Grant White, renowned interior designer and founder of Grant White Design Ltd, is the mastermind behind Flemings’ recent multi-million pound luxury refurbishment.
Born and educated in South Africa, Grant moved to London in 1989, where his enviable portfolio has flourished to include an array of houses and apartment projects in London, New York, Paris, Cannes, Mexico City, Mustique, Sun Valley, Perth, a chateau in the Loire; and numerous super yachts, restaurants, nightclubs and hotels.
Having worked closely with Flemings throughout the re-design project, Grant has infused his eclectic style to bring touches of the contemporary with the traditional, capturing the essence of 1950’s elegance. Over-sized classic furniture shapes, and a striking, contemporary colour scheme of fuschia pinks, teal blues and acid greens have been playfully employed to bring a fresh look to the hotel’s public areas.
Fresh from overseeing a project in France, we caught up with Grant in the Flemings Front Room to gain an insight behind his work on the hotel’s revamp.
What was your inspiration behind the design of the public spaces?
The configuration and layout of the spaces lent themselves to creating a series of intimate interconnected spaces and I wanted each of these to have their own character and yet have elements which linked them all together. Overall I wanted to infuse the spaces with glamour, and having grown tired of the tiresome vogue for all these beige, it was wonderful opportunity to work with vibrant colours to create dramatic interiors. I also wanted to capture the glamour of Mayfair in the fifties and sixties.
Which materials did you employ in the design and what are their origins?
We used a large number of different materials and fittings – creating a great variety of surface texture. We also used a number of reflective surfaces, mirrors, gold and silver leafed walls and ceiling coverings, all our fabrics are multi textured and richly coloured. The fabrics came from Osborne and Little, Pierre Frey and Harlequin; wallpapers from Jack Lenor Larsen and Phillip Jeffries, custom carpets from West End Carpets; Chris Lewis from Lighting Design International developed innovative solutions for the lighting, giving us a range of different mood settings and possibilities. The furniture was all custom made for the spaces by Bourne Furniture.
How would you describe the colour schemes used?
All of the colour and fabric schemes were chosen to create as complex and sophisticated an interior as possible. Throughout the hotel, surfaces gleam and glisten, with bold contrasts in both colour and texture – a restrained opulence prevails…..
What was your biggest challenge with the project?
The ceiling heights on the lower ground floor are not particularly high, hence it was a challenge fitting the air conditioning ducting and lighting into as tight a space as possible to minimise the loss of height in these spaces.
Which would you say is your favourite room in the hotel?
I love the front room; with the reflective golden tones of the Phillip Jefferies papered ceilings, striped charcoal grey Jack Lenor Larsen wallpaper, and veritable explosion of vivid fabrics by Osborne and Little, Harlequin Harris and Pierre Frey. That said though, I also love the private dining room!
How would you describe the overall re-design in three words?
GLAMOUR! GLAMOUR! GLAMOUR!
