The most desired high-end interior finishes
What are the most wanted interior fine finishes? How do brands like Alexander Wang use design to deliver a luxury shopping experience? Tom Kitchener, Metropolis Business Development Consultant at Aliva UK, takes some time away from beautiful houses and cutting-edge retail stores to share his insights.
Mine is certainly an interesting job. One day I’ll be checking in on our work in a luxury Mayfair residence, another I’ll be talking to the likes of the Cambridge Satchel Company about creating the perfect finish for their store. It’s given me a unique insight into what interior designers want for these high-end developments and the trends that are here to stay.
So which finishes are most in demand with architects and designers? Here’s the rundown:
Getting back to the Old Times
Swissôtel, Istanbul, features Old Time Max and Old Time Finish
Swissôtel, Istanbul
Our sustainable Old Time range is always in high demand due to its flexibility. It includes paints, stuccoes and polished plasters which create antique, polished stone and marble effects in a range of colours. Designed to emulate natural materials that would have been used hundreds of years ago, the Old Time range had been used in everything from private Mayfair residences to Swissôtel, Istanbul and Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge.
Bringing cement indoors
Soul cement walls feature in this Italian interior
Bringing materials like cement indoors isn’t a new idea, but there are certainly new ways of doing it. Take our Soul Cement range, which is proving very popular at the moment – this plaster finishing coat creates the effect of washed cement, but with the added benefit of offering a range of colours that can be used in combination with our other finishes.
The industrial look
Concrete finish Metrostone creates a beautiful industrial finish at Cambridge Satchel Company
Cambridge Satchel Company
The raw industrial look is huge in interior design right now, and concrete is at the forefront of the movement. Our Metrostone range is in high demand for this reason, as we can use it to create a concrete finish throughout an interior – something we did with great success for the Cambridge Satchel Company (pictured), where they wanted an industrial finish that could cope with the heavy duty demands of a retail space.
Natural stone
Metrostone creates a natural stone finish at Alexander Wang, Mayfair
A natural stone Metrostone finish in a luxury West Hampstead residence
Metrostone creates a perfect setting for this indoor pool
Still on the theme of raw materials, but natural ones this time, our Metrostone range is also regularly used by designers to emulate natural stone finishes. A recent example is a private residence in West Hampstead (pictured) where Metrostone was used in the multi-million pound property’s swimming pool, gym and luxury shower area. This finish was also used in Alexander Wang’s flagship European store in Mayfair.
Making an impression
An intricate damask pattern impressed into plaster at a residential project in Sloane Square.
Text leaves an impression in this Adidas store
Another look that’s becoming increasingly popular is the use of patterns or decorative features that have been impressed into plaster finishes. The versatility of our Colours and Urban Effects ranges allows this to be a straightforward process and it’s been used in both commercial and residential settings.
Urban art and shabby chic
A stencil, graffiti-style finish at Fred Perry
A decorative timeline over Metrostone at apartments in Smithfield, London
A shabby chic finish using Urban Effects in Club Monaco
Finally, this look is about adding those finishing touches that make a property stand out. Great examples include the stencil graffiti-style design created for Fred Perry, the gold timeline added on top of Metrostone in the St. Barts Square Apartments in Smithfield, London, and the Urban Effects finish used to create a shabby-chic look in Club Monaco (all pictured).
You can view the full range of Metropolis finishes in our brochure. Or you can visit the London showroom at 83/85 Wigmore Street, London, W1U 1DL.
To use Metropolis finishes as part of your design, you can also contact our expert installers – Regency Plastering.
