A London flat where past and present are skilfully interwoven
Interior designer Ebba Thott tentatively describes herself as 'a Londoner', 'I hope that's OK?' she says. 'I used to live in New York, and you had to live there for 10 years before you could say you were a New Yorker.' Fortunately, here, all that's required for acceptance as a designer is the ability to deliver a look that matches the moment.
In fact, Ebba, the Swedish-born co-founder of the King's Road shop and interior-design firm Sigmar, moved to London in 2001, but long before she'd served a decade-long apprenticeship she'd established herself as someone who understood the exacting demands of the capital's cosmopolitan homeowners.
Sigmar, named for the German artist Sigmar Polke - 'because his work was both poetic and beautiful' - is known for its intelligent take on modernism and sophisticated blend of the vintage and the now. 'Though we're associated with modernist design, we don't have a style,' says Ebba; 'it's more about soul. I believe in beauty and personality.'
Her latest project - a two-bedroom flat in west London - is certainly a happy incarnation of this credo. The flat is owned by a fellow 'Londoner', an American with a dynamic career and a fine collection of contemporary art, and Ebba's brief was to help her transform a bare, bland space into something infinitely more individual. 'The client is tremendously creative and well travelled,' says Ebba, 'and she was looking for something that was a true reflection of who she is.'
At the entrance to the flat, Ebba has cleverly used the front hall, often a cold and neglected space, to define a mood of mellow warmth and welcome. 'You need to be able to walk in, take your shoes off and put your keys down,' she says, 'Though the flat is in a Victorian building, I wanted it to have the feel of Thirties Vienna.'
This Mittel-European flavour was achieved by painting the walls a smoky mushroom and equipping the wide hallway with a traditional iron radiator, a Thonet bench and overhead lighting that casts a gentle, golden glow. 'We also inset the floor with stone. It adds a sense of grandeur and provides a different sound effect,' says Ebba.
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The high-ceilinged, first-floor flat already possessed a fine bone structure, with large sash windows and ample light, but Ebba's training in spatial design enabled her to tighten up the lines and make the layout more coherent. Most of the rooms feed on to a wide spinal corridor, and here Ebba brought a series of overhead arches into alignment to create a gallery-like walkway, ideal for displaying some of the larger pieces in the owner's collection. Additionally, the main bedroom, originally an awkward rectangle, was rearranged into an elegant square by the addition of two large, walk-in wardrobes either side of the doorway. 'It's all about the way you move,' says Ebba. 'The wardrobes create a sense of entrance.'
Ebba likes to work closely with clients to ensure she captures their taste and personality. 'Often people know what they like; they just need it to be clarified,' she remarks. 'I like to throw the ball and get it back.'
She also likes to run with it. 'Here, for example, I found a rug for the sitting room, which I thought would work brilliantly. It's classy but quirky, a real conversation piece, and I knew the client would be able to deal with it. It adds a real element of fun.'
Customers of the Sigmar shop, who include Manolo Blahnik and Claudia Schiffer, are attracted by a style that unites outstanding pieces of current design with mid-century first editions. And here, too, Ebba has interwoven past and present to create something entirely original.
In the spare room, for example, a steel four-poster bed, a modern take on a timeless classic, sits comfortably alongside a custom-coloured blue-and-white chintz by Marthe Armitage. 'It's a print with a vintage feel which reminded the owner of her parents' house, but it's still a very modern choice,' says Ebba.
The main reception rooms demonstrate a similarly strong orchestration. The expansive drawing room has been given a period infrastructure with reclaimed oak floorboards, a library of bookshelves and made-to-measure shutters, but these country-house basics are then cleverly counteracted by the latest in furniture and lighting. In the kitchen, the traditional-modern index is reversed: streamlined Bulthaup units supply a strong geometric backdrop, which is softened by an antique French dining table, and chairs by modernist master Hans Wegner. 'It's a big, country-style kitchen,' says Ebba, 'with a city edge.'
For Ebba, the look is unwaveringly about counterpoint. 'It's "mix and match", rather than "matchy-matchy."' For the designer, of course, the trick is then to find the right balance between disparate and disarray.
Here, colour is one of the keys to unity, and throughout the flat Ebba has used a soft, natural palette - taupe and aqua, stone and earth - from Sigmar's newly launched Dama Collection. 'In Sweden you are constantly aware of light,' she says. 'I like soothing shades.'
Pattern is also a consistent theme and Ebba likes to use often-neglected spaces to take the most daring decorative risks. 'The cloakroom is somewhere people are often prepared to go crazy,' she says. Here, this small room has been given a big sense of adventure by a collage of handmade 'Blueware' tiles by Tim Simpson and Sarah van Gameren at Glithero, made by pressing weeds from London pavements between plates of glass to develop photograms in intense Prussian blue.
Clearly, the old adage 'something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue' is as appropriate for the London interior today as it always has been for brides.
Paul Massey1/10The long spinal corridor, looking towards the drawing room, doubles as a gallery for the owner's collection of contemporary art.
Paul Massey2/10The floor of the entrance hall, looking out to the terrace, has been inset with stone.
Paul Massey3/10The double steel doors leading to the terrace were designed by Ebba to give access from the main corridor.
Paul Massey4/10The drawing-room shutters are painted in 'Cocoa' from the Damo Collection by Sigmar; the rug is 'Baba Cool Ill', at Tim Page Carpets.
Paul Massey5/10In the drawing room, the grey, woollen poof is by Christien Meindertsma for Thomas Eyck.
Paul Massey6/10The doors opening from the drawing room into the kitchen are framed by custom-built shelving, which, including the ladder that slides along a rail, was designed by Sigmar.
Paul Massey7/10In the kitchen, the antique bench is from Arcadia Antiques in Marlow; the cushion is covered in fabric from an antique Mexican bedcover.
Paul Massey8/10The antique French kitchen table has been waxed and is lit from above by Builes Lighting by Reflex.
Paul Massey9/10In the spare bedroom, the bedcover is by Holland & Sherry through Lelievre in Paris.
Paul Massey10/10The cloakroom has a collage of handmade 'Blueware' tiles by Tim Simpson and Sarah van Gameren at Glithero, made by pressing weeds from London pavements between glass plates to develop photograms.
