An Apartment Where Shape Is Another Material To Play With
Look closer at this apartment — the more you peer, the more you’ll see. At first glance, it seems sophisticated, elegant, all the things we associate with London studio Elicyon. But on further inspection you’ll start to notice details that give this brand-new development character and depth: the way the cornicing is coated in textured Bauwerk paint, the way the furniture has some surprising zig-zag shapes.
“These apartments come with a classic-contemporary approach to design, meaning that they’re really a canvas to add personality to,” says Elicyon’s founder Charu Gandhi. And it’s the ways she has found to do that which saw the Livingetc Style Award judges place this project firmly onto the shortlist for House of the Year. “I’m so impressed by just how many layers there are here, just how many unexpected textures and shapes shine through,” said our interiors editor and Awards judge Emma Breislin.
Here, Charu takes you through the apartment in her own words.
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Entryway
Wallcovering, Dedar. Console, Tom Faulkner.
(Image credit: Astrid Templier. Design: Elicyon)
The entryway immediately sets the tone for the whole scheme, with a subtle pattern in the tiger-print wallpaper and an unexpected moment in the dark red gloss cupboards.
“I just love that wallpaper; it has a sheen that enhances the pattern,” Charu says. “And that shimmer bounces off the gleam of gloss cupboards. I thought the use of high shine here could turn something as utilitarian as a coat closet into a space that was actually quite fun.”
Another key detail — the sculptural console — is at once heavy in its use of twisted metal for the base, and yet also light thanks to its cutaways through each leg. “We really tried to bring in boldness as much through shape as with color, and the entryway console is a prime example of that,” says Charu.
Living Room
Wallpaper, Fromental. Ceiling light, Artemest.
(Image credit: Astrid Templier. Design: Elicyon)
“The family that owns this apartment bought it because they are downsizing and wanted something functional that they could lock up and go,” Charu says. “The client loves design and is brave with color, so we were able to flex a little with our choices.”
“She’s really into jewel tones,” she continues, “and we felt emerald green would be a bit too much here, but that this magnificent Fromental wallpaper would work instead. That blue feels grown-up, tailored, calm, but with depth. It has a richness to it, and it turns what could be a flat wall into something you could look at a lot.”
Being a downsized flat, the layout is open-plan, and Charu felt that hiding the TV was more chic than being able to see it from every part of the kitchen and dining space, too. “The panels are covered in a custom wallpaper design, but they’re so pretty they look and feel like art,” Charu says.
Living and Dining Area
Sofa, custom designed by Elicyon. Dining chairs, Tom Faulkner.
(Image credit: Astrid Templier. Design: Elicyon)
From the other angle, you can start to see how the layout — and Charu’s design ideas — unfold. The Bauwerk texture on the cornicing encloses this modern space, giving it a sense of history and time, while the rich mustards and blues on the upholstery help create a gentle sense of luxury.
“We really talked a lot about how the client was going to use the space,” Charu says. “They wanted to be able to chill by the dining table, for it to not always be a formal entertaining space. And so to keep it loose, we added the bench on one side, which can be lounged on, and is less rigid than just chairs.”
In fact, the chairs are another example of the structural shapes Charu felt were key to making this project work. “We wanted to have interesting geometries everywhere, and those wonderful chairs let so much light flow through their jutting arms and legs,” she says. “They make that corner seem very airy.”
Kitchen
Pendant lights, Lee Broom.
(Image credit: Astrid Templier/Design by Elicyon)
Despite working so perfectly with the scheme that the terracotta cabinets look like an Elicyon design choice, they were in fact inherited along with the development.
“The apartment came like that, and the client was so scared that they wouldn’t work and would need to be repainted,” Charu says. “But instead we found ways to match the terracotta to the brown of the upholstery on the bar stools, to offset the gold twinkle of the light. We found a way to make them seem intentional.”
Ottoman in fabric by Dedar. Bench in fabric by Schumacher.
(Image credit: Astrid Templier. Design: Elicyon)
This could easily have been a guest bedroom, but instead it has been repurposed into a TV room, snug, relaxation area, and all-round space to hunker down in (in fact, the built-in sofa is purposefully wide enough to be a bed if need be).
“One of my favorite details is how there are shelves that can pull out of the joinery and be used as sofa arms, if you need them,” Charu says. The scalloped wood at the top of the cupboards was a pleasing decorative addition, too, but it has a function, too. “Oh, they hide the air con units,” Charu says.
Main Bedroom
Bedside table and headboard custom designed by Elicyon. Pendant light, Heathfield Rayne. Armchair and footstool, Divergent by Martha Delgado.
(Image credit: Astrid Templier. Design: Elicyon)
This is another space you need to look closely at to fully appreciate the details. It may look fairly neutral, but actually the terracotta tones of the headboard and chair intentionally call back to the color of the kitchen cabinets.
“This was another space we really went all out with geometries in,” Charu says. “We didn’t want to be too bold with color, so instead we played with shape, from the jutting angles of the nightstand to the unusual chair. It all gives character, but not too much for a space you want to sleep in.”
“This apartment has an overall feeling of joy,” Charu says, and that is why the judges were drawn to place it on the shortlist of our House of the Year award, bestowing it with Highly Commended. “So often, the idea of downsizing has negative connotations, implying that you’re slowing down or perhaps moving towards the end of your life, but that’s not the vibe we wanted here,” says Charu. “We wanted an uplifting jewel box.”
Through sensitive color choices and gleeful use of shape, Elicyon has done just that: a mood-boosting apartment with intricate details that reveal themselves slowly, a treasure trove as much as a jewel box.
See the House of the Year and other homes on the shortlist here.
