Risen like a phoenix from the flames, this studio on the Finchley Road in London has recovered from a devastating fire and is now doing better than ever

Located on the busy Finchley Road the building that Poggenpohl’s showroom occupies has played home to interiors businesses for decades. But a devastating fire decimated the studio just before Christmas 2021. 

The team, led by studio manager James Kalozois, used it as an opportunity to grow bigger and stronger, opening up again after 18 months in June this year. “Customers generally go away for quite a bit in the summer, but for us, this has been one of the busiest times of the year,” Kalozois explains. “Since reopening, the interest has been huge!”

It’s not hard to see why there has been so much interest, as there has been a lot of thought and care put into the showroom’s development. Kalozois says that he and his team wanted to put their stamp on it and didn’t just want an identikit studio that was entirely the brainchild of the German HQ, and Poggenpohl largely gave them free rein. They’ve also had the freedom to partner with various third-party businesses and local suppliers they like – Buster & Punch, Tiger Moth, Quasar Lighting and others. And the team had around 10,000 square feet to play with, which made things easier.

“There was quite a long period between the fire and work starting on refurbishment,” Kalozois explains, “so there was a lot of time to plan and hone our ideas. And some of the partnerships have been inspired by our customers. For example, a soft furnishing brand we now have on board had been doing something for a client and their bar stools really coordinated well with our furniture, so we’ve partnered with them as there was great synergy between us.”

The large space is split into three distinct showrooms. As you walk in, to the left there is an area with warm, softer finishes and a more timeless colour scheme with more of an opulent finish – brasses and golds. According to Kalozois, these are the most popular finishes with customers.

The middle studio has more of a contemporary feel, for smaller apartments, and for people on the lookout for something ultra-modern, with blacks and cooler greys. This space is dominated by the spacious bar area.

Finally, the right-hand studio has been designed with a lot more flair and a lot more colour. “We’ve used these bold green Marazzi tiles, brown, embroidered wallpaper and that’s all pulled together with our sage green cabinetry and our Contour Line cabinetry which has the milled aluminium edges. This area is really built for those open to something a bit more dramatic.”

The team at the refurbished Poggenpohl studio take pride in the fact they designed every inch of it, with just a few elements specified by the brand’s German HQ. “We have  such a sense of ownership of everything and it’s great because if someone comes in, they say ‘okay, I like what you’ve done here’. It gives our clients confidence in us.”

Kalozois concludes: “The idea is that whatever the type of customer, we should have something that appeals to them.”