If, like us, you’re a little bit obsessed with interior design then you may have already come across 2LG Studio on Instagram or picked up some brill tips from their column in the Metro. And if you haven’t, you can meet Jordan and Russell right now…
Where do you live in London and what do you like about the area?
We live in Forest Hill, South East London in a Victorian property that we are renovating. We have been here for about 11 years now and it feels like home. Before moving south of the river we lived in north London, Muswell Hill, but when we decided to buy we looked south east because we couldn’t afford anything north. We bought a 2 bed flat in a 1930’s block, then a terraced house 4 years later that we renovated and sold on to buy the house we are now in. We love it here for the community vibe on the high street, the green space and the Horniman Museum. Our coffee shop, St David Coffeehouse, is opposite Forest Hill station and serves Square Mile coffee. We own it with our best friend and it gives us a great base.
[easy-image-collage id=123921]How has your background in theatre informed your design practice?
Theatre is all about working as part of a team, writer, director, designer, actor, lighting, sound. All have an important role. We loved that collaborative way of working and we have naturally brought that into our work. We often work with upcoming design talent and artists to create bespoke pieces for our projects. It gives the client unique pieces and helps to give new talent a showcase and chance to test out new materials/products. That is really important to us as it is very hard to showcase your work when you don’t have investment behind you. When we started our business we had no money in the pot, so it has really grown slowly from the ground up. There is also something so creative and stimulating about working with new people. The other side of our theatre training as actors is that we learned to get inside a character and leave our egos at the door. This has been a major asset in our design work. We love people and understanding they way they want to live, present themselves, how they want their home to make them feel – that is what motivates us. Even when we design products, we often create characters in our heads and use theatre and film references as inspiration.
What’s your fave project you’ve worked on and why?
Earlier this year we completed a one bedroom apartment in Waterloo. Our smallest project to date, but one of our favourites because it was a full redesign and every square inch packs a punch. We are also loving designing our new kitchen/studio space. It has been three years in the making and is finally nearly ready. We have taken our time with it, designing our own kitchen collection, lighting collection and bespoke furniture for the space so we cannot wait to launch it.
[easy-image-collage id=123922]What are your top design tips for renters who want to makeover their home but can’t re-paint or drill into walls etc?
Get friendly with your landlord and you may find that they are up for some paint or paper or even a new bathroom. If you are good tenant they may want to make it work for you both. If not, don’t worry, you can still make it yours. We always think rugs are a great way to add colour or personality to a room and you can take them with you. There are also some amazing new wall products, like vinyl wallpaper and Haru tape (giant interior washi tape) that give you the opportunity to personalise your space without damaging walls. Beyond that, get some great freestanding shelving (storage is always a plus) and curate your own display of books and plants and vintage objects that make you feel good.
Describe your perfect day in London.
A breakfast in our shop with great coffee and avo on sourdough, followed by a shopping trip for clothes in town, or maybe Shoreditch, then a trip to Liberty to look at the fabrics and furniture, then dinner at Mildreds in Soho (we are vegan) and a trip to the theatre. Maybe something at the National or the Young Vic (The Inheritance was incredible), or even the latest Punchdrunk piece (if they decide to do another piece here in London – fingers crossed).