Winch Design unveils The OWO Penthouse 

Winch Design are delighted to unveil The Penthouse at The OWO, a 7,700 sqft residence with uninterrupted views of St James’s Park.

In the design of the five-bedroom lateral penthouse, Winch has collaborated with over forty award-winning suppliers to craft and source bespoke pieces of furniture, fabrics, artwork and accessories, creating a residence that feels carefully curated over time. Featuring a private gym and sauna, cinema and games room, staff quarters and expansive terraces with panoramic views, The OWO Penthouse is a truly one-of-a-kind residence. 

Weaving the historical context of the building and its surroundings into every corner of the penthouse, Winch Design sought inspiration from diverse elements of British culture including Savile Row tailoring, multicultural creativity, traditional craftsmanship and the iconic London skyline, as well as from the residence’s own views and outlook. Beautifully executed and with astonishing attention to detail paid throughout, the result is a vibrant and characterful residence where colour, texture and bold choices sit beautifully alongside the paired back nature of the penthouse’s considered interior architecture, meticulously designed by Winch.

Winch Design partnered with several celebrated suppliers to bring this vision to life. The team created a range of custom, deeply textured handwoven fabrics with ANAMAR for the principal suite that reference the sartorial elegance of London’s Savile Row and Jermyn Street. The collection also includes hand-made silks that reflect the iridescent natural light that floods the principal bedroom. Epitomising British fabric making, heritage tailor Holland & Sherry created bespoke embroidery and fabrics for the home office, dining room and guest suites that again hark back to Savile Row; dining room chairs, for example, feature Holland & Sherry upholstery in a custom-made, modern British houndstooth print. In the penthouse’s living spaces, classical furniture designed by British maker Robert Langford reference the building’s Georgian architectural heritage, and are given a modern twist with bold, geometric fabrics by Pierre Frey, a nod to the blending of old and new. One-off collectors’ pieces from Modernity in Stockholm infuse the space with a real sense of discovery, whilst hand-woven silk fabrics from ANAMAR in California have been designed exclusively for The OWO Penthouse. 

Also within the penthouse sits The OWO chair, a custom piece created by Winch Design's in-house furniture design team and skilfully crafted by bespoke furniture manufacturers, Fabrili. Upholstered in a cream bouclé fabric from Pierre Frey, the chair's design incorporates the soft curves and timeless tones of The OWO’s exterior Portland stone and was inspired by a modern reimagining of the classic British Chesterfield.

In the entrance hallway and principal bedroom, Winch Design worked with lighting designers Gabriel Scott to create custom, statement light installations that also act as pieces of sculptural art. Meanwhile in the private gym, equipment has been commissioned by Paragon Studio and handmade using natural and sustainable kinetic materials. Demonstrating the importance of craftsmanship within the scheme, Winch Design worked with QEST (Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust), selecting a number of sculptural works by QEST scholars, including self-taught woodturning sculptor Max Bainbridge and stone-carving sculptor Tom Merrett, who also worked on the exterior restoration of The OWO.

With the first homeowners having recently taken residence at The OWO, and the Raffles London at The OWO hotel set to open in summer 2023, the restoration of London’s former Old War Office is nearly complete. Alongside the penthouse, the building is also home to 85 unique Raffles branded residences, the 120-bedroom flagship Raffles hotel and a collection of nine restaurants and three bars.