BACKGROUND

The location:On the top (3rd) floor of a beachfront residential buildingoverlooking the eastern seaboard of the Mediterranean.

The home: A penthouse with a built-up area of 300 sqm(c. 3,300 sqft) and a trio of terraces making up another 120 sqm (c. 1,300 sqft).

The owners: A London couple in their sixties: he a businessman; she a booklover with a busy social agenda.

The clients’ brief:The penthouse owners aspired to a modern yet timeless design that would blend local and foreign motifs, incorporatingcontemporary and authentic regional touches,to take full advantage of their home’s stunning location – a calm space in which to reflect on and engage with the Mediterranean. And so it is: as you enter andmove around the penthouse, the Mediterranean, in all its colours and changeability, is a constant and inspiring presence.

Lifestyle: The penthouse is located steps away from the beach and serves as a private oasis for its inhabitants, as well as a unique place for hosting and entertaining their wide social circle comprising business people, friends, family and fundraising events for charity.

The interior designer: I undertook this brief as an external associate of the London design consultancy, SIAW, with whom I’ve worked on several occasions over a number of years.

Design starts here

Ultimately, the design and thematerials chosen arose from the obvious and ever-present connectionwiththe surrounding environment –blue skies,the white-specked aquamarine of the Mediterranean, and golden sands. Indoors, the speckled pale fawn limestone covering the floor of the main living space represents the latter, giving the illusion that the wind has swept through and left an imprint of sand in its wake.

A large pale grey rug clearly demarks the main seating area, while at the same time its tassels are a subtle reminder that we are never very far from the Orient. There will be other oriental and Arabian echoes throughout the penthouse, not least as a device to screen outthe scorching summer sun, but more of that later.

Let’s linger another moment to take in the views through the almost full length glass sliding doors, which in turn reflect the sea and the connection between sea and sky all the way to horizon. It is a timeless play that is subtly repeated indoorsin the flow-t aquamarine light fittings designed by Nao Tamura, which by day appear to float above, or may even anchor, the centrally positioned dining table in the large open living area. By night, like the sea itself, the glass shapes lose their colour to bring light and ambience to the nightscape.

In this penthouse, however, the shift in mood does not only occur between day and night. In fact, when extended, the most dominant element in the central space is the architect-designed and custom made brass mashrabiya, with its geometric latticework patterns to filterout the harsh rays of the sun, while allowing light and air in.

Composed of thin (2mm!) brass panels, the mashrabiya demanded intricate craftsmanship and considerable planning to form an inner ‘skin’ to the glass envelope. The result certainly justifies the means:  Themashrabiya is a wonderful climatic controller and something of a kaleidoscope as it projects the latticework’s intricate geometric shapes onto the walls, floor, kitchen units, and soft furnishings. The design of this ‘light and shadow’ show engraved in brass presents a very personal interpretation of traditional Arab architecture that is all too rarely used in western homes.

Selecting the material for curtains came naturally – we chose 100% linen to match the look and feel of the penthouse. The linen is conceptually correct in terms of climate as it provides a feeling of airiness, perhaps introducing a touch of the west in contrast to the mashrabiya from the east