74 LUXURY HOMES
AS INDIVIDUAL AS EACH OWNER
London-based RJP Design is not yet three years old . However , the company has already been commissioned to design nine branded residences at The Old War Office ( OWO ), home to Raffles London , while , in Belgravia , the team has just completed a Peninsula London residence . RJP is also working on several private houses in the Home Counties and now has its sights set on Paris .
There can be little doubt that luxury is in robust health . Nevertheless , RJP ’ s portfolio is remarkable . Founder , Rickesh Patel , puts the practice ’ s success down to the very personal service that the firm offers each client .
“ We are a boutique practice , we all design , we work very hard and between us we have a mix of skillsets ,” he says . “ Frankly I believe that our HNWI and developer clients should be able to take creative excellence as a given , but we go further than this because we have the technical expertise to solve problems and manage projects in a timely manner . We can switch seamlessly from the creative to the practical and deal with all the issues that arise so that our client doesn ’ t have to .”
The firm ’ s arrival on the hotel branded residential scene is timely . This is a rapidly growing real estate asset class , not only in London but in cities and resort locations around the world , which is attractive to UHNWIs for the prestige , services , facilities and quality of design and fit-out associated with a luxury hotel . The challenge for designers such as RJP is that the owner probably spends his or her life travelling the world on business and leisure and needs an outstanding design solution delivered not only quickly but painlessly .
It was RJP ’ s reputation for achieving just this for several owners of the new OWO Residences that caught the attention of the developer , and the firm was then awarded the design of a duplex show apartment . For once , there was no client , and the practice was free to create an apartment to its own vision . The result is a residence that sits comfortably within the famous Grade ll * baroque-style building . Its interiors are harmonious and balanced , classic yet contemporary , and have a natural , earthy colour palette that allows potential purchasers to easily envisage the spaces designed to their own tastes .