Photography by Simon Brown
Notting Hill by Studio Vero: Exclusive Interview With Romanos Brihi
RESIDENTIAL PROJECTS
Founded in 2014 by lifelong friends Venetia Rudebeck and Romanos Brihi, Studio Vero is a London-based interior design practice known for its characterful, considered approach to residential interiors. With a shared passion for art, design and originality, the studio creates spaces that feel effortless yet refined, balancing bold expression with a quiet sense of restraint.
Bilen sits down with Romanos Brihi, co-founder of Studio Vero, to gain exclusive insights on the Notting Hill project.
Q: What was the main concept or vision behind the project?
The project really started with the clients themselves. We had an immediate connection and spent a lot of time understanding how they wanted to live. They’re originally from Colombia and have a fantastic collection of South American art, which became the starting point. The aim was to create a house that felt full of character, colour and personality, and that worked properly for entertaining. The existing layout didn’t flow - particularly the lower ground floor - so we focused on reworking the ground and lower levels to feel more connected and much easier to use day-to-day.
Q: Are there any key materials, colours or design features that define the space?
It’s quite a layered mix. There’s a combination of antiques, one-off pieces and custom joinery, which helps the house feel collected rather than decorated. Colour plays a big role - quite bold in places - but always in response to the clients’ art, which is predominantly South American. We also used decorative paint quite deliberately, particularly on the ceilings, to bring energy into spaces that might otherwise have felt flat or disconnected. It was less about any one material and more about how everything sits together.
Q: What design element best captures the spirit of the project?
Probably the use of colour and painted surfaces, particularly the ceilings. We often think of the ceiling as a fifth wall, and in this house it became a way to bring a sense of playfulness into the spaces while also helping with proportion and flow. The circus-style striped ceiling, for example, is quite bold but it works because it’s tied back to the rest of the scheme. It sums up the project quite well - it’s confident, slightly unexpected, but still very liveable.
Q: Is there a particular room or detail the studio feels especially proud of?
The lower ground floor is probably the biggest transformation. It was previously quite disconnected from the rest of the house, despite being the only access to the garden, and didn’t really work. We reimagined it as a series of more informal, usable spaces. What had been a storeroom is now a sitting room with French doors opening onto the garden, with an outdoor kitchen we created off the Garden Bar - the perfect space for entertaining and alfresco dining, whilst the adjoining space became a multi-functional room with the painted ceiling, which works as both a bar and somewhere quieter during the day.
What OLISE finds most compelling about this project is its fearless embrace of colour, texture, and personality. There is a confidence here that feels instinctive rather than imposed. From the saturated reds and deep cobalt blues to vibrant greens and bursts of yellow, the palette draws directly from nature yet is applied with a bold, almost artistic freedom. It is not restrained, and that is precisely its strength.
Each room feels alive. A powder room wrapped entirely in patterned blue becomes an immersive moment, almost like stepping inside a painting. In contrast, the living spaces balance this intensity with softer textures, boucle upholstery, woven rugs, and layered textiles that echo natural fibres and handcrafted traditions. There is a tactile richness throughout, where materials are not just seen but felt.
It is less about literal boundaries and more about how interior spaces absorb and reinterpret the outside world. Colours feel sun-soaked, textures feel organic, and the overall composition reflects a life lived between cultures, art, and landscape. The transitions between rooms mirror this, each space opening into the next with a sense of continuity and ease.
It is bold, expressive, and unapologetically personal. A home that does not follow rules, but creates its own language.
