Inside Artemest's London penthouse

Colour Chameleon

Artemest’s penthouse at London’s Embassy Gardens designed by Róisín Lafferty is a masterclass in contemporary comfort

To enter this penthouse apartment, one starts at the ground floor reception of a glass-and steel-framed building akin to a hotel. The concierge rises from his seat with a nod, and leads the way to the elevator, pressing the button before ushering you inside. A short ascent and you arrive at a courtyard garden, at the other side of which is a door to a private lift. The elevator doors slide open and a contemporary vision of earthy minimalism appears – a palette conceived by Irish designer Róisín Lafferty, whose warm but understated backdrop frames a space furnished entirely by Artemest, the Italian online design platform whose curation segues from design classics to murano glasses and handmade plates.

The Artemest apartment, a real-life showcase for the brand, is the crowning glory of Embassy Gardens – a Ballymore development that has already grabbed headlines for its sky pool, a glass bottomed swimming pool stretching mid air across two buildings (not recommended for those with vertigo) – and is for sale for £7mn with every chair, plate and swathes of fabric included in the price. It also has the most striking vista of the new American Embassy - an urban fortress with a transparent, crystalline cubic form atop a colonnade that rises enigmatically above Nine Elms – a Thameside cityscape rapidly changing through regeneration.

The dining table, a piece constructed entirely in travertine, is positioned with direct views of this sculptural edifice, and is anchored in the open plan space by a geometric chandelier of conical glass – its design echoing the Embassy’s cuboid facade. The adjoining kitchen, framed by floor-to-ceiling windows, is light-filled and the inspired addition of mirror backsplashes amplify space and light.

Lafferty, who is something of a colour virtuoso and has her own paint collection, which were used throughout, drew from the shifting colours of the sky for the palette, which soaks in the changing light and subtly shifts through earthy tones from room to room, instilling a pervading sense of calm. Accents of umber, chosen for the fabric on the undulating sofa lift and elevate the scheme, which is charged by accents of red - a bowl on the table and just a hint beneath the lid of the grand piano. The materials tie everything together. “Everything here is anchored in warm terracotta, walnut, brass accents and layered upholstery,” Lafferty says.

She is a designer of details. A set of doors concealed in the shelving system guides you through to the more intimate areas of the home, where the colour of the walls deepens: the muted tone renders as a warm neutral despite the deep, sultry tone. The study-office area feels like a secret den, cosy and hidden, and the bedroom scheme beautifully skirts a fine line between soothing and visual assault - a triptych artwork amps up the space and the painted ceiling closes it down; a lesson in colour drenching and cocooning. The views along the Thames are a constant theme - all the rooms (there are four bedrooms and five bathrooms) are dual aspect. 

The apartment is essentially a duplex, which stretches across the 17th and 18th floors of the development. Its crowning glory is the top-floor entertaining space, complete with a bar and snaking seating wrapped by views - it  resembles a swanky members club. Looking out over the river, skyscrapers in the distance, glass in hand, it’s almost impossible not to imagine how you could come up with a scheme to make this apartment your own.