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Sophia Loren or Gina Lollobrigida couldn’t fault the taffeta and velvet bedecked dining room, and the glittering and intimate mirrored bar. The rooms are likewise ravishing with their sober sandstone bathrooms.
As per Anouska Hempel’s signature, She takes her inspiration from her travels - particularly evident in the ground floor of grey limestone and Carrara and in her elegantly opulent interiors of mirrored furniture, gorgeous Italian velvets and silks as well as in Ikaats from Istanbul.
One point is delightfully English, and that the setting of the Franklin, in amongst the elite of Knightsbridge’s best, with Egerton Gardens at the back with its vivid green manicured lawn lining the period buildings.
The elegant Victorian building embraces the beauty and calm of the private gardens, with the glorious London plane trees which the garden rooms can enjoy of a seasonal spectacle.
The building, acquired by Italian entrepreneur Elisabetta Fabri, President and CEO of the Italian group Starhotels is entirely designed by Anouska Hempel, and through out there has been the use of carrara marble by Lapicida. Anouska Hempel and Lapicida launches a new collection of accessories here, drawing on classical inspirations and capturing the duality of a material which is both structural and highly decorative. Anouska Hempel always specifies stone in her designs, cherishing it’s natural colours, rough and smooth textures and profound connections with earths history. For this collection, she chose two rare and extraordinary marbles; purest crystalline “Thassos White”, counterpointed by deepest “Infinity Black”. Lapicida, in turn sourced the finest grades of both stones for a manufacturing process involving countless hours of skilled hand-finishing to achieve the finest form and finish. The pieces are available online at www.anouskahempeldesign.com and at the Franklin Hotel straight off the table.