The entrance hall is painted a deep brown – Douglas used colours by the French manufacturer Argile throughout – and furnished simply with two antique tortoiseshell-veneered chairs and a vintage Swedish rug from Nazmiyal in New York. The broad sweep of dark paint brings out details such as the rug’s veining and the elegant curves of the chairs, demonstrating how Douglas treats negative space as carefully as surface.
The colour scheme leads seamlessly through to the drawing room, which is divided from the dining area by pocket doors. Sofas and armchairs are upholstered in George Spencer velvets in rust and green, with cushions in Prelle velvet, which, Douglas explains, is ‘one of my favourite velvets of all time, giving a feel of the 1920s’. Here, his layering of colour and texture is almost musical – velvet, lacquer, bronze – with each note expertly com-posed. A comfortable Svenskt Tenn daybed has been placed in front of the window and as it is low, it does not block the view.
Astrid Templier
In the dining room, a bespoke eucalyptus table by Simon Orrell Designs is surrounded by custom chairs upholstered in aniline leather, which had previously been in the interior designer’s own flat. The kitchen is similarly stylish yet simple, with an island in Calacatta Oro marble and chairs by Otzi, lit by Nymphenburg porcelain pendants. A vibrant, abstract aquatint by the French artist Max Papart hangs above the chimneypiece.
The colours chosen for the rest of the flat are equally restful: the walls of the three bedrooms are in Osborne & Little’s ‘Kanoko Cork’ wallcovering, featuring cork tiles over metallic grounds that glimmer in hues from mustard to terracotta. A 20th-century Japanese screen hangs over the bed in the main bedroom, which is flanked by bedside tables from Fabrizio Casiraghi. All the linen is from Bruder. There is precision in these rooms: a palette confined yet layered, each surface given space to shine.
As you walk through the space, it feels as though you are seeing the collection of an individual, accumulated over time or on a Grand Tour, rather than the work of a designer. In reality, it is testament to the knowledge and unerring eye of Douglas – and the trust placed in him by the flat’s owners.