Highbury Apartment by Holloway Li Features Brightly Coloured Interior

Holloway Li has revamped its Highbury Apartment at a Victorian terrace property in north London. The open-plan layout is intended as an “experimental ground” to develop Holloway Li‘s product ranges and domestic design solutions. The design is tied together by its daring colour palette and adventurous materiality, balancing heritage with hospitality interior extravagance. Holloway Li designed the kitchen in a way that’s informed by London’s fast-food outlets. The furniture at Highbury Apartment was custom-made by the studio to suit the interior.

Warm, vibrant open-plan living space with wooden beams, bright furnishings, and modern kitchen.
“The apartment was an opportunity to test ideas in the field of hospitality and, more specifically, in a domestic environment,” the studio told us.

“It is our constant inspiration and innovation in domestic and interior details, which allows us to constantly test new ideas in real environments, making our interiors evolve with this approach.”

Warm, cozy living space with wooden beams, colorful furniture, and large windows.

Open-Plan Layout

The practice teamed up with Lykke Studio to open up the space by removing the “dividing walls”, introducing a kitchen and a made-to-measure bathtub in the open-plan living and dining area.

The team aimed to create a space for its leader and creative director Alex Holloway to “work, live, entertain and bathe in the open plan”.

Rustic wood ceiling beams contrast with sleek stainless steel kitchen appliances.

“There were partitions in the main living area that divided the space into rooms and Alex made the decision to open it all up into one living kitchen and dining room,” the practice said. 

“We also decided to add a window in the kitchen and then followed on from that the idea came to create a triple-aspect living room by creating a glass border wall between the bedroom and the living space.”

A modern, minimalist kitchen with stainless steel cabinetry, sleek appliances, and wooden accents.

Retro Kitchen Design

Alex Holloway drew from London’s fast-food culture as inspiration for the kitchen design, taking cues from 1990s-style kebab outlets.

The designer intended to add “a cultural context to the kitchen that resonated with London’s residents” and capture the atmosphere of a night out in the area.

“Holloway’s kitchen is inspired by Alex’s childhood growing up in the area and spending late Friday and Saturday nights out with his friends,” the studio told us.

The design features a stainless steel splashback, whose curves are repeated in limestone skirting along the perimeter of the main living room.

A cozy bedroom with a framed fan artwork, books, and a patterned lamp on a colorful nightstand.
Other customisable details in the property include “offcuts” and “samples” of marble, which are repurposed in the kitchen and living room – with the latter’s central coffee table and bespoke furniture.

Meanwhile, some furniture pieces are recycled and custom-made. From the sleek resin tabletop to a lime-green-coloured T4 chair, holloway designed them in collaboration with London-based Uma.

Vibrant bathroom with striking orange tile, minimalist concrete vanity, and natural stone sink.

The property also features materials, including “raw plaster and micro-cement”, that contrast with “high-end marble or highly polished elements” throughout.

“The design might be ‘loud’ but still, a balance was created through the use of these padded layers of decorative patterns.”

Rustic and cozy bathroom with wooden ceiling beams, large window, and modern decor.
Sustainable innovation in furniture and interior décor designs are important for the practice, and an element Holloway considers when designing new products such as the T4 chair.

“We demonstrate our creativity through constant learning and focusing on improving innovative designs for our clients,” said Holloway Li.

“We would like to continue testing these innovations and we are particularly excited to test our designs and ideas for future launches on a domestic scale in the flat.”

Cozy bathroom with rustic wooden chair, potted plants, and modern white tub.

Founded by Alex Holloway and Na Li in 2015, the practice experiments with textures, surfaces, and colours.

Photography by Edmund Dabney
Visit Holloway Li

- by Matt Watts

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