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Angel O’Donnell

Angel O’Donnell

In Profile: Ed O’Donnell, Angel O’Donnell

Angel O’Donnell have been shortlisted for City Space (Apartment/Penthouse) – London Award and Interior Design Scheme – London Award in The International Design and Architecture Awards 2023. Read more about Co-Founder & Creative Director, Ed O’Donnell, below:


Angel O’Donnell

Name: Ed O’Donnell

Company: Angel O’Donnell

Position within company: Co-Founder & Creative Director

Website: www.angelodonnell.com

Tell us a little about your background in design:
I studied Fine Art at Kingston, but it wasn’t a good fit. No fault of the course, I just wanted to get out there and start earning money. So I landed a job at a lovely boutique interiors studio. My first assignment was assisting the Creative Director in the design and install of Madonna’s Mayfair townhouse. I never looked back.

How would you describe your personal design style?
I don’t have a signature style. I never wanted to get typecast as a Master of Beige or Doyen of Dark. I cherish the freedom to explore all styles and genres. If a client wants minimalist, we’ll embrace a fresh palette and cleanly delineated lines. If boutique hotel is more to their taste, we’ll have fun assembling rich colours and expressive prints. Or if they’re completely at a loss, I’ll gently guide them through all the exciting possibilities available to them. I think it’s important to remain responsive to people’s tastes, wants and needs. I’m here to inspire, not dictate.

Where does your design inspiration come from?
So many things. It could be a shirt detail – a wooden button, a placket front in a velvet trim, or colourful stitching around the cuffs, things that elevate the functional to the first-rate. More abstractly, fragrance can be inspiring too. A scent’s ability to trigger a strong emotional response in us is fascinating. And I love theatre and set design and seeing the way performers interact with their surroundings. It’s why I adore Pedro Almodóvar movies so much. Everything’s kaleidoscopically visual and so often garish and kitsch. His films are a masterclass in image-making, fashion and interior design.

In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense?
I think more people are looking for sustainable and ethically sourced products, small batch items that are rooted in traditional craft techniques. Anything that bears the mark of its maker, that has a story to tell, tends to be well-crafted and built to last. These pieces represent a much-needed antidote to decades of fast fashion and self-assembly furniture.

Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in 2023 and beyond.

A journalist asked me this recently, so I feel duty-bound to give the same answers I gave them. I’ll summarise:

  1. Escapism. Rooms that are transformed by mural wallpapers depicting dense foliage or cloud-covered temples – immersive and transportive scenes that speak to our senses and ignite our imaginations
  2. Playful shapes. Round headboards, cog-shaped mirrors, wiggly rugs, brightly patterned bolster cushions, scalloped stools – things that are childlike and fun to touch
  3. Comforting textures. Densely patterned wallpapers and fabrics, nubbly wools, brushed fringes – materials that beckon us to reach out and feel them
  4. Reimagined heritage colours. Deep blues, putty pinks, rich reds with mercurial magenta undertones – we’re going to see a lot of hues that create warm, soothing and inviting spaces
  5. Statement lighting. Arresting silhouettes and unusual materials will conspire to create increasingly imaginative lighting, statement pieces that’ll create strong focal points in the home.

If you could offer one piece of advice when it comes to design schemes, what would it be?
Be flexible. Take on board other people’s opinions. You won’t stop learning that way.

How important are The International Design & Architecture Awards?
Hugely important. The awards champion a global community of creative talent that – day in, day out – dedicates its life to designing, crafting, building and adorning beautiful, life-enhancing spaces. And it’s the only event I know of that exposes your work to tens of thousands of industry professionals for judging. You couldn’t ask for a more democratised system. It’s terrific.

What projects are Angel O’Donnell currently working on?
Everything’s happening right now. We’ve got two more apartments inside The OWO. A sub-penthouse at Triptych Bankside with jaw-unhinging views of the Thames and St. Paul’s. Two apartments in One Crown Place, in the City. A four-bed lateral apartment in Kensington. And a Cubist-inspired villa on the Greek island of Paros.

What was your favourite project to work on and why?
I loved working on The OWO, London’s former Old War Office. It’s a magnificent neo-baroque building in the heart of Whitehall, steeped in history, culture and glamour. An incredible space, which, after being closed to the public for over a century is now poised to open its doors to reveal 85 unique apartments, 30,000 sq. ft of residents-only amenities, a five-star Raffles hotel and eleven bars and restaurants. I can’t wait to make it one of my regular haunts.

What was your most challenging project to work on for Angel O’Donnell and why?
The Dumont on Albert Embankment was a challenge. We pitched, won and installed that project slap-bang in the middle of the first lockdown. Factories shut down, shipments got suspended, and the office we were renting at the time closed indefinitely. The only way around it was to design most of the furniture ourselves and find local artisans to make it. That way, we could circumvent the factory chaos and deliver a quality product on time. I’m pleased to say it worked.

Which products/services could you not live without when designing?
EstiMac. Not the most avant-garde answer – but we couldn’t do all the ordering and invoicing we do without it.

What are your aims and goals for the next twelve months?
I leave the future-planning to my business partner, Richard. For me, I just want to deliver on our promises and create the very best interiors for our clients. If, after twelve months, our clients are full of smiles, I’m happy.

Final thoughts; tell us a little more about yourself and your daily inspirations:

Your most treasured possession?
My partner bought me a vintage gold signet ring for Christmas – and I love it!

Your favourite holiday destination?
Havana, Cuba. Candy-coloured Buicks. Rumba, salsa and jazz playing on every street corner. Crumbling colonial architecture. It’s other-worldly.

Your favourite hotel, restaurant & bar?
– NoMad, NYC
– Paulette. It’s French – and my favourite cuisine is Italian – but it’s local to me in Maida Vale, cosy, intimate, with warm and friendly staff, and the cote de boeuf is deliriously good.
– DUKES London

Your favourite book, film & song?
– The New York Trilogy, Paul Auster
– All About My Mother, Pedro Almodóvar
– Like A Prayer, Madonna

Your favourite food and drink?
– Italian
– Negroni

Your favourite way to spend an afternoon?
Recklessly long lunches with friends are hard to beat.

If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?

A failed musical theatre performer.

Anything else interesting?
I think I’ve given quite enough away.

Angel O’Donnell


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