Highbury Apartment by Holloway Li Features Brightly Coloured Interior

“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.”

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”.

“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.”

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.

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.

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.”

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.”