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Project Name: Ariel Penthouse

Location: London, United Kingdom

Date Completed: October 2018

Interior Designer: Happy Place Design

Developer: St George

Happy Place Design were invited by the client to create an interior design scheme to enhance their most premium property at the time, the Ariel Penthouse at London Dock. The brief was to create a scheme that was clean, fresh, modern and vibrant, whilst being high-end and exuding luxury. The client’s request was rather than simply designing an attractive scheme that could be anywhere in London, that Happy Place Design create an aesthetic that was quintessentially London Dock, representing the local area, its history, architecture and personality.

London Dock is an area of London that is steeped in history, being a working Dock for many years and facilitating the trade and import of rare and luxury goods, from overseas. The area retains an industrial vibe that was important for us to channel into the design of the interiors. However, priced at £5.5m, the property also warranted a luxury standard of finish.  The challenge was to marry those two factors into a fabulous and cohesive scheme that would showcase the property in all its glory.

The penthouse has a uniquely large open entry space that had always been earmarked as a secondary, more formal seating area. Happy Place Design felt that a secondary seating area downstairs was not the optimal use, given how many incredible social zones there were upstairs. Instead the designers felt that a far more usable and realistic use of the space was for a study. The client agreed, and they created a beautiful and serene study space, partitioned with open shelving which provides privacy from the entry door doesn’t close in the space.

Happy Place Design worked hard to create a scheme that was as inviting as it was fabulous. Success was to be measured by the resulting sale of the penthouse, so the designers needed to deliver a space that would invoke emotion and encourage potential buyers to really imagine themselves relaxing in the bedrooms, lounging on the sofas, having dinner parties in the dining space, and entertaining on the terrace.

The penthouse was designed with the target buyer in mind – a successful entrepreneur or high net worth individual, who is cultured, design-savvy, and who loves to both entertain, and enjoy the lifestyle of the local area. As such, Happy Place Design incorporated a combination of furniture, lighting, art and soft furnishings that were designed in-house with the project in mind, and also pieces by lesser-known designers and makers, so that they were delivering a truly unique and curated collection of design elements that could genuinely be collected by a person over time. As such, it feels truly authentic.