Yahoo Finance Designers' dreams: the house of Talisman launches for London Design Festival
It’s one thing for an interior designer to dream of a money-no-object commission. It’s quite another to have that alongside free run of Talisman, the wonder-emporium whose extraordinary discovery-driven collection of furniture, lighting objects and sculpture spans three centuries and five continents.
For this year’s London Design Festival, Talisman founder and owner of more than 30 years Ken Bolan decided it would be fun to arrange just that for eight London based designers. The results are now on show until 6 October and… well, the kid in a candy store analogy doesn’t even come close.
To showcase the rooms in full immersive style, Talisman’s landmark art deco building on the New Kings Road has been transformed into a striking designer house. Issuing the invitation not just to interior designers but also fashion designers, florists, artists and influencers, each was challenged to create a room.
Bolan, whose eye and enthusiasm for astonishing pieces is well known, prizes quality as highly as personality and provenance. Talisman has a devoted following among interior designers and set stylists alike, but he is keen to push the creative envelope still further. “We are really interested in bringing a new dimension and way of styling to Talisman pieces,” he says. “We’re also curious about what designers would pull together if there were no financial constraints. What would each designer’s ultimate dream be?”
And so it has come to be that Carden Cunietti have created a beautiful dining room titled "midnight feast"; artist and illustrator Luke Edward Hall has magicked up a disco drawing room with a giant bacchanal mural and curiosity cabinet; silk-pyjama queen Olivia Von Halle took over the boudoir; and Maurizio Pellizzoni worked with Drummonds to build a showstopping tropical bathroom in his inimitable Italian style with the boldest black and white chevron floor.
Philp Colbert, an artist and designer referred to as "the godson of Andy Warhol", has dressed a vintage gallery inspired by his pop-art collection, including glass accessories and chairs, neon lights and sequin wall art. Founder of one of London’s leading floral and interior boutiques, Absolute Flowers, Hayley Newstead has created a bohemian courtyard with just the right amount of Hollywood glamour, and blogger Martyn White’s dramatic deco cocktail lounge is just the finishing touch that such an eclectic party needs. Flitting between her bases in London and Miami, Natalia Miyar found time to create a Florida-sun sitting room too.
It’s been inspiring, say the Talisman team, to work with each designer and see how they’ve pushed their usual boundaries to create something new with vintage pieces. It’s an eye opener too on that perennial question in the world of interiors: do people play it too safe?
Talisman is only too well aware of the answer to this when it comes to their day-to-day trade, and it’s been Bolan’s personal mission to offer an bolder new alternative for more than three decades. Designers in search of inspiration, you know where to go.
Designed at Talisman runs until 6th October, 79-91 New King's Road, London, SE6; talismanlondon.com
