Meet the Designers - London

Now open for 2024, the BIID Interior Design Awards returns with its new Central & Greater London regional awards and the search is on for this year’s winners. The awards celebrate exceptional design projects across the UK, with residential and commercial projects previously receiving the accolade for the Central & Greater London regions. Receiving the inaugural regional awards in 2022 was Pascoe Interiors with Vernon House for Central London and The Vawdrey House with Greenwich House for Greater London. In October last year, Studio Found took the title for The Libertine at the Royal Exchange for Central London and House of Kin with Riverside for Greater London.

Visionary Vault

Located in the Grade-1 listed historic underground vaults of the Royal Exchange, The Libertine, designed by Studio Found, is one of London’s most exciting new hospitality venues. Marrying history with contemporary design, the exceptional project features a 4-meter bar, boasting illuminated glazed antique brass framework and exposed copper beer tanks, a 90-seater restaurant with unique lighting, custom wine display and an intimate apothecary for private events. This project also won Studio Found the award for Interior of the Year.

Judges applauded the project for honouring the building's history and seamlessly merging old and new elements. They praised the imaginative upholstery, wall finishes, and material choices, creating a captivating atmosphere and enhancing functionality. The result respects the building's shape and history while breathing new life into the space.

“Winning both the Central London and Interior of Year accolades at the BIID Awards was one of the highlights of the year for Studio Found. To have our design expertise recognised in these prestigious and hotly contested industry awards was a real honour for all our team. This was the first time we’d entered the BIID awards, but we knew that The Libertine at the Royal Exchange project was a strong contender, so we went for it!

We are extremely proud to have won not one but two BIID awards, it really is a testament to our team’s hard work. It was also great to receive the judges’ comments afterwards to discover what they loved about our design concept and approach. They described the project as “showing great imagination, creativity and expertise which would cast a spell of fun, glamour and effortless cool for all visitors” which was wonderful for us and our client to hear.

We would encourage any designer or studio with a strong creative project to enter the awards this year, as you never know!” comments Ed Plumb, Design Director at Studio Found.

Serene Sanctuary

The Vawdrey House’s spectacular Greenwich House project was a complete refurbishment of a substantial Victorian House. Stripped out and reconfigured around a new staircase, the ambitious building now features five bedrooms, four bathrooms and, at the rear, a split-level kitchen/dining/living space with an impressive double-height winter garden, opening onto re-landscaped gardens.

The brief was to design the ultimate haven from the clients’ demanding city jobs, creating a restorative home, with individuality and personality, for cosy evenings by the fire and relaxing weekends entertaining friends. The exceptional results not only won the team the Greater London regional award, but also the Interior Design of the Year award.  

"We've had the privilege of winning a number of awards over the years, but to take home the "Interior Design of the Year" award from The British Institute of Interior Design has been a particularly special and career affirming experience for us.  It was wonderful to be able to show the judges round so they get to know how it 'feels' to be in the spaces - not just to look at the pictures. As a genuinely independent award, judged by some of the most talented and well-respected experts within the industry, the BIID award has become the gold standard to aim for, so we couldn't be more thrilled to have won two awards this year." explains Jennifer Hamilton, Director, of The Vawdrey House.

The judges said this was ‘a stand-out project where ‘the interplay of natural light, clever choice of materials and use of the garden views is endlessly pleasing and varied.’ The judges commended the project for its delightful design features such as the winter garden and exposed brick wall. They felt the project had real personality and every detail was ‘considered and faultlessly executed’ and not only met but exceeded the clients' brief.

Petite Play

Riverside designed by House of Kin is a unique nursery that preserves the character of its original church building, whilst combining clean aesthetics, soft colours, and simple lines with interactive touches. The result is a vibrant, holistic design which provides a calm and inspiring learning and play space.

The project's emphasis on sustainable design for the next generation, includes the selection of environmentally friendly materials, such as cork, flooring made from wood waste and a fish-scale wall design with tiles made from recycled plastic bottles. The space offers various interactive areas tailored to different personalities, fostering engagement through adaptive units and play structures.

“It is an amazing feeling to have won - it’s like a little industry pat on the back to remind you that you are doing well. Our favourite moment throughout the awards process was showing the judge around our project. We were lucky to have the most amazing and supportive client who was happy for us to do this (and winning!) We’ve also had a brilliant response from the interior design community. Our studio has only been running for 4 years so it has strengthened our voice when it comes to pushing the boundaries…. which we always love to do!” explains Anna Barbar, Founder of House of Kin.

The judges felt that the child-friendly design showed great imagination and thoughtfulness, commenting that the design creates a joyful, creative experience which arouses curiosity and encourages play, making it the perfect environment for children to learn and grow. Its clever and contemporary design achieved a harmonious environment that resonates with children, parents, and teachers, fulfilling their educational and emotional needs.

Regency Renovation

Pascoe Interiors’ brief was to re-design Vernon House from a tired and dated student nurses’ accommodation, into highly desirable rental studio apartments that embrace its enviable central location, welcoming guests to ‘live like a local’ within the community.

Grandly set across four six-storey Regency mansion houses, the design needed to represent the cosmopolitan character of Primrose Hill; materials were to be visually high specification yet low maintenance and physically the designs were briefed to maximise every millimetre, so that the limited space available was no compromise on the facilities provided.

“We were thrilled to be announced as the winner in the Central London Region at the BIID Interior Design Awards last year. It was a fantastic opportunity for us to show our team’s tremendous work on an outstanding project. The BIID award scheme reflects the supportive and rewarding community we all work in and provides an opportunity for unknown projects and small teams to have their moment to shine.” comments Clare Pascoe, Director of Pascoe Interiors.

This innovative project won this category for its truly outstanding transformation which showed real creativity. The judges said the end-result is a ‘stylish and appealing space’ and they were impressed with Pascoe Interiors’ response to a challenging brief and for showing great examples of collaboration between different disciplines.

Entering the BIID Interior Design Awards

The winners will be awarded across 7 regional categories, celebrating every type of interior design, from the largest commercial project to the smallest residential dwelling. In addition we award 2 landmark prizes – the Interior of the Year Prize, which is awarded to the best interior design project in the UK and the Anna Whitehead Prize, which is awarded to the best achievement in sustainable interior design. 9 awards will be given out in total, along with acknowledgements of Highly Commended projects.