Harrods have unveiled a new Interiors department at their famous Knightsbridge store. For the first time, all home and furniture rooms are on one floor, with a focus on interior design and bespoke personalisation – creating a wonderland for design lovers. The transformation has created dedicated rooms for, Luxury Linens and Beds, Kitchen and Household and Luxury Accessories, Modern and Contemporary Furniture, and sees the launch of Harrods’ new interior design studio. A new elegant room housing a collection of luxury home fragrance brands will be a new attraction within the new third floor, to be followed by an art gallery, a number of luxury Classic Furniture rooms and a new Lighting department.
Designed by Virgile + Partners, the new Home department has been conceived and planned to create a more residential feel, enabling customers to imagine the products within their own home environment. Departments and circulation flow have been realigned to guide the customer on a logical journey throughout the floor, while lighting has been used astutely to aid customers selecting fabrics and finishes. The space encourages customers to move from room to room, offering everything from exquisite bedding and textiles through to an elegant and rather luxurious Kitchen and Household offer.
The space features elegant finishes such as subtly toned marble flooring and herringbone, chevron and basket weave patterns that are key character features, linking all the rooms and introducing variety along the customer journey from one room to the next. Formed by 25 interconnecting open-plan rooms, the diversity of the retail environments are designed to inspire curiosity and invite the customer to explore, discover, and shop. The store perimeter windows have also been exposed to maximise natural light and create a relaxed, homely atmosphere. The redevelopment incorporates Harrods’ signature style of enabling ‘moments of contemplation’ and showcasing products and brands, to bring the Home offer to life.
Virgile + Partners’ Home concept intends to complement the building’s original design and revitalise Harrods’ architectural heritage. To reinforce the sense of luxury, cast plaster cornices and mouldings have been carefully reinstated and historical decorative detailing has been introduced. Structural columns have been remodelled using a variety of bespoke decorative panels to add texture and personality to individual rooms.
Ceilings in all rooms reinstate the listed cornicing details, yet integrating new floating surfaces providing a soft but effective lighting scheme. Marble framing, decorative wall panels and soft lighting gives consistency to the rooms portals, emphasising the transition points through to the adjacent rooms and punctuating the walkways.
The open-plan Harrods Interior Design space is a flexible area that supports discovery and inspiration and its central studio allows clients to engage with the experts in comfortable, creative surroundings. Curated by Harrods’ buyers, Harrods Interiors features an immersive showcase of interior profiles, innovative trends, and exclusive products from the world’s finest interior and design brands.
Carlos Virgile, Director of Virgile + Partners, said:
“Our goal was to deliver a creative and stylish stage that provides a true sense of pleasure and responds to Harrods’ customer needs, when selecting furnishings and accessorising their living environment, bringing the offer to life. From contemporary to classic styles, we aimed to contain a great variety of stories and offers within the many interlinked rooms, injecting a clear and elegant residential feel that communicates the spirit and diversity of the individual brands, within a coherent Harrods design approach.”
Ewald Damen, Creative Director of Virgile + Partners said:
“Celebrating the Harrods brand and its historical building, the new home floor embraces a unifying design concept, respecting and reinstating the listed nature of the existing space. Emphasising and enhancing subtle architectural differences through elements such as lighting, materials, patterns, and colour, complement the variety of styles, products, and brands on offer, whilst at the same time developing a coherent and compelling customer journey.”
