Step Inside a Stylish London Party Pad Designed by AD100 Decorator Beata Heuman

Beata Heuman , the London–based AD100 decorator who has captivated the world with her colorful, chock-full-of-charm homes, has worked with all sorts of clients. But, she admits, she has developed a type: People who have just started their families with one or two young children in tow. So when two just-married (and childless) twenty-somethings hired her to decorate their roomy, two-floor corner apartment (with a private roof terrace!) in London’s trendy Notting Hill neighborhood, the brief was, well, kind of liberating.

“It was quite fun to design for a young couple where it’s more about entertaining friends and making them feel comfortable and relaxed than thinking too much about nappy stations,” Heuman says. For this project, she worked closely with Caroline Barker, her senior designer. Once they got to work, they realized the apartment had a bit of a reputation: “People in the neighborhood knew it as a party flat,” Heuman says. She and her team leaned into the lore, creating elevated entertaining opportunities wherever they could.

To create a distinctly different atmosphere in the library, Heuman and Barker covered walls and cabinetry in French polished birch plywood. They even created bespoke grills to cover the radiators. The Cub Chair is from Heuman’s Shoppa line, the painted table is custom, and the pendant is vintage.

The late 19th-century hotel-turned-apartment—tucked discreetly above some shops—had good bones, but some rather unfortunate interventions. So, Heuman and Barker worked their magic. Their biggest architectural tweak was to transform an awkward staircase—one of the first things you see when you enter the house from the street—into what Heuman describes as, “a swoop; something dynamic and circular and a lot more welcoming.” Meanwhile, around the house they made mood-enhancing updates. They removed a ton of bulky built-in storage, opening up space where they could, they installed traditional cabinetry in the kitchen all the way up to the ceiling (more storage that way!), and clad the cozy, second-floor library space with polished French birch plywood panels. Although the dark brown floors on the lower level weren’t really to their taste, they opted for the least invasive option: A coat of not-quite-fuchsia paint, inspired by a floor Heuman clocked in Palermo on her honeymoon. It set the tone for the project.

“The challenge was to celebrate the openness of the space, but not make it feel overwhelmingly big for just the two of them,” Heuman explains. She thinks a lot about floor plans, about how her clients will move through their home in different ways. And, when decorating this roomy apartment for two, she wanted to ensure that spaces wouldn’t sit empty or unused. “We work a lot with contrast, creating different moods in different rooms. You want a reason to go into a different area,” she continues. Hence, the cozy, moody, wood-clad library; the fanciful, terrace-adjacent dressing area; and the cork-covered office.

Although the clients originally asked for a minimalist home, Heuman and Barker happily nudged them into a slightly more fanciful direction when it came to furnishings, fabrics, and, of course, that fuchsia floor. Furnishings are a colorful and casual mix of vintage and antiques, bespoke designs, and pieces from Heuman’s own in-house line Shoppa . And, as in all of Heuman’s projects, one-of-a-kind touches abound. Lamps in the dining area are topped with bespoke shades painted by Lois Bryson-Edmett, a junior designer in Heuman’s office. The fireplace, given a coat of chalkboard paint, bears doodles and messages from friends. A custom headboard was conjured for the petite guest bedroom. And when the client, who has Swedish roots like Heuman, requested some Scandinavian references, the designers infused the space with several bold Josef Frank prints from the Stockholm design mecca Svenskt Tenn .

Heuman’s Dodo Egg pendant crowns the primary bath, which features washstands with nickel taps from Drummonds and mirrors (painted to look like green linen) that disguise loads of storage. The vintage wood cupboard is curtained with Les Indiennes fabric.

The heart of the home is the open-plan, second-floor space where two cozy Pinch sofas (a Heuman favorite) face off in the sitting area adjacent to the kitchen and dining spaces. Classic cabinetry stretches to the ceiling (Heuman was inspired by the kitchen at Swan House in Atlanta, Georgia), and a custom butcher block on wheels can be moved around depending on the mood. The early 19th-century French extending dining table—one of their first purchases for the apartment—is the perfect canvas for dinner parties: Its rich, warm walnut wood is worn in just enough that the clients didn’t have to feel precious about it. “This open area here can work as a dance floor, and then there’s a bar here,” Heuman explains, pointing out the custom bar, painted by a specialist. Soon they’ll add a DJ deck to the right of it. You can picture the precise, post-dinner moment when the music gets a little groovier and guests take off their shoes.

“Okay, it might still be a bit of a party flat,” Heuman admits and then laughs. “But it looks better than it ever has.”

In the entrance hall—with a view to the terrace—Heuman created a bespoke table, fitted over the radiator, with a drawer for house keys.

Heuman and her team call the vintage mirror in the downstairs bath (painted Aeoli by Paint and Paper Library ) the croissant mirror, for its likeness to the pastry.

The central staircase was the biggest architectural change Heuman and her team made to this apartment. “All the rooms on each floor wrap around the staircase,” Barker explains. “So we wanted to create something that felt smooth and swooping, with a sense of momentum, whilst also not occupying as big a footprint as before.” A less invasive yet equally impactful change was painting the dark brown wood floors an electric not-quite-fuchsia hue, inspired by an 18th-century floor Heuman saw in Palermo. The antique French pine Louis Philippe armoire is from 1870 and provides storage for coats and shoes.

Entertaining is a big priority in this apartment, so Heuman created this bespoke marble bar, embellished by a decorative painter. “When you arrive at the top of the spiral staircase, the bar is the first thing you see,” Barker says. The lamp overhead is a brass Italian sputnik chandelier, the same as the one that crowns the dining table. “We wanted something high impact,” Barker explains. Soon, they’ll add a DJ deck to the right.

Two sofas by Pinch (Heuman’s go-to store) adorned with patterned pillows by Yinka Ilori face off in the living area, surrounded by a stool and rug by Heuman, and a range of vintage finds. The fireplace painted with chalkboard paint is now covered with notes and doodles by the clients and their friends. The display of personal photography above the fireplace is a clever disguise for the television.

The kitchen, with bespoke, newly-installed cabinetry that nearly reaches the ceiling is all about flexibility. The custom end grain oak butcher block is on wheels, making it easy to move around for entertaining, and the Markslojd Kirkenes pendants are on bungees so they can pull up or down depending on the task at hand. The circular bespoke breakfast table keeps traffic moving around the room. All of the hardware is designed by Heuman .

“It was important for the clients to be able to host large dinner parties, so a big extending table was a must,” explains senior designer Caroline Barker. “This 19th-century French extending dining table, which we found at Bonham’s, was the first piece we bought, [and] was exactly what we had in mind.” The table is surrounded by leather-backed chairs from Gemla , the oldest furniture manufacturer in Sweden. The sculptural plaster fireplace, inspired by one from Julian Schnabel’s Palazzo Chupi is flanked by Heuman–designed cabinets , vintage tailors mirrors, and lamps topped with bespoke shades painted by Lois Bryson-Edmett, a junior designer in Heuman’s office. The tapestry is by Jean Lurcat.

A pendant light from Svenskt Tenn crowns the study, which features bespoke cabinetry, doors, and desks by Heuman. The walls of the study are lined in cork, a material designers love. As Barker explains, “It has such a warm feel, but it also allows the walls to be ever changing and personal with notes, postcards, and photos pinned onto the walls.”

To create a distinctly different atmosphere in the library, Heuman and Barker covered walls and cabinetry in French polished birch plywood. They even created bespoke grills to cover the radiators. The Club Chair is from Heuman’s Shoppa line, the painted table is custom, and the pendant is vintage.

Heuman and Barker stripped away unattractive cladding from the staircase and added balustrades to allow light to pass through from the skylight above. They also concealed loads of storage beneath the stairs. The vintage chaise is recovered in fabric from Svenskt Tenn, and the drafting table and chair are vintage.

Inspired by the checkered Shōkin-tei tea pavilion at the Katsura Imperial Villa in Kyoto, Japan, Heuman and Barker hired a decorative painter to create the blue-and-white checkerboard pattern in the powder room. They spray-painted the petite sink to match.

In the dreamy primary bedroom the bed, canopy, and bench are all bespoke. The paintings, a commission from artist Molly van Amerongen, are based on personal photographs of the clients. The pendants are Heuman’s Moon lights , the rug is her Grotta Matta , and the vintage Knoll sofa was reupholstered in her Jumbo Gingham .

To create a dressing space where the client would want to linger, Heuman and team devised a skirted dressing table and illuminated mirror fit for a movie star. The cabinet on the left contains a coffee machine so the client can enjoy her morning cup here or in the adjoining terrace. The vintage chair is outfitted with custom Heuman–designed feet, and the pendant light was custom made on Murano.

When the door to the wardrobe—covered in a joyful Josef Frank fabric from Svenskt Tenn—is closed, it looks like a tall mirror hung on the wall above the molding.

Heuman’s Dodo Egg pendant crowns the primary bath, which features washstands with nickel taps from Drummonds and mirrors (painted to look like green linen) that disguise loads of storage. The vintage wood cupboard is curtained with Les Indiennes fabric.

“This is an unusually narrow room for the property,” Barker explains of the guest bedroom. “So the idea was for the headboard to be a large piece of art, filling most of the wall.” It delights the eye alongside a custom striped quilt perfected fitted to the bed.

The walls of the guest bath are covered in Beton Ciré, a kind of water resistant concrete that Barker praises for its “lovely depth and softness—perfect for use where there’s a shower.”