Cadogan Place - An Ideal Living Space For A Luxurious Urban Style Home

For any discerning interior designer an ideal living space is one that combines warmth and comfort with class and elegance. With this in mind, it is then possible to create an urban style home that is synonymous with luxury and sophistication and in accordance with the owner's preferences.

The visual wow! Factor can be created through the use of quality furnishings, lighting and bold materials. If we look how international architecture and interior design firm, Casa Forma, unveils their magnificent apartment at Cadogan Place, London with its uninterrupted view, resultant of the frameless glass balustrade, from the split level dining room looking down to the lounge area, one is comforted with a warm, cosy feeling of rich fabrics upholstered to the Ralph Lauren furniture. One side of the wall features a long bespoke shelving unit that houses an LCD television; the whole unit draws your eyes to the front window that overlooks the beautiful, well kept Cadogan Gardens. On the other, there is a contrast of walnut clad walls with Bruno Triplet wall finishes, creating a distinctive look.

Cadogan Place is a prime address based just off Sloane Street between Sloane Square and Knightsbridge. The street comprises two terraces of Georgian houses and one long terrace of white stuccoes Victorian houses. As one of Casa Forma's properties that it has designed recently Cadogan Place is a triple lateral apartment set across the top floors of three adjoining period buildings. It boasts three ample sized bedrooms - all with en-suite bathrooms, a study, cloakroom, lounge and four small south-facing ornamental balconies. The apartment offers a unique view from all front facing rooms across Cadogan Place gardens which include tennis courts and beautiful manicured lawns. Initially, the apartment was of a very busy and highly decorative classical circa 1980's style. It underwent an extensive period of stripping out and structural work in the majority of the rooms. The first stage of the project involved a thorough dismantling of existing finishes, fixtures and fittings. New stud walls, new electrical works including Lutron and AMX and bespoke joinery were fitted throughout. Even the design and layout of the kitchen was completely reworked.

The master bedroom, which is the most luxurious, concentrates on a dark and dramatic atmosphere pepped up with glossy black surfaces and a feature wall of Tahitian Mother of Pearl in shimmery green brown colour. Again, walnut is used to create a bespoke joinery and panelling to one wall; this is dramatically lit with LED lights that enhance the design. To add on to the dramatic effect, beautiful black and grey woven silk curtains and grey distressed silk upholstered chair with ottoman are aptly positioned at the window. The master bathroom suite uses the same dramatic feel as the bedroom with dark shades of colour; some walls are clad with natural stone, while others with Tahitian Mother of Pearl.

The study leading off the corridor seems like a perfectly balanced space. With its rich palette of colours selected for the upholstery of the furniture, it reflects perfectly in the grey - black mirrors adorning the walls, effecting an elegant atmosphere. The approach to one of the bedrooms is done in subtle colour tones to create a textured feature wall behind the beds. The en-suite bathrooms has the same tones of colour with a minimal effect of natural original stone.

Casa Forma is an award winning luxury Interior Design firm comprising 15 qualified Interior Designers

Benefits Office Plants Have in the Work Place

We already know that offices plants are a good thing to have around. They brighten up the working environment, freshen the air we breathe and are generally quite pleasant to look at.

In bringing the positives of nature indoors, they work a treat. But these are only some of the benefits that plants bring. Health and aesthetics are great and, in fact, can be considered very important contributions to the ideal modern working environment.

There are less obvious benefits to them too, some of which we could consider quite surprising. Who would have guessed, for example, that indoor office plants could reduce the levels of dust in the air, or could reduce the levels of noise around us.

Indeed, the benefits of indoor plants even extend to contributing to keeping a room temperature low and comfortable. With this in mind, it is difficult to have any doubts over the extensive worth that greenery has in the work place.

Reduces Background Noise

There is no doubt that an office can be a noisy place at times, what with the tapping on keyboards, phones ringing and printers printing, and the street noise that can flood in through open windows. But plants have been shown to counter these aspects.

Scientific studies have revealed that offices that have a sufficient number of plants absorb the sounds around them, effectively taking the edge off the sound. In fact, some plants have been shown to be better at absorbing certain frequencies than others, while other plants will diffract the sound waves and others still deflect them.

Reduces Dust

Offices with plants in them show a significant reduction in the dust levels. NASA had a study carried out to ascertain the effect of plant life in enclosed areas, and the results showed dust levels were reduced by an estimated 20 per cent.

The precise reason is unknown, but it is thought that, since plants filter the air by nature, the particles that would ordinarily find themselves lingering in the air are effectively processed. Keeps Temperatures Down This is related to the fact that plants cool themselves by a process known as transpiration which involves releasing moisture into the air around them. The effect is to lower the room temperature by as much as 10 F, and increase air humidity by between 30 and 60 per cent.

As a coincidence, that humidity range is considered to be the ideal for humans, meaning that people working in those conditions are at their most comfortable. Humidity can, of course, be controlled by de-humidifiers and air cons, but it is the natural process that makes the real difference, keeping everything to a normal level according to nature herself.

Reduces Stress

Perhaps this is not so surprising but while it is a matter of common knowledge that plants make us healthier and happier, the idea that stress in particular is reduced is not usually thought of.

They are all very closely linked, of course, but it is interesting to note that at the busiest times in an office, research has shown that signs of stress, like impatience, destructive criticism, over reactions and high emotions, are significantly reduced when plant life is close by. They are replaced by greater levels of cooperation, increased productivity and a more relaxed atmosphere.

Increases Sales

Just as people working in offices have admitted to feeling happier and more productive when indoor office plants are present, research has shown that plants have a similar effect on consumers. For example, diners in garden restaurants tend to order more, cafés with plant life as part of their interior decor see customers stay longer and, consequentially, spend more. In retail stores, the results are the same, with greenery seemingly helping shoppers to be more decisive, thereby avoiding the frustration that is often punctuated by fatigue. So, instead of a customer giving up and walking out, a sale is more likely.

Clearly, there is a lot more to office plants than we thought, with the advantages extending beyond what looks good and what smells nice. With the knowledge that the benefits of indoor plants go so far as to increase sales, even marketing gurus have to concede that the investment is well worth the return.

Sarah Shore writes articles for Ambius, who provide indoor office plants designed for both large and small offices throughout the country. Office plants are not only pleasing on the eye but can help to reduce pollution.