Two famous upper-class London hangouts have been given a spit and polish recently. First up, the Soho-based Groucho Club has been redesigned by Michaelis Boyd Associates, who were tasked with updating the arts & media-focused private members club back in 2013, and have made several major interventions within it to create a unified look across three conjoined buildings. Michaelis Boyd worked with creative director Alice Anthony and the Groucho Club’s art director Nicky Carter on the redesign to make sure it could support the club’s ever evolving art collection. The overall theme of the design was that the team wanted the space to look as if it has “Evolved over time.”
The Soho-based Groucho Club (the original arts & media private members club) has been redesigned by Michaelis Boyd Associates
The Groucho Club is made up of a number of rooms in a number of buildings, which before felt a little disjointed, but have been brought together thanks to the team at Michaelis Boyd. They saw the project as a challenging jigsaw puzzle, and solved it by creating a more intuitive flow throughout the club's numerous buildings. In the Mary Lou room on the first floor a new bar has been built and a fireplace placed at the heart of the room, in which a plaster ceiling and herringbone floor have been installed. An adjoining dining room features a restored ceiling, new marble tables and curved banquette seating with walls relined with linen to help with acoustics.
Michaelis Boyd worked with creative director Alice Anthony and the Groucho Club’s art director Nicky Carter on the redesign
Elsewhere, a member’s bar on the first floor has a new resin bar top with copper detailing, back-dropped by lacquered walls and siting atop a reclaimed wooden floor, which was salvaged from the BBC’s Bush House. The bar area is populated by custom-designed furniture, reupholstered antiques and pieces by Tom Dixon. The main staircase of the building has been restored and timber paneling on the adjacent walls has been stripped back, a stain glass window has been removed, restored and then added into a former light well, and on the second floor a carpeted screening room has been created with custom made furniture and fabric-lined paneling.
The world-famous London Ivy restaurant has been brought into the 21st century by the Martin Brudnizki Design Studio
Over on the West End, meanwhile, the world-famous London Ivy restaurant has been brought into the 21st century by the Martin Brudnizki Design Studio. MBDS previously created the interior designs for the Ivy’s new sister restaurant The Ivy Market Grill, which opened in Covent Garden last November. The space has been given a complete interior redesign, which was based around the introduction of a new central bar made from coral-coloured onyx with hand-hammered brass tiles. MBDS says the new bar has been designed to open up the restaurant space, while design details around it include mirror-wrapped columns, bespoke lamps and bar stools upholstered in red leather and pink mohair.
MBDS previously created the interior designs for the Ivy’s new sister restaurant The Ivy Market Grill
Whilst the mandate was to bring the celebrity hangout into the modern age, the consultancy has retained elements of the previous interiors, such as the original stained-glass windows and the tradition of installing British art commissions by the likes of Tracey Emin, Peter Blake and Damien Hirst. For the main area, a seductive and glamorous design includes with wood panelling, brass detailing and chairs in varying shades of “Ivy” green and red leather. The ceiling is hung with antique brass as well as glass and mirrored chandeliers, while individual tables are adorned with brass lamps. The private dining room, meanwhile, features its own bar and a feature floral carpet, which MBDS believes adds a sense of British eccentricity to the design. We'd hasten to agree!
