Room 215 at Covent Garden Hotel

Covent Garden Hotel’s Room 215 has an impressive feel. With two tall windows, the proportions of this bedroom were crying out to play host to a bold and vibrant scheme.

Enlisting the help of Alex Sherman, an inventive upholsterer with a particular love for applique leather, we set about with the exciting task of creating a bespoke headboard for the room.

The headboard was made using leftover materials in a patchwork style. The imaginative use of leather remnants was influenced by the abstract geometric paintings by The Bloomsbury Group and the work of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant. The background composition includes my geometric ‘Lost and Found’ fabric, a subtle green herringbone design and patches of soft leathers in striking primary colours.

Beside the bed, Collin Millington’s embroidered artwork is cleverly framed to pick up the vibrant hues on the headboard.

We wanted to make sure the headboard was the shining star of the show, but this doesn’t mean the rest of the scheme needs to be plain. The walls are adorned in a simple yet striking Designers Guild Essentials orange stripe, which complements the Nina Campbell ‘Ashdown Stripe’ curtains.

The leaves and poppy heads that pop out in the foreground were inspired by an arty Bloomsbury design from Nina Campbell’s latest collection which we have used on the curtains and mannequin.

Alex used leather to outline the Bloomsbury Flowers trailing down the panels of the headboard. She used a technique of reverse applique to stitch the poppy heads, creating a contrast of textures between the front and back of the leather. The cut out leaves of the headboard and cushions remind us of the joyful simplicity of Matisse’s works of the 1950s.

To echo the strong colour-blocking on the headboard, we upholstered the sofa in my ‘Ikat Weave’ design for Christopher Farr Cloth in the lime colourway. Positioned opposite the bed, the bold sofa creates a sense of balance in the room.

We used a zingy green Teasel Wide Herringbone fabric on the two tub chairs under the window to create a cheerful dining area. A cross legged ottoman in my lemon ‘Lost & Found’ fabric for Christopher Farr picks out all the luscious yellow tones of the curtains and headboard.

In this beautiful and spacious room, the one-of-a-kind Bloomsbury inspired headboard makes a joyful and colourful focal point.