Ember Locke

Curtis kitchens cook up a storm at Ember Locke

Kitchenettes by UK manufacturer Curtis Furniture feature on Locke’s first West London site.

Locke’s first West London aparthotel will open this summer complete with top-spec bespoke kitchenettes by specialist hotel furniture manufacturers Curtis.

The Leeds-based company manufactured more than 100 fully fitted kitchens in 15 design types and five different sizes for Ember Locke, the group’s sixth site in London, ninth in the UK and 13th in Europe.

The interiors in the new aparthotel, in an imposing mansion block on Cromwell Road, marks the first collaboration between creative and interior design houses Atelier Ochre and House of Dré, with many of Ember Locke’s quirks coming from the original South Kensington Victorian building itself.

These quirks quickly became apparent as Curtis designed and manufactured the kitchenettes for the retro boudoir-style serviced apartments, including studio, twin, family, duplex and suited rooms. Many of the units required a completely bespoke design due to, for instance, the eaves in the attic rooms. 

Curtis supplied the drawers and cupboards of the kitchen carcasses to fit-out specialists County Contractors to install on seven of the eight floors.  Their classic forest green shade complements the colour palettes of deep and tonal reds with pops of yellow and gold. The six-phase contract took over four months, to spring this year. 

County Contractors director Mark Heathman said: “We have worked with Curtis on many hotels and I am pleased to say that, yet again, they performed well on our latest project for Ember Locke in Kensington.

“They manufactured 120 kitchens for our project, all with paint finish doors and drawer fronts. Curtis were a great support in engineering and designing kitchens which worked across the many challenging room types in this beautiful period building. The deliveries were communicated by a dedicated project manager and the furniture arrived on time for what was a challenging multi phased programme.”

The carpets and bedheads use 100% recycled plastics and can be recycled if disposed of, while the heavy recycled-cotton claret curtains, custom-created by a local textile company, track around the walls and create a flexible room divider, separating the bed and kitchen areas when needed.

Re-using and re-working was a key aspect of this project. Vintage furniture, retained and re-framed architectural aspects and a curated collection of furnishings and accessories, including sumptuous use of velvet and fringing, give the building a new lease of life.

Curtis’ head of projects, Tracie Blakeney-Patton, said: “Ember Locke was a challenging but deeply satisfying project, especially following as closely as it did its neighbouring South Kensington project, The Other House. At Ember Locke, our kitchenettes bring a semblance of classic practicality to the glamour of the golden era of South Kensington.”