ABOVE THE CLOUDS
TRENDS
For the very few, home does not stop at the front door. It travels too, and increasingly it insists on the same level of thought overhead as it does on the ground.
Shalini Misra Design's renovation of a 14 seat Bombardier Global XRS treats the cabin as a temporary residence. Hand painted wallpaper from de Gournay, adapted from nineteenth century British expedition scenes, wraps the bulkheads and internal doors, elephants and pavilions rendered in soft sepia against cream leather seating.
Every seat carries contrasting leather, quilting and saddle strap detailing, stitched specifically for the cabin's curved forms. A hand knotted rug developed with Jaipur Rugs runs the length of the aircraft, tested against its exact dimensions and light, while marquetry tables needed a bespoke high altitude glue before they could fly. In the aft bathroom, embroidered leather panels by Rosemary Rose add a final, quiet layer of craft to a cabin built around personalisation.
For a Gulfstream G550, longtime collaborators Mead Quin and their client took a calmer route. Natural materials in neutral tones, wood, cashmere, wool, leather and limestone, run consistently from the cabin through to the baggage hold and cockpit, every finish custom designed to feel cohesive.
The effect reads as residential rather than aeronautical, while still meeting FAA requirements for fit, durability, fire resistance and weight, a reminder that even the calmest cabin is a feat of engineering first.
Both aircraft make the same argument from different directions. Wherever the world takes their owners next, home does not need to be left behind. It simply learns to fly.
Photography: Lisa Romerein (Mead Quin)
