Sarah Peake’s London office serves as more than just a place of work.

For the founder of Studio Peake, it’s also a showcase of the craftspeople and suppliers that contribute to each of the studio’s projects. In turn, gathering under the brand’s Elowen chandelier around a honed breccia pernice marble table doesn’t just look and feel good—it has also helped foster a more creative environment. “Everybody finds it an inspiring place to work. It's really helped us to professionalize and grow in the right way,” says Sarah.

The Expert found the space five years ago. Tucked away down a quiet mews street in west London, it sits on the first floor of a light-filled former bakery dating back to the 1800s. Neighboring businesses include landscape designers and constructors; beyond the skylights in the sloped ceilings, Tube trains can be seen rattling past. It’s urbane but heart-warmingly community-driven. “I absolutely love it,” enthuses Sarah.

Having attacked the space with the same precision and discernment as a client project, she explains how she made the studio such a detail-driven and inspiring HQ.

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Walk the Talk

An entry curtain handmade by Tessa Lazelle; a kitchen worktop in Verde Luana marble; plumbing fixtures from Waterworks—Sarah is uncompromising in her choice of materials. It means the daily ritual of making a morning coffee is an elevated one for her team of seven. “Incorporating all these little details means we all get to enjoy them every day,” she justifies. And it also demonstrates to visiting clients how liveable such pieces are. Sarah is especially pleased with the engineered wood floor, which she had topped with reclaimed timber in order to look aged just so. “With deliveries coming in, it gets a huge amount of wear and tear, but it’s lasted really well,” she says.

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Space to Curate and Collaborate

Key to Sarah’s plan is the run of countertops under the skylights, which are bathed in natural light. “I knew we’d need lots of worktop space for laying things out,” she explains—and the rays streaming in make working with samples both easier and more enjoyable. The aforementioned marble table welcomes clients during kick-off meetings, and the studio’s open-plan layout brings unexpected benefits: “The team can have one ear on what's going on across other projects, and so it lends itself to cross-pollination. We end up getting ideas from each other.”

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A Laboratory of Ideas

Sarah relishes being her own guinea pig. For example, an inexpensive storage unit embellished with zellige tiles on one side and storage baskets on the other is a clever idea she’s replicating in a project using a custom piece of furniture. Another first was using salvaged doors for what is now a stationery cupboard and lining the glass panes with fabric. “It’s always a test when using reclaimed finds, because you don't know what they're going to be like until they arrive. I think it’s always worth the risk to create something with a bit more character—and that’s what old things bring.”

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Sweating the Storage

Fundamental to Studio Peake’s inventory of swatches is a central grid of wooden shelves housing seagrass baskets filled with fabrics. Like the perfect pair of worn-in slippers, Sarah has been using the same style since she had her own studio in her guest bedroom seven years ago. “When they stopped making them, I bought all the remaining stock!” she laughs. Slim drawers below this unit house heavy samples of stone, marble, and metals. Over by the skylights, a slim ledge, which Sarah calls the ‘tile shop,’ allows slabs to be on display.

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After-Hours Fun

Desk-to-dinner means clearing the computers from the central oak table to make space for 25 place settings. “It's a really great space to have events,” says Sarah, who has hosted anniversary parties with both suppliers and press. When Studio Peake launched rugs, the space’s vaulted ceilings meant the designs could be suspended for maximum effect.

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