Words by Lowenna Meritt
Iroka’s latest project proves once again why it has a national reputation as one of the south west’s favourite interior designers.
In a previous volume, we featured Iroka’s collaboration with Legacy Properties, detailing how the team’s high-end Cornish interior design does not pivot around what is ‘in vogue’, but rather sets an unmatched standard of its own. Nothing has changed since then, and Iroka continues to impress with their dazzling interiors.
As a Cornish based interior design company, they are small as a team, but certainly not in knowledge. They offer a highly personalised and tailored experience to all customers, refurbishing properties of any size, head to toe. The team consists of experts in all fields, from a kitchen design team to a window dressing team, meaning all aspects of home refurbishment can be handled by them, allowing for a stress-free experience from start to finish. Each project is authentic as it is driven entirely by the client, with Iroka working to ensure every customer’s vision is brought to life. Priding themselves on high-quality and impeccable visuals, their interiors showcase how luxury can blend with simplicity and comfort. On stepping foot inside one of their stylish rooms, the overwhelming feeling you get is simply that of ‘zen’. Their typical work makes the best of what the property architecturally has to offer, keeping their style toned down to emphasise the natural features of the building and surroundings, such as views from the window and natural light. Adapting around the property and maximising the flow of sunlight into the home creates a sense of harmony in which you feel simultaneously at home, and in a place of lavish luxury.
Iroka’s latest project, designed and built by Parc Owles Design & Development, is a private residence, located in one of the most stunning and sought-after locations in Cornwall. The property boasts four storeys, vast open living spaces, extensive landscaped gardens and panoramic sea views – the perfect blank canvas for Iroka to embellish with contemporary luxury. As a modern and stylish private holiday residence, the brief was to create a contemporary home which captures the expansive ocean vistas, and Iroka bought its unflinching flair for design to ensure this was achieved to the highest level.
The overall style features a relaxed colour palette of grey and white, with use of organic materials such as pale wood and velvet embellished with notes of silver and grey marble. Furniture includes oval shapes, rounded corners and a modern and geometric style, whilst lighting is subtle but bright and flattering on the property’s contemporary aura. The cherry on the cake of this stunning project is its unique elements – a large Saba Italia sofa, a private cinema and games room, and an infinity pool. The building and its amenities boast the utmost in luxury, which Iroka’s interior design only serves to enhance.
On stepping into the hallway, you enter a large-scale pivot door and immediately lay eyes on the exposed glass staircase, the spine of the building which binds all of the floors together with a true sense of cohesion. The concept of the central staircase was inspired by water droplets and this is evident – hanging from the fourteen-metre drop ceiling height are dangling lightbulbs which fall through the middle of the staircase, giving the illusion of a waterfall of light, around which the stairway twines. The stairs themselves, with their glass sides, allow for the light to shine through, creating natural light reflections and patterns onto the surrounding walls. This, accompanied by the hand-waxed white oiled oak flooring and the white of the walls, opens the space up, with sunlight bouncing off the walls. The stairway is finished off with a centrepiece of pebbles beneath the lights, a finishing touch which adds a Cornish, beachy feel.
The kitchen is a large, open-plan room with minimal profile glass sliding doors, designed to maximise the amount of light flowing into the space. A marble topped island and breakfast bar creates a relaxed ambience as the cooking space and dining space are merged into a communal area for socialising and entertaining. In keeping with the Iroka tradition, the design of the room is centred around the views, and in this case the kitchen and dining area is set up to enhance the panoramic ocean scenery that can be seen from the large windows. To do so, the dining table is positioned parallel to the scenery, with the Moooi pendant light that hangs above the tabletop designed to be almost transparent, drawing the eye to the view. The marble table and kitchen tops add to the luxurious feel of the room, and it is truly the heart of the property. The owners can reconfigure the space to suit the needs of different families, including adjusting the size of the dining table to accommodate more people. The combination of light-coloured floors, walls and glass features cause you to become transfixed in the oceanic views. In fact, this delicately designed room almost creates the feeling that you are floating above the ocean itself.
The lounge has a similar light and airy feel, with a vaulted ceiling and apex floor-to-ceiling glazing maximising the views and natural light. A plush, custom designed Saba Italia L shaped sofa is angled towards the view, as is the desk, making the room perfect for both work and relaxation in front of the panoramic vista.
The master bedroom boasts a double height ceiling, and two parallel windows offer views of the coastline on one side and the infinity pool on the other. Iroka has also included two sofas and a chic contemporary coffee table, creating a more private relaxation area. It is, nevertheless, a house designed for the needs of all of the family, and this is particularly evident through the carefully thought out games and cinema room, which is appropriate for the enjoyment of all age groups. It is divided into two spatial zones, one with a modern pool table in keeping with the grey colour scheme, and one with another luxurious corner sofa positioned before the cinema screen. An overhead recessed skylight creates excellent lighting, keeping the room as stylish and inviting as all of the others.
Iroka’s properties are enviable in their high-end chic, endless luxuriousness and organic feel. The company does not go for flashy, over-the-top interiors. Instead, personal care is taken in choosing interiors that feel right for the client, and customers can feel happy knowing that their own personal vision for their home is being adhered to. Not only do the team design your property, they also have an extensive list of suppliers and an in-house installation team who will fit all of the furniture, flooring, kitchen and windows for you. There is a project management service available too, upon request, meaning that all aspects of the design and renovation are taken care of in one place. Customer satisfaction is evidently at the heart of this company, from the project planning right the way through to the finishing touches of the design.
This home is an example of interior design that works to enhance and embellish the property’s already beautiful features, instead of overshadowing them. It keeps its décor simplistic and classy, creating a property that the owners won’t feel afraid to fully enjoy and get cosy in.
A small, personal and attentive brand, Iroka offers a level of care that can be seen in each and every project it’s a part of, and this exceptional Cornish property is just one in a long list of incredible examples.