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House & Garden Top 100

We are privileged to have been included in House & Garden’s Top 100 Interior Designers and Architects list for the last four years (formerly the Top 100 Interior Designers in which we were the only architectural practice, but now happily it covers architects too, even if as W we are listed as 99/100).

Over the years they have said some nice things about us:

2021

Calmness and coherence are at the heart of the aesthetic of architect William Smalley – both qualities that are evident immediately in the airy, light-filled spaces he creates. His interiors are restrained, uncluttered and arranged with a precise attention to detail that allows his elegant lines and luxurious materials their proper due. Though they may look austere, these are deeply comfortable rooms, designed to work for the people who live in them and to lift the mood with their quiet beauty.

 

2020

STUDIO William heads up a team comprising three architects and designers.

STYLE Not strictly a decorator, William creates interiors that reflect his exacting architect’s eye – calm, elegantly proportioned and beautifully precise.

PROJECTS William has 10 projects currently underway, which range from a gallery in Spitalfields to an apartment in Manhattan.

LATEST DISCOVERY ‘There is always a freshness to Muller Van Severen’s work. I have a pink rocking chair by them in my sitting room and we often use their designs in projects. With this Rack + Seat piece, I like the implication of the association between sitting down and reading a book.’

 

2019

With a love of craft and simplicity, William Smalley’s work possesses a cool harmony. A recent London project involved everything from the architecture to choosing the cutlery. He is currently working on a Fifties modernist house in Kent.

He says ‘I grew up in a fifteenth-century house, so I love old buildings, but I also think that new buildings should be new.’

People say ‘William is continuing in the tradition of great architects for whom the result was only as good as the care and intention put in.’ Nina Hertig, co-founder, Sigmar

We say ‘Pared-back monastic beauty meets Bang & Olufsen.’

 

2018

Although William Smalley is first and foremost an architect, more recent projects have seen him getting far more involved in the interior design as well. He is a purist who excels at finding the calm in spaces and his attention to detail is second to none.

Philosophy ‘To make beautiful spaces. I also enjoy the interface between new and old. I grew up in a fifteenth-century house and love old buildings – part of the appeal is that they are old. New buildings should be new.’

Key influences ‘The first was my village-school headmaster, who bought me a copy of the Architectural Review when I was 10.’

Loves ‘A bench by the front door for taking off shoes.’