Lucy Goldbart
Interior Designer
The client who gave FCI London total creative freedom - and loved everything.
When a client arrives via referral and says "make my home look like a hotel suite," it's either a dream brief or a minefield. For Benjamin Ibanez, FCI London's General Manager, it turned out to be the former - and then some.
This 1,823 sq ft flat in Holland Park, nestled within a listed building on one of London's most coveted residential streets, became Benjamin's first project with total creative freedom. The client selected just two pieces - a sofa and dining chairs. Everything else, from the bespoke TV unit to the stained floors, the wallpapers, the lighting, the bathrooms, was his call.
The brief was clear but open-ended: hotel suite luxury, warm tones with a burnt orange accent, and space to entertain eight for dinner. The challenge? A listed building with strict soundproofing requirements, existing carpet that needed replacing, and a client who was hesitant about some of the 3D renders. The result? A home she now describes as perfect - and a project Benjamin still calls "my little baby."
This client came to us through a referral, which always helps establish trust from the beginning. She wanted us to handle the full renovation of the flat - not just furniture, but construction, flooring, electrics, new bathrooms, lighting, everything. She told me she wanted it to look like a hotel suite. Out of the entire home, she only chose the sofa and the dining chairs. The rest was completely up to me.
It was. And honestly, it was the first time I'd been given a completely blank canvas like that. She said "do whatever you think is right," and there was no question about budget or choices. It was beautiful, really. Terrifying at first, but beautiful.
She wanted the space to feel warm, sophisticated, and capable of hosting dinner parties for eight people easily. The flat is in central London, so the dining and living areas are the main spaces - there's only one living area, so it had to work hard. She also specified that she loved burnt orange as an accent colour, so I carried that through the main areas in cushions, artwork, and upholstery details. Beyond that, we focused on warm greys, beiges, and layering textures - wallpapers from Glamora and Arte, bespoke rugs, mixed materials in the joinery.
That's completely bespoke. We wanted the TV to be the focal point, considering it's the main TV room in the house. So we designed custom joinery with metal inserts on the shelves, mixing veneer, fluted veneer, and mirror fronts. Then we clad the fireplace section in stone to give it warmth - it's a real fire, so the stone makes sense functionally but also adds texture and presence. It's one of my favourite pieces in the whole project.
We selected the Gregory sofa from Gamma based on the room's proportions and the client's need for serious comfort. It's a very deep, loungey sofa, so perfect for relaxing. But the beauty of Gamma is in the detailing: the piping, the fabrics, the belts, the stitching. It's all customisable, and you can really see the craftsmanship. We paired it with Genevra armchairs by Marac and the Vercelli side table by Evanista. The whole room feels cosy but elevated, which was exactly what we were after.
Here the client wanted to be able to host eight people comfortably, so we created a connected flow between the dining and living rooms. The dining area is fully wallpapered, and we stained the floors to match the rest of the flat. It's an entertaining space first and foremost - she wanted to be able to have a lot of people around, so we made sure the layout supported that.
Many. The property is in a listed building, so we had to prove soundproofing compliance to both the building management and the council, especially because we were replacing carpet with wooden flooring throughout the bedrooms. Matching the existing flooring and staining it all to the same colour was another hurdle. And then there were the usual construction challenges - new electrics, new bathrooms, getting everything coordinated. But we managed it all, from start to finish. I still had the client's keys in my car weeks after completion.
That was the best part. She'd been a bit hesitant when we showed her the 3D renders - she wasn't sure about a few of the products we'd selected. But by the time everything was installed and finished, she was blown away. She kept saying "I love everything, I love everything, don't change anything." That feeling - when a client trusts you completely and then absolutely loves what you've created - that's what makes projects like this so special.
Not really. The client did change one wallpaper that I'd wanted to be a bit bolder, but that was her call. Otherwise, no. I think it finished beautifully. It's still one of my proudest projects.
Don't be afraid to let go a little. I think sometimes clients feel they need to have an opinion on every single detail, but actually, the best results come from collaboration - where you communicate what matters to you, and then trust your designer to interpret that. This client told me she wanted hotel suite aesthetics, burnt orange accents, and space to entertain. That was enough. She didn't micromanage the wallpaper choices or the joinery details, and because of that, we were able to create something cohesive and considered.
Few projects offer a designer complete creative freedom. Fewer still result in a client who loves every single choice. This Holland Park transformation was both a rare alignment of trust, vision, and craft. From the bespoke TV unit to the hand-selected furniture, every detail was considered, debated, and ultimately celebrated. It's the kind of project that reminds you why design matters: not just because it transforms spaces, but because it transforms how people feel in them.
"This was my little baby, to be fair. It was the first project where I was given completely free hand to do whatever I wanted. And my god, I really enjoyed it."
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