The Other House, London – Tearing up the rule book

Posted in Projects on 8 November, 2022

An entirely new way of staying. It’s your other house for as long as you’re in town. Hotel service, club facilities and apartment-style living: think pied-à-terre meets private club.

The Other House has opened the first of its new Residents’ Clubs, The Other House South Kensington. This pioneering concept provides all its residents apartment-style living, club facilities and hotel services on tap – and no membership is required.

The concept, shaped through a residential lens rather than a conventional hotel approach, offers something completely unique for those wanting to live like a local, to feel it is their other house, whatever the length of stay – be it a day, a month or a year.

It is as much an exciting, eclectic, boldly designed new destination for guests coming for just a few days as it is a London bolt-hole for those who moved to the country during the pandemic or international visitors needing a place in London to call home. Offering ‘Club Flats’, a Private Club for residents and hotel services, it is the first of this type of accommodation that the UK has seen.

The Other House South Kensington, London, UK. Above: ClubFlat ClubTown Blue. Top: The Owl & Monkey Bar

Located on leafy Harrington Gardens, South Kensington, behind the impressive façade of 11 grand Victorian townhouses, the interior has been completely renovated and reconfigured. It now houses over 200 Club Flats, private meeting and dining rooms and exciting event spaces. Its Private Club for residents includes two bars, a screening room and extensive wellness and wellbeing spaces, including a vitality pool, state-of-the-art gym and a meditation hub. For a more local vibe, there is an all-day street café, The Other Kitchen, and a signature cocktail bar, The Owl and Monkey.

There are many configurations of Club Flats, including the Club Originals, Club Class, Club Vaults and Club Collection – all embracing the period architecture of the buildings they are within. They range from studio-style flats to three bedrooms, 247 sqft (23 sqm) to 656 sqft (61 sqm). For larger groups, there are Club Combos – options to interconnect two, three or four Club Flats all behind a single front door or around a private internal courtyard – up to 1,238 sqft (115 sqm).

Club Flats are located along ‘streets’, each named after people of note from the local area, giving every Club Flat a unique address of its own – so no soulless corridors and floor numbers. The inspirational living spaces are dressed in a rich colour palette layered with velvets, British tweed and wool, and feature a panelled sitting room, fully equipped kitchen/diner, a bedroom and elegant shower room.

Naomi Heaton

Naomi Heaton, Co-owner and CEO at The Other House, who has helped mastermind the project and brings extensive property restoration and rental know-how from London Central Portfolio Ltd (LCP), a leading real estate investment advisory, which she founded over 30 years ago, comments: “Working with heritage architecture brings its challenges and there have been unexpected discoveries as well as some delightful surprises, in many cases not uncovered until the strip-out process in the early stages. Restoring historic buildings is incredibly rewarding and is what will make our Residents’ Clubs individual, unique and embedded with history. Given my background, we are acquiring assets In the very heart of central London and generally in need of refurbishment and reorganisation. This enables us to make our vision a reality while minimising environmental impact and breathing new life into these dilapidated buildings.”

Read the full interview with Naomi Heaton in the November/December edition of SPACE here

Design Inspiration
The Other House has worked closely with the award-winning, London-based, Bergman Design House as their interior design partner. The inspiration for the interiors was derived from the local culture of South Kensington – a unique area brimming with art, design and tradition. The spirit of whimsy and English eccentricity was the starting point for the design – guided by beguiling gardens, interesting architecture, the language of arches and the nearby Gloucester Road tube station. This narrative is echoed throughout the entire building, connecting spaces, leading residents from one experience to the next. The result? A voyage of discovery, a world that is fantastical and flamboyant, but also relaxing and comforting in equal measure. All brought to life by the very best of British craftsmanship.

Sustainability
Sustainability underpins every decision that is made at The Other House and to this end initiatives have been implemented from construction through to operations – with the aim of achieving the BREEAM ‘Excellent’ category, representing only the top 10% of buildings. From using materials with a low environmental impact to carrying out lifecycle assessments to inform selection – it is committed to sourcing products from verified environmentally friendly suppliers and supporting local artisans and craftsmanship. Furniture, fittings and fabrics throughout the Residents’ Club from the front of house to the Club Flats are from British design houses.

It all adds up to a genuine retreat in the heart of the capital where an investment in eco-consciousness is just as seamlessly integrated as modern amenities and inspirational design. It is a destination for the wise owl who cares for the planet and the curious monkey who are looking for great experiences. Hence the name of the eponymous Owl and Monkey cocktail bar at the Other House. Which are you? To find out, The Other House South Kensington will open its doors on 5th July 2022, showcasing the best in British design, with sustainability and positive social and environmental impact at its core.

Lobby

The Lobby
A whimsical aesthetic begins on arrival, where visitors start on a journey through interconnecting spaces, revealing hidden depths, created through an artful interplay of wallpapers and fabrics from British textile and furniture houses, all punctuated by bold and unexpected touches. Throughout the entire space you will see a kaleidoscope of deep regency hues including deepest greens, inky blues, rich burgundies and gold, curated by The Other House and London Design House, Bergmans.

The lobby is designed as a stunning and welcoming entrance for residents of The Other House rather than a traditional hotel reception dominated by guests and luggage being checked in and out. The lobby, deliberately not grand in size, is fun, richly layered and opulent. The jaw-dropping 30ft botanical chandelier, designed and made by Cox London, stretches across the ceiling, geometric tiles adorn the floors and rectangular oxblood tiles cover the entrance to the gold-toned lifts.

Discretely tucked away to the left of the lobby, through one of the many signature style arches, is ‘reception’, where guests will see a stunning gold hand-painted screen by Edinburgh-based Hedi Munro, installed behind a cut mirror desk. To the right of the lobby is The Library, visible through a matching arch, showing flashes of an intricately patterned teal and red wallpaper amongst the books and objét that line its shelves.

Walking past The Library and an incredibly flamboyant peacock chair to the all-day café, The Other Kitchen, and signature cocktail bar, The Owl & Monkey, an elegant sweeping staircase leads to the Private Club below.

The Owl & Monkey bar

The Owl & Monkey and The Other Kitchen
The fantastical destination bar, The Owl & Monkey, transports you to a completely different world. Exotic wallcoverings (in The Other House signature owl and monkey wallpaper) and animal-print fabrics draw on a mythical world of jungle-like flora and fauna. Ornate lighting, a green marble floor, windows overlooking an internal glazed atrium with tree top views and a glimpse of the Private Club below, add to the sense of adventure.

The all-day street café, known as The Other Kitchen, invites you in with black and white checkerboard floors and walls, a sumptuous red leather bar and textured wallpaper with a ruffled silk-like texture. The overall effect is both glamorous and casual in equal measure. Towards the end of The Other Kitchen, you will find two handsome private meeting and dining rooms, named after famed South Kensington residents, Mervyn Peake and Francis Bacon, with their dark panelled walls and solid herringbone wood floors.

The Other Kitchen

Keeping Room left and Hogsmire bar right

Private Club
The rather enigmatic Private Club, available for all residents to enjoy (and a very limited number of outside members), includes two exclusive and very different bars. Hogsmire, whose name derives from the 17th century name for the area, is a glazed double-storey, tree-filled space with a distinctively outdoor feel – brought to life with ornate mosaic tile floors, a stunning jungle-like plaster relief, suspended brass birds and an ‘outdoor’ fire. The atmospheric Keeping Room has a completely different look and feel with deep blue Anaglypta textured wallpaper, inviting low-level seating, underground vaults, a whisky locker (for your favourite bottle) and an open fire. Adjacent is The Den, a cosy screening room with relaxed seating that is bookable for private parties.

The Other Space is the Private Club’s wellness and wellbeing offering. Here, amongst other facilities, you will find the vitality pool with shimmering iridescent black mosaic tiles, a dark reflective ceiling and huge circular wall sconce which changes colour throughout the day and night.

Found here are also the exotic powder rooms, which are well worth a visit in themselves!

ClubFlat ClubTown RedRoom Kitchen

The Club Flats
The Club Flats, located off corridors with dramatically changing designs and colours, are all named after famous local residents so each has its own unique ‘address’. With boldly designed contemporary spaces, they comprise a living area, kitchen/diner, bedroom and elegant shower room. They are saturated with bold colours, think teal blue, perylene green and oxblood red, and layered with velvets, British tweed and wool. Laser cut metal screens with a burnished gold and brass effect, with tree, leaf and Art-Deco designs often feature as artwork separating the bedroom and the sitting room. Shower rooms reflect the same colour scheme as the main living areas to create a sense of flow and continuity of space.

ABOUT THE OTHER HOUSE
The Other House is tearing up the rule book and launching a new sector of Residents Clubs, redefining the hospitality market. It effortlessly combines apartment-style living with hotel services on tap and club facilities. Think pied-à-terre meets private club, available for all residents to enjoy. It is cool, intriguing, bold and committed to sustainability. Whether it’s for a day or a year, it is their other house for as long as they are in town.

Launched in 2019, The Other House is a joint venture partnership between London Central Portfolio (LCP), leading real estate investment advisory in Prime Central London and APG, the largest pension provider in the Netherlands. Opened in South Kensington in July 2022 and Covent Garden in 2024, further openings are planned in central London and internationally.

www.otherhouse.com

www.bergmandesignhouse.com