London interior designer Phoebe Hollond got her start working under Beata Heuman and it shows. Like her Swedish mentor, Hollond embraces color and pattern, loves cozy vintage elements, isn’t allergic to shiny surfaces, and aims to delight.
Since striking out on her own, Hollond designs interiors that also celebrate classic British comforts, like deep tubs and towel warmers. Hollond describes herself as a “serial bather” and is particularly good at creating settings for steeping. “There is something to be said for a bathroom that it is a place of sanctuary,” she says. “I love the challenge of making a space that needs to be extremely practical feel like a room that one wants to spend a lot of time in.” Here, five Studio Hollond standouts, each with an element or two of surprise.
Photography courtesy of Studio Hollond (@studiohollond).
The Case for Unexpected Red
Above: Hollond advocates spending on finishes—here in a Sussex house, nuanced tadelatk walls and Mosaic Factory Moroccan zellige combined with Italian banded red tiles. And saving by buying elegant antique fixtures, such as this double sink. Her go-to for vintage sanitary ware is Frome Reclamation in Somerset, England (to find a source near you, search for architectural salvage centers and watch Facebook Marketplace and Craig’s List).
The custom mirrors are medicine cabinets—for Hollond, bathroom storage is best when discreet. The shell-shaped Holt sconces are from Felix Lighting: “you need good lighting to see what you’re doing, but you also need golden and sexy lighting in a bathroom.”
Above: The same room has an antique claw-footed bath with a view. Hollond says she re-enamels old tubs but that most old sinks only require a very good scrub. The palette of whites and creams paired with red elements, Hollond tells us, was inspired by Wallis Simpson’s inner sanctum: “there is strength in the simplicity of these two contrasting colors.” For more see The Unexpected Red Theory.
The window blind is in Soane’s Paw Print, a linen based on an African original from the 1940s or 1950s. The vintage braided rug—typically found in front of a hearth but equally home in a bath—is from Remodelista favorite Howe London. For more rag rugs, see our Trend Alert.
Powder Blue Loo
Above: “The powder room allows for a creative license,” says Hollond, who, in her Sussex project, introduced an unusual antique sink and a new Water Monopoly Rockwell Lavatory in surprise blue. The terracotta floor tiles were existing. The rattan mirror, “a bespoke Justin Van Breda piece woven in South Africa,” is flanked by Urban Electric Company Belle Meade lights. And the classic Celia Birtwell blind fabric has “at close look fantastical creatures all over it.”
A City Santuary
Above: “Blues, reds, and whites create bathrooms that have strength in style but serenity in feeling,” says Hollond, In a Queens Park, London townhouse, she created a Victorian-style haven with a re-enameled and painted antique tub, wainscoting in Farrow & Ball’s Parma Gray, and a Bloomfield Ink block-printed wallpaper called Little Dream.
Inspired by a New Yorker Drawing
Above: “I wanted to create a bathroom that felt like you had entered a magical realm,” says Hollond of this children’s design in Sussex. “The hand-painted mural was inspired by a Saul Steinberg drawing in The New Yorker. It was painted on polished concrete and then varnished to ensure its durability.”
That’s Farrow & Ball’s Yellow Ground on the wood paneling. The Ballerina towel warmer is from Vogue UK. As for the vintage toilet, Hollond tells us, “it’s called a throne seat; like it’s name, it’s so comfortable.”
Mine and Yours Checks
Above: Hollond used a large checkerboard of Bert & May glossy tiles to transform a cramped guest bath in Sussex. “It was such a small, unassuming space and the ceilings were so low,” she says, “but I wanted it to scream drama.” The sink taps are from Lefroy Brooks and shelves of storage are hidden behind the red-framed mirrors. Go to Studio Hollond to see more.
Three more of our favorite bathrooms:
