface. The piece is surrounded by aubergine coloured high-back chairs and illuminated by black glass Baccarat chandeliers.
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The vision continues in the guest cloakroom, a notch or two above the average WC. The eye here is immediately drawn to the room’s curved walls, which have been designed with polished plaster set with bespoke, hand-applied tree motif detailing. Off-the-shelf options were, not surprisingly, overlooked when it came to the room’s fittings. The central pedestal in the cloakroom, for instance, boasts a bespoke pedestal base, which was produced with the same polished plaster and mirror finish to match the surrounding walls, and supports a circular, custom-made mirrored steel wash basin with three Lalique crystal taps. Overhead, an intricate chandelier casts glamorous task lighting, which is supplemented by a series of up lights placed around the basin. Bradley’s design skills also oversaw the creation of a floating curved vanity shelf which can be found along the rear wall and features a mirrored top and bevelled mirrored crystal edge detail. The piece supports a trio of pivoting mirrors, each with polished stainless steel frames, which can be turned to angle to different views. In a villa with some many memorable settings, asking Bradley to single out her favourite furnishing, accessory or design detail is akin to asking a doting mother to choose her favourite child. “It’s hard to say as each piece has been designed to complement the overall outcome,” she says. “Everywhere you look there is a beautiful detail – a feast for the eyes!” And these images incontestably prove, it’s hard to disagree.
www.louisebradley.co.uk
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