A duplex at 60 Curzon in Mayfair, London W1, has been given a softer, more personal interior by design studio Elicyon, Tatler Asia reports. The apartment is used as a pied-à-terre by an international family of four from Southeast Asia when they visit the city.
The building and the brief
60 Curzon is a luxury residential development described as a contemporary, Art Deco-inspired addition to the Mayfair streetscape. It was designed by French architect Thierry Despont. The 5,000 sq ft garden apartment has four bedrooms, multiple reception spaces and a private terrace that extends towards a shared garden.
Charu Gandhi, founder and director of Elicyon, said the home had to feel familiar and personal even though it is not the family's main residence. She said it also had to adapt between quiet weekends, extended family stays and larger entertaining, without feeling formal or hotel-like.
On the architecture, Gandhi said: "Our role was very much about softening and humanising the architecture, while being careful not to lean into pastiche." The Art Deco influences remain, but are expressed through craftsmanship and proportion rather than obvious motifs.
Living spaces
The main living room uses warm neutrals, with accents of moss green, caramel, burnt umber and aubergine. Its layout is slightly unconventional and angled, with a pair of bespoke sofas that allow an easy flow onto the terrace. Gandhi named it as her favourite room in the home.
The kitchen has rich timber cabinetry softened with marble tops. In the dining area, a bespoke three-metre table in oak and walnut has subtle scalloped detailing along its edges. Elicyon said the detail was inspired by something the client had found themselves.
Bespoke details
- In the entrance, a curved burr walnut bench upholstered in aubergine mohair hides shoe storage behind sliding plinth doors.
- A handmade ceramic-tiled credenza was developed with artisan Fanny Schultz and the studio's bespoke joiner.
- Textured linens and tactile wools sit alongside figured timbers, with mirrored glass and glazed ceramics used sparingly to draw light deeper into the apartment.
- The bedrooms use warm, richly toned linens instead of the more usual white, with cushions kept pared back.
Art placement
Art is hung with some playfulness. In the guest suite, a triptych is stacked along the side wall rather than centred above the bed. In the principal dressing room, a key artwork is offset to line up with the doorway, so it appears as a framed vista from the bathroom. Frames include a salmon terracotta one with an exaggerated border around a small plaster relief dragonfly tile, and a gold-leaf frame holding an off-centre painting.
Gandhi said these touches avoid the predictable and turn movement through the apartment into "a sequence of quietly orchestrated experiences".
Photo: Ewan-M, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Openverse.
