David Collins Studio

David Collins Studio is an interior design company based in London, UK, founded by the late Irish architect David Collins (interior designer) (1 March 1955 – 17 July 2013). Established in London in 1985, the studio focuses on interior design of hotels, bars restaurants, retail premises, and residential homes worldwide. The company’s development is credited to David Collins (interior designer) and co-founder and current CEO, Iain Watson.
==Firm History==
David Collins trained at the Dublin School of Architecture before becoming involved in residential and hospitality interior design. He established David Collins Studio in 1985 alongside Iain Watson.
The first restaurant interior design project taken on by David Collins was in 1985. It was for the three Michelin-star restaurant La Tante Claire. Following this, David Collins went on to design restaurant interiors for various British chefs. He designed Harveys (restaurant) in 1987 and Mirabelle (London restaurant) in 1998 for Marco Pierre White, The Gilbert Scott at the St. Pancras Renaissance London Hotel for Marcus Wareing. and Restaurant Gordon Ramsay|Gordon Ramsay’s Restaurant at Royal Hospital Road. David Collins also designed The Blue Bar in Knightsbridge.
The Studio went on to work on global projects including the John Barrett (salon) Salon at Bergdorf Goodman, the Delaire Graff Estate in Stellenbosch and The London West Hollywood in Los Angeles, USA.
Key milestones for the firm include:
* 1985 — David Collins’ first restaurant project - Pierre Koffmann’s La Tante Claire
* 2003 — Designs The Wolseley restaurant in Mayfair, London
* 2008 — Designs the interior of the award-winning Connaught Bar
* 2010 – Designs guest lodges at Delaire Graff Estate in South Africa
* 2010 – Designs the Sky Residences, The Ritz-Carlton Residences in MahaNakhon, Bangkok
* 2014 – Designs Shoe Heaven at Harrods, London
* 2014 – Designs Jimmy Choo’s Flagship Store, New Bond Street, London
* 2015 - Designs global store concept rollout for Alexander McQueen Stores, Worldwide
* 2015 – Celebrates their 30th Anniversary with a two-day exhibition at Phillips auction house, London"></ref>
* 2016 — Designs The American Bar at Gleneagles Hotel, Scotland
* 2017 – Designs a four-bedroom townhouse at Mount Nicholson on The Peak, Hong Kong 
* 2018 — Designs Harrods Men’s Superbrands department"></ref>
* 2018 - Designs the amenity spaces at 1010 Park Avenue private duplex residences, New York
* 2019 – Designs the award-winning Mandarin Oriental, Doha
* 2019 – Restoration of four historical food halls at Harrods, London
* 2020 — Designs Harrods Men’s Shoes department
* 2020 — Designs the interior for the Nobu Hotel London Portman Square.
==Interior Design==
David Collins Studio has been involved in designing the interiors for numerous hotels, bars and restaurants.
Some of David Collins Studio key hospitality interior design projects include:
* Claridge’s Bar, Claridge’s Hotel, London – 1998
* The Blue Bar, The Berkley Hotel, London – 2000,
* The Wolseley Restaurant, London – 2003
* Bob Bob Ricard Restaurant, London – 2008
* Vogue Lounge, Bangkok – 2014
* Kerridges Bar & Grill, The Corinthia Hotel, London – 2018
==Product Design and Brand Collaborations==
David Collins Studio collaborated with Italian furniture brand Promemoria in 2015, to design a furniture range called the London Collection. The collection included tables, seating and lighting. It was designed to continue the “creative dialogue” shown in David Collins’ own collaboration with Promemoria in 2013.
In 2019, David Collins Studio collaborated with furniture and textile company Baker. They created a range of high-end, custom-made fabrics in varying patterns inspired by the studio’s past projects.
==Awards==
Over the years, David Collins Studio have won various design awards including:
* 2009 — Best Interior Design of the Year by Elle (magazine) Decoration for The Connaught Bar
* 2009 — Best Bar by Time Out London for The Blue Bar
* 2011 — Designer of the Year by Quintessentially
* 2013 — Restaurant of the Year by Tater for the project “Colbert”
* 2013 — Lifetime Achievement Award by Walpole
* 2014 — Top 10 Best Spa Hotels
* 2014 — The Best Condo Development (SE Asia) 
* 2015 — Best Bar in the World by World’s Fifty Best Bars for “Artesian”
* 2016 — Prix Versailles for Alexander McQueen, Paris
* 2016 — World’s Best Bar by Cocktail Spirited Awards for The Connaught Bar
* 2020 – World’s 50 Best Bars Awards, The Best Bar in World for The Connaught Bar
* 2021 – The International Hotel & Property Awards, Best Hotel over 200 Rooms for Nobu Hotel Portman Square London
* 2021 – Country & Town House, The Top 50 Interior Designers In The UK
==The David Collins Foundation==
The David Collins Foundation was created in 2016 to honour David Collins’ legacy and to celebrate his passion and contribution to the arts. The Foundation’s goal is to support talented Artist|artists, Artisan|artisans and Designer|designers in their careers.
Since 2017, The David Collins Foundation has partnered with The Arts Foundation on a range of awards including poetry, Glass art|glass work, film, dance, and furniture design. Each year, bursaries are granted to winners of these awards to help artists and designers focus on their research and develop their art. Previous winners of the awards include Max Frommeld, Jochen Holz, Alexander Bacyzyniski-Jenkins, Will Harris, Onyeka Igwe, and Tanoa Sasraku.
 
Category:Companies based in London