Waldo Works was founded in 2000 by Tom Bartlett and his friend Sasha von Meister. Named after the London building in which Bartlett lived and worked at the time, the studio became sought after for its bold, sophisticated designs, with high-profile clients including Smythson (for which it has designed boutiques worldwide) and Selfridges London (where it created a colour-saturated personal shopping suite).
Bartlett has design in his genes – his father was a property developer and his mother worked at Biba. ‘I grew up around punchy interiors and buildings,’ he says. ‘I have always been fascinated by the ways people choose to express themselves in their homes, and the way they react to designed spaces.’
Having studied architecture at Manchester University and London’s Bartlett School of Architecture (‘no relation,’ he quips), he describes himself as ‘an architectural designer’. Citing the Wiener Werkstätte, the arts & crafts movement and designer Andrée Putman as influences, Waldo Works takes a unique approach to every project rather than following a house style – although Bartlett does express particular passions for colour and ceramic tiles (he’s a potter in his spare time). ‘We like design that is rooted in a place, an idea or a person,’ he adds.
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What are their recent projects?
As part of an ongoing job to create luxury hotel stays at Dunton Hot Springs, a former ghost town in the Colorado Rockies, Waldo Works has restored Chuck’s Cabin, a 130-year-old log cabin with four bedrooms. ‘The design takes its cue from photographs we found in local archives,’ explains Bartlett, ‘and the bedroom colours are based on an American Civil War officer’s jacket and braiding.’ The studio has also just finished a saloon and dance hall on the site, which are ‘a deep dive into the Victorian cowboy interiors of the Old West’, reinterpreted in a contemporary way.
In complete contrast is a large Alpine home that Bartlett has redesigned gradually, room by room. The newest space is the ‘Octagon Room’, originally a smoking room outfitted by legendary 1970s decorator Valerian Rybar. Respecting Rybar’s concept, Waldo Works has revamped the space with arts & crafts-inspired wood panelling. ‘We developed it with local woodworkers and upholstered it in gingham,’ says Bartlett. Corner cupboards open to reveal a record player, bar and games storage.
What are they currently working on?
A 150-room hotel in Frankfurt, opening later this year, and an off-grid five-star retreat at Kilchoan on the western side of the Highlands. Plus a diverse crop of private homes: ‘A large house in Belgravia for some incredibly cool Hong Kong clients, a family house in Hackney for friends of ours, a Tudor house in Kent, a tiny flat in Marylebone and a little house in Wales.’
They say: ‘We aim to make spaces that resonate with an identity. We’re perhaps less interested in our own identity as a studio, which leads to quite a wide-ranging portfolio.’ waldoworks.com
Expert advice
Tom Bartlett on how to add an element of the unexpected to your home
Make sure that not everything is new – a mix of old and new creates spaces that feel lived in, considered and personable. Also, avoid using Pinterest to design your home. We’re used to needing reference images now, but things are starting to all look the same. You may find your Pinterest friends have the same house as you!
Rather than installing downlights in grids to illuminate a room, use them to highlight objects and furniture – a chair, a piece of art, a kitchen surface. Taking this approach gives this type of lighting far more interesting potential.
Don’t choose art to ‘match’ an interior. It should be personal and reflect your taste. I have a particular affinity for drawings (maybe because I spend half my life drawing), and have found that their pale paper backgrounds mean you can be braver with your wall colour.
In a period home, you can find good prompts for exploring materiality and colour in the original architecture. We are currently completing a Victorian house in Hackney where the cream and burgundy hallway floor tiles have informed the hues and shapes of a brand-new burgundy staircase.
