Jimmie Martin - Belgrave Place
Jimmie Martin has been an established luxury brand since 2004. Based in London, United Kingdom, Jimmie Martin’s main focus is on hand painted pieces of furniture. They are best know for transforming pieces of furniture into unique one-off pieces that become personal to their clients. The majority of their pieces made today are commissions. When placing a commission, the client has an extensive choice from a wide range of frames, fabrics and finishes, all while being guided through the process to ensure the right pieces and the right finishes are chosen. The team at Jimmie Martin is happy to discuss any type of projects with you and work towards a proposal that will fit your individual requirements.
What is the profile of the owner for Belgrave Place?
This client is a 35 year old single female, who has several properties around the world. She has a huge interest in art, fashion and she travels a lot. She is also an investor in several art / fashion / property businesses.
The client purchased this property seven years ago but had never lived in it. Whilst being out of the country for the past few years, the client had initially hired another interior design company to refurbish this apartment but on her return she came back to something she was not happy with. It was all very boring and bland, especially for such a grand property in such a prime central London location.
So she asked if we could help her finish her home and make it as she wanted it, as she was clearly struggling herself even though she knew what she liked and what she didn’t like. Jimmie Martin was introduced to the project and basically started again, taking away features that the previous designers had just installed, to become more coordinated with flow to suit her taste and lifestyle.
The entrance hall is generous in size, both width and height, therefore making it feel very light and airy. Jimmie felt the space could take a dark teal against the dark wooden floors for a dramatic start to the apartment. Just off the entrance hall are now a pair of oversized hand carved doors in to the dining room. This is a decadent space with deep button pink velvet dining chairs, perfect for long intimate dinner parties. The client’s photography was the perfect backdrop for this space. The walls and brick work has been painted a dark shade of grey to give it a more moody feel. A black and white geometric pattern specially made of carpet was made to make a statement.
A theatrical bottle green velvet curtain draped to one side of the window adds another pop of color and texture, contrasting against the painted grey brickwork. It bounces off the modern staircase monochromatic carpet which leads you upstairs. A large glass chandelier hangs like a large earring close to a pair of love chairs in teal velvet making the space feel more club lounge like than an entrance hall.
Sitting Room
This space was originally the kitchen and dining room, but it was moved down to the ground floor to make space for a living room/TV room. The room was all white with a recently installed but dated stone brick wall put in with a fireplace as a big feature wall. We needed all new pieces for this space to make it a cozy room, a specific request from the client. The extra deep purple velvet sofa we designed and had made for the space. At five meters long it can host a lot of people and ends up a great entertaining casual but comfortable space.
We decided to get rid of all the white walls and ceiling in the room and focus on the client's bright and fun artwork and the most comfortable sofa ever. With the very dark walls and ceiling and dark spotlights each item in this room stands out and becomes a piece of art on its own whether it’s the sofa, or a special artwork or even the bookcase or the staircase. We created a very warm and comfortable entertaining space for the client whether it is to snuggle up on the sofa and watch a movie, or to sit and have drinks with friends. We chose to coordinate it with the rest of the house by using venetian blinds as window treatments in all the rooms to soften each space and allow for flexibility with the light coming in as well as for privacy.
Kitchen
We created a large enough kitchen for the clients use and needs but it didn’t need to include a dining area as the dining room was right next door. There are now plenty of useful worktop surfaces creating a light and airy feel. Exposing the bare brick wall and using muted color tones we created a more arty and urban feel to make sure that the kitchen design wasn’t neglected and fitted well in with the rest of the property’s style We painted one wall petrol blue which links to the hallway while concealing a secret door into the separate preparation kitchen and staff quarters.
Master Bedroom Suite
This was a very important and special room for the client. We wanted to create a space where she could come home and feel cocooned from the outside world in a glamorous space fit for a princess where she could relax and just be. A dreamy, cozy and comfortable space.
Pale grey painted walls, with grey straight drapes on each window for extra warmth and the clients most favorite color… pink! We used a more dusty pink and her other favorite pattern.. leopard!
Master Bathroom
Black painted panelled wall with black mosaic. Special made mirror bathroom cabinet with a basin. The Venetian mirror can be ordered from Jimmie Martin.
White Guest Bedroom
The only thing the client wanted to keep in this room was the turquoise Cavalli bedspread and pillows and the vintage movie poster she had on the wall. This is the only room we decided to keep the stark white walls and play with the contrast of the bright color injections in the floral Cavalli throw and pillows. We introduced more colors such as the soft pinks, turquoise and greens and broke it all off completely with black and white geometric rug to give a modern overall feel. The aim was to create a modern, luxurious and fun room but still relaxing and a place to escape.
White Bathroom
We used wallpaper by Kelly Wearstler from one of her old collections to tie in the geometric pattern from the bedroom. Accents of turquoise were also used to add to the contrast.
Downstairs Hallway
We wanted to create a hallway that didn’t just become a corridor to connect the bedrooms. So we painted all the walls and ceiling a dark grey and covered the walls with parts of the client’s art collection to create a gallery-like space. With spotlights highlighting each piece of art it creates a moody and glamorous feel. There used to be a wooden staircase with a big glass banister linking the ground floor with the lower ground floor, which we had carpeted in a vibrant deep purple. The glass banister was gold leafed to give the extra sharpness and a kick to the space, along with three white neon tubes for the extra cool factor. Artworks including Peter Blake.
The client loves her newly designed duplex apartment and says it has made a complete difference to how she feels there and how she uses her home. Jimmie Martin has now been asked to work on the clients’ other homes.
Jimmie would call this interior design a very eclectic artsy style that breaks some of the rules of interior design.