Interiors company Sigmar creates a Scandinavian modernist haven in London
Founded in 2005, Sigmar’s interior design firm was born out of ardor for traditional Scandinavian furniture. Driven by a preference for satisfaction and integrity, proprietors Ebba Thott and Nina Hertig have developed the practice into a multidisciplinary tour depressure. Alongside the layout studio and flagship London showroom, Sigmar additionally components different stores and consults on international projects. In 2007 (W* ninety-seven), Wallpaper* visited one of their ultra-modern initiatives, a Knightsbridge townhouse.
Hen, a Swedish hedge fund supervisor with an ardor for Scandinavian modernism, desired to do up his ‘Euro chintz’ townhouse in London’s Knightsbridge; he went instantly to Sigmar, an interior layout outfit primarily based in Chelsea. Run with the aid of Swedish/Danish duo Ebba Thott and Nina Hertig, it specializes in unfashionable furnishings from Scandi greats, including Finn Juhl and Hans Wegner, as well as smooth, modern-day portions from the likes of the Finnish enterprise Sector and Israeli clothier Yedidia Blonder, and anyone else who does new-college modernism. According to Thott, they’re difficult to discover. ‘Young designers working in the actual modernist spirit are few and a long way between.’
‘When we started, anybody said, “You’re a very area of interest, and we’ll provide you with six months.” That becomes -and-a-1/2 years ago,’ adds Thott, who trained as a product dressmaker and labored in interiors in New York earlier than transferring to London some years ago. At the same time, the fashion for Scandinavian design changed to pink hot. Since setting up collectively, the duo has performed some residential projects. Still, the house in Knightsbridge is the most formidable to date, belonging because it does to a modernism fan who stocks their passion (and has a large budget).
The proprietor became open to a few of the duo’s hints, which protected blending classics – Serge Mouille lighting, unique Castiglioni lamps, Hans Wegner teak beds – with rare portions, which include a sweeping rosewood dining table embedded with coins by Finn Juhl, and a table, designed in 1959 through Bodil Kjaer, one in every of which was utilized by James Bond baddie Blofeld in Diamonds Are Forever, and You Only Live Twice. (Michael Caine and Prince Philip have also been proud proprietors.)
Hertig, who studied at Sotheby’s, scours auctions and income worldwide and likes nothing greater than getting her palms on uncommon portions (a current coup changed into Austrian Bauhaus architect’s estate Ernst Pollak). Thott masterminded the indoors, which turned into ‘setting furniture that appears new, however not new’, along with the house’s authentic length capabilities.
Dotted with only a few key pieces, the three-story bachelor pad is pretty minimal. However, he insists the proprietor is crowded compared with his former condo, which consisted of a mattress and sofas. So, starting afresh became smooth, and having grown up with Swedish modernism, he felt it turned into a time to revisit it. ‘I didn’t adore it as a toddler, but this time, I enjoyed coming up with an entire idea. It’s a house that’s a great deal, approximately non-public spaces, and it works’. ‘
