There is a wonderful profile of Andre Balazs in the latest issue of Porter magazine (Summer 2014), in which he discusses his latest hotspot in London, the Chiltern Firehouse.
A dynamic man who surrounds himself with celebrities (including a string of high profile girlfriends such as Uma Thurman and Pippa Middleton), the Firehouse restaurant is an extension of this magnetic personality – a Google search for Chiltern Firehouse turns ups Orlando Bloom, Kiefer Sutherland and Heidi Klum. It makes sense that Andy Warhol was a close friend.
Balazs takes a personal approach to every hotel and restaurant in his stable and comments in the article that he has slept in every room of the Firehouse: “I need to know what every room feels like.”
The restaurant interiors by French designers Studio KO make the most of the existing architecture of the building, a former firestation in red brick built in 1889. A large kitchen is completely open, while the dining room is in white, with grand white columns, high banquettes separating diners in booths and cane chairs providing a relaxed feel. There are a few great pics of the interiors at The Telegraph.