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Marble has long defined luxurious interiors, from grand museums to stately homes. Stone Studios, an emerging Middle Eastern brand, turns the timeless material into statement furniture and accessories for thoroughly modern spaces.
Stephanie Sayar and Charbel Garibeh are the Lebanese creatives behind Sayar & Garibeh. They recently received a huge boost in terms of global awareness when their brand was one of ten selected by Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana to contribute to D&G Casa, for whom they created…
It was over twenty-five years ago that Hamad Sultan (above) and Achille Rossini first met as students at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design). Then, after they both graduated in 2000, they ended up getting recruited by the same architecture firm in Boston – NADAAA (formerly Office dA). …
Blending Roman, Byzantine, Persian, Ottoman and Berber influences, this retro-modern Middle Eastern inspired bathroom by Axor is the creation of Tehran-born, Hamburg-based architect Hadi Teherani. The brief was to design a “bathroom with personality” and Teherani’s response was an uncon…
Mandarin Oriental Jumeira commissioned Emirati designer Aljoud Lootah to create its bespoke fan. Renowned for collectable objects that reinterpret Emirati heritage in a contemporary light, she was the first from the nation acquired by an international museum.
Spread across ten beautifully curated rooms, the biggest challenge for Karim Abdul Muttalib and Ann Abukhalil, the two founders of K.A. Interiors, was to make sure the entire villa reflected a unified theme while still giving each room its unique character and identity. To fulfil their …
They say a home isn’t just where you are, it is who you are. In the case of The Lost House in London, possessing the title deeds to such a pad will, ipso facto, make you a chef-d’oeuvre. Designed by the Ghanaian-British architect Sir David Adjaye, it is such a triumph in spa…
WHAT WAS THE MOTIVATION FOR BOTH OF YOU TO CHANGE CAREER PATHS FROM FILM TO DESIGN AND CREATE TOLLGÅRD DESIGN GROUP? [Staffan Tollgård] It was our first house project that was the catalyst for my move into the design world. Monique and I met in our twenties on the set of a low budget fe…
There’s something inherently cool about a material being manipulated in an unconventional way. The furniture by Swisspearl, Europe’s leading manufacturer of high-quality fibre cement, is a perfect example of that. Light and resistant, waterproof, durable and fully recyclable, the …
In a landscape where personalised customisation is everything, Sabrina Monteleone-Øeino's requests are dizzying. From four showrooms across the principality and Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat, her studio serves projects spanning high-end residential interiors and far beyond.
Bathtubs may be prosaic objects but that doesn’t mean you need to settle on any old plastic or porcelain model. Set your sights a little higher by looking for something made of acrylic, resin or even cultured marble. And if you have the means, then why not also consider a rock crystal b…
With its artistic collection of singular furniture, Boca do Lobo is now transforming insects into statement pieces. Portuguese company Boca do Lobo has released an unexpected collection of furniture and home accessories adorned with bugs, insects and other creepy crawlies – a veritable …
The Cambridge maker's Virtusos system lets any piano perform alone or improvise duets, while custom offshoot Goldfinch reimagines the instrument as a six-figure, handmade sculpture for the home.
Give your home the same attention you give your wardrobe. Matchesfashion.com now has homeware that’s as pretty as pret-a-porter. Clockwise, from top 1. Pillows, Preen by Thornton Bregazzi, 190 USD 2. Gucci tableware, from 165 to 475 USD 3. Espresso cup and saucer, Luke Edward Hall…
Named after Man Ray’s mistress, Kiki De Montparnasse is a NYC-based brand of high-end ‘sensual’ products. And while you could probably imagine the kind of the items they stock (things like lingerie, body oils, ticklers and toys) some, like this 10,000 USD chess set will take you by surp…
Photographer Marc Goodwin goes behind the scenes at the city’s best architecture firms.
Designers usually get all the glory, but it’s the craftsmen behind them who truly turn creative dreams into reality. Every once in a while, when they really break boundaries, these dedicated craftsmen appear in the limelight. It happened a few years ago, when Zaha Hadid wowed the design…
This spectacular console is the creation of Neal Aronowitz, a native of Brooklyn, who studied art and architecture in New York before settling in Oregon. It’s made from Concrete Canvas, a material that was pioneered and patented in the UK and consists of fabric impregnated with cement. …
It’s only been five years since Khaled El Mays launched his own furniture design brand but he’s already garnered an incredible amount of coverage with features in Wallpaper, The Observer, The Financial Times’ How to Spend It and Architectural Digest. The Lebanese designer’s …
The Beirut Design Fair aims to put Lebanese design on the international map and show that creativity is thriving despite the country’s multitude of challenges. Beirut has always been a lively Mediterranean nucleus of innovation but these days it seems there’s a design event almost…
When architect Nabil Gholam first saw Villa Z, an old abandoned house damaged by years of civil war and military occupation, it was far from love at first sight. From an architectural perspective, it was no gem, with a façade covered in rough stone coursing and a red tile roof that seem…
Mansoor Bhatti collects not things but people and their ideas. Through his Dubai-based creative agency Thingsbypeople, he has gathered a roster of international visual artists across photography, fashion, illustration, graffiti art and advertising.
Artistic and fantastical, Brand van Egmond's lamps and chandeliers challenge the very idea of the light fixture. The Dutch duo's whimsical creations, evoking the baroque and the gothic, have earned them commissions all over the world.
Louis Vuitton surprised us this year by collaborating with contemporary designers on a charming debut collection of foldable furniture and accessories, honouring the romantic gentleman adventurer of yesteryear who once called upon the famed trunk-maker.
Among the best-known names in bathroom fixtures and furniture, Duravit and sister company Hansgrohe are masters at persuading us to linger longer. Bespoke visits their Design Days in the sleepy southern German towns they call home.
London-based sculptor Arran Gregory applies faceted, mirrored surfaces to the forms of wild animals, yielding dramatic works that reflect both light and image. Alongside sits the Airocide, a purifier first designed for the Space Station.
From a petite Chelsea flagship, De Gournay is two decades into reviving the chinoiserie and hand-painted panoramic wallpapers that adorned Europe's grandest salons in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, when trade routes to Asia first opened.
Japanese architect Tadao Ando makes masterpieces in concrete. Here, Official Bespoke takes a look at his recently completed Pringiers House in Sri Lanka. I remember the first time I saw a piece of Tadao Ando. I was visiting a friend in one of the lower-rise, village-like neighbourhoods …
Bespoke speaks to vanguard designer Karen Chekerdjian about her lovingly crafted handmade objects and her influence in the design world. There is something raw about Karen Chekerdjian’s store. There’s her logo etched into the floor that you stumble upon as you enter and the dictum facin…
A clock that costs as much as a house and a bed clad in twenty-four carats: we gather the heaviest, boldest and most extravagantly gilded objects, where Stuart Hughes and Hebanon push opulence to its glittering limit.
Karim Munib meets Dutch architect Janjaap Ruijssenaars, whose magnetic, levitating bed can carry nine hundred kilograms. Six years in the making, it asks whether a piece of furniture might be ruled by something other than gravity.
Luxury tableware is perhaps the ultimate statement a host can make. Delicate, handcrafted pieces suggest an attention to detail and an appreciation of the finer things in life. Here, Bespoke takes a look at some of the most inspired knives and forks out there.
It’s a Baby Girl, King of Pop, Pretty Woman: their names sound more like tabloid headlines than pieces of furniture – but perhaps that’s because furniture label ByKal is also always trying to grab your attention. Khalid Sharan, the Amman-based brand’s designer is renowned for creating piec
More subtle and diffusive than perfume, scented candles can entirely transform the atmosphere of a space, and the mood of the people within it. Yet all scented candles are not created equal.
What Armani Casa Since 2000 Where Rubaiyat (Jeddah and Riyadh), Dubai, Manama, Living In (Cairo and Doha) Why In bringing to Armani Casa his signature sophistication and timeless elegance, Armani has transcended fashion to become an all-inclusive luxury lifestyle brand. www.armanicasa.com
For decades we have dressed ourselves in the latest designer prints. The new trend however, is dressing your home in them. For the upcoming season, see what the biggest fashion houses have to offer.
It has always been a confusing business buying the right flatware sets. Whether it’s a special occasion like a wedding anniversary or just a casual get-together with friends, having the right silver speaks volumes about you to your guests. Bespoke helps you choose the best.
Furnishing your apartment can be a logistical nightmare, especially if you spend most of your time at work. Enter Move-in, the one-stop-furniture-package-shop that promises to have you moved in within a couple of weeks as Bespoke discovers.
It can be said that once an MP3 player enters the two-year lifespan, it is already obsolete, whereas Reuge’s old fashioned 1865 and Singing Bird music-box collections add charm to tradition, and pay homage to meticulous craftsmanship, says Riwa Beydoun.
Buying yourself some fine linens sounds easy enough but knowing the great from the good is not so simple. Bespoke sorts out the best luxury linen and home bedding brands, leaving you to lie back and imagine floating in the clouds.
Sweet North Africa Better known as Ameliorata or Mignonette, this sweet smelling flower can trace its origins to the Maghreb. Though better suited for the garden, you can also cut the stems and plant them for indoor use during the winter months. It first appeared on European shores in 1750
Very few old art forms have made it into our décor conscience quite as successfully as mosaics. From a lion’s head, to personal portraits and new age designs, mosaics are making quite a big comeback as Rana Ballout uncovers.
For Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, founders of D&G, bringing their signature style to a home line was something they’d always wanted to do. But, what would have been a natural progression had to be sped up after Covid-19. “The circumstances we experienced during the pande…