This historic, Grade II listed Butler’s Wharf penthouse is located on Shad Thames - a beautiful cobbled street that runs from Tower Bridge to St Saviour’s Dock.

The building is part of a collection of restored 19th century Tea Trade warehouses, that have preserved their original features, such as iron bridges and overhead goods gantries, making it an architecturally impressive sighting.

The area is known to house luxury apartments, restaurants, and fashionable boutiques. Architect Sir Terence Conran, was one of the first to help the restoration of the wharf in the 1980s. He opened the Design Museum there, which has now been relocated to Kensington, as well as restaurants such as the Butler’s Wharf Chop House and Le Pont de la Tour.

We were commissioned by our new client to refurbish her four-bedroom penthouse apartment located in this iconic residency. As part of this we are responsible for the interior architecture of the project, including the design direction and proposals for the flat, overseeing installation, as well as the specification of all of the furniture, fabrics and materials used.

Coming from a South African background, our client emphasised that she wanted colours to be at the forefront of her space. They are what makes her happy and it was important for her interiors to match her self-expression. This was a contrast to most other interiors we have done in the past.

Consequently, we had to understand exactly what the client wanted and incorporate it in a way that would create balance and harmony so that the interiors would not be cluttered or overwhelming.

This project pushed our boundaries, however, the daring palette, is a challenge we warmly accepted. Wallpapers and textiles in this apartment are important features, that set the colour schemes for each room.

In our design proposals, the powder room specifically allowed us to explore louder vivid colour combinations through intensely patterned Pierre Frey wallpaper, lit crystal mood basin by Antonio Lupi and textured chevron tiles from Mutina. We did not want the décor and furniture to overpower any of these details so finding pieces that add tranquillity and balance into the space is essential for this project.