20 Berkeley, the latest project from London’s Creative Restaurant Group, is an ode to produce grown on the British Isles. Unlike some of its flashy neighbors in the swish Mayfair district, it “is about the minutiae of craft, not flamboyance,” says James Michael Lees, cofounder of local design studio Pirajean Lees. “The tactile elements are where the quality lies, rather than a visual explosion.”
“We were able to play with the upstairs-downstairs feel you would traditionally have in these old, grand Mayfair properties,” adds cofounder Clémence Pirajean. “When you open the doors to one of our spaces, it seems like it always belonged there.”
The MI01 Mirror melds silver with a solid wood frame
Since establishing their practice in 2017, Pirajean and Lees have infused interiors, whether private members’ club the House of KOKO in London’s Camden Town or Japanese restaurant and bar Mimi Kakushi in Dubai, with a warm, luxe patina through layered materials. At 20 Berkeley, the swaths of wood on display help achieve this aura, including the two styles of chairs—one with an elegantly curved back, the other flaunting legs with sculptural details reminiscent of spinning tops—designed by the duo.
They are part of Editions, the inaugural furniture and accessories collection from Pirajean Lees, launching soon. Some of these limited-edition pieces made in collaboration with UK craftspeople (the rugs are handmade in Morocco’s Atlas Mountains) first graced a London residence that Pirajean Lees hatched in the Marylebone neighborhood.
Consider the Triangle coffee table, the dining table, or the low-slung, cedar-backed sideboard. There is also an intricate headboard woven from Danish cord, bookends, and a silver, wood-framed mirror that are fashioned out of the likes of sleek limed ash, London plane, and ebonized chestnut. Editions, says Pirajean, is yet another way for the duo to reflect their ardent “pleasure for designing and making.”
A moody vibe pervades House of Koko members club in London
This article originally appeared in HD’s August 2023 issue.
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