Our homes say more about us than our cars, clothes or jobs, so it’s no use furnishing your house with items everyone else has. It’s time to make your pad all about you, with bespoke home interiors and technology designed exactly to your specifications and style. Whether it’s a subtle engraving on a smart backgammon set or an all-encompassing home automation system that can be controlled from your iPhone, make a statement and go bespoke.
THE SELF-PLAYING PIANO
Steinway & Sons pianos are synonymous with luxury, but if you never quite made it to Grade Eight, don’t despair: opt for the Steinway Spirio, available on select Steinway grand pianos. The self-playing technology is controlled by iPad to constitute the ultimate music machine for every luxury interior. As for which tunes to listen to, there are over 1,700 Steinway artists performing a range of genres to choose from, from classical and contemporary to jazz and R&B. To say it’s different to switching on the radio is putting it mildly: listening to this system is like a live concert. The keys move, the pedals are delicately used, and the subtle phrasing, soft trills, and thundering fortissimos are conveyed just as though a concert pianist was sitting on your stool. Plus, any finish can be achieved, with the company regularly creating bespoke pianos according to any design scheme. Oh, and the iPad comes free.
From £24,000; steinway.co.uk
SMART HOME TECHNOLOGY
With Crestron all your separate home technologies can be connected
Personalised home technology used to be the stuff of cartoons and sci-fi movies, but not any more. Home automations company Crestron connects all the separate technologies in your house such as lighting, shading, security and climate control. Discreetly integrating high-tech systems into the fabric of the interior, the company connects all your technologies into one simple platform, so that entire environments can be controlled at the touch of a button. Got someone special coming over for dinner? Select ‘date night’ on your smartphone and the lights will dim, soft music will play and the fire will glow. Had an exhausting day at the office? Choose ‘relaxing spa’ and come home to find a bubbling hot tub, warm towels and a soothing playlist waiting. It’s as simple as getting an alert from the letterbox when the post arrives – and as important as getting a notification if a fire’s detected. Any technology can be connected and controlled, so the options for bespoke automation are endless; crestron.com
FURNITURE FIT FOR ROYALTY
As cabinetmaker to the Queen, luxury custom-made furniture and bespoke architectural joinery company NEJ Stevenson have designed for the likes of royal palaces, historic buildings and opulent private residences. The company can make everything from one-off pieces to entire home interiors, with clients ordering bespoke furniture that complements their style and fits seamlessly within the confines of the room. Previous designs have included a sensational four poster bed which soon became the talking point of the clients’ Georgian house. With hand dovetailed drawers, panelled backs and a French polish finish, the bed also subtly incorporated a flatscreen television within the bed frame, bringing the design into the 21st century; nejstevenson.co.uk © Paul Lapsley Photography
BEAUTIFUL BACKGAMMON
Whether you’re a pro with the dice or have never played backgammon before, there’s nothing quite as elegant as a subtly personalised set in the sitting room. British luxury brand iWOODESIGN sources woods from around the world to create handmade home accessories for super yachts, private jets, hotel and residential projects and private clients, and their backgammon sets are particularly eye-catching. The most extravagant material is the Japanese Tamo Ash, the same wood that goes into Bentley car dashboards. It’s sourced off the island of Hokkaido, where the cold wind blows and blisters the wood creating its unusual 3D figured grain effect. The Tamo Ash Luxury Backgammon Set with Ivory and Gold, costing £3,500, can be personalised with engravings of initials or special messages lasered into the wood, either onto the backgammon set or onto the shakers, which magnetise neatly to the side once the game is over; iwoodesign.com
CHIC CAR CHARGING
It would be a shame to get an incredible electric car jazzed up with all the best specifications only to be let down by an ugly charge point. Andersen’s luxurious electric car charge point, the Andersen A1, is compatible with all electric and hybrid cars such as Tesla and Porsche. It can be customised to suit your home’s style, with a variety of materials available, such as minimalist stainless steel or the more country-vibe Accoya wood.
Price: £999; andersen-ev.com
BANG & OLUFSEN
© Retouch by Wetouch Imagework
You didn’t hear that Pantone declared green the colour of 2017? Well, interiors and tech brands got the memo, and so we have begun the new year with a wealth of lush green products. Some are more miss than hit, but others are quietly sophisticated and really do create an aura of calm. Take Harmonies by Bang & Olufsen, the new limited edition collection of wireless speaker systems which not only have impeccable tech credentials but are also bang on trend.
The BeoSound 35 retails at £1,595; bang-olufsen.com
WONMIN PARK
© Adrien Millot
The beautifully minimalist style of Korean designer Wonmin Park will suit simple, subtle interiors. We especially love his latest pieces which play with limited edition patinated aluminium, creating stark and very beautiful forms. Designs cross the line between interiors and art – if you’re in the area, head to Carpenters Workshop Gallery in New York where you can see the clean silhouettes of his newest pieces up close; wonminpark.com
CRYSTAL CAVIAR
The incredible works of craftsmanship from Crystal Caviar will become mesmerising focal points in your home. Jan Frydrych is the renowned Czech glass artist behind the meticulous marine optical glass chronometer. Made from the highest quality optical glass and seamlessly embedded to a box created from the rarest hard wood, it will no doubt impress collectors looking for unique clocks. Even the uninitiated will be able to admire the sculpted blue lines, which could only be formed at the hands of a master artisan. It is just beautiful.
Approximately £430,000; crystalcaviar.eu
GÖBEL HIGH END
Göbel High End’s flagship loudspeaker, Divin, creates a pure, emotional listening experience that you won’t be able to get enough of. Made in Germany, the quality is exceptional – and they’ll look good in your lounge, too.
Approximately £320,000 for a pair; goebel-highend.de
ROCK CRYSTAL BATHTUB
One of the most expensive bespoke home products ever sold has to be the Rock Crystal bathtub by Italian company Baldi: priced at €1 million and taking six months to make, the three-person bath weighed 10,000 kilos and was carved out of a single block of rock crystal from the Amazonian rainforest. It was reportedly snapped up by a Russian magnate, with the company then making another especially for the Harrods window; www.baldidesign.it
