BEHIND CLOSED DOORS SEDILIA

The London studio designs and hand-crafts luxurious upholstered furniture with a precise eye for detail and form

- Judy Diamond

No one could accuse Robert Stephenson of taking the easy option. At every turn in his career, he has weighed up the pros and cons and invariably chosen the route that's more difficult - but ultimately more rewarding. In doing so, his business, Sedilia, has steadily grown, selling its elegantly pared-back furniture not just to clients in the UK but around the world, collaborating with some design heavyweights along the way, and all while producing distinctive, restrained pieces that sit as comfortably in traditional homes as they do in ultra-contemporary interiors.

Trained as a cabinetmaker and upholsterer, Stephenson had worked in the industry for ten years before, disillusioned with the safe, unimaginative designs and poor-quality workmanship he saw around him, he decided to set up on his own. That was nearly 25 years ago. These days he leads a team of 15, and as well as taking commissions from interior architects, the firm conceived and launched its first in-house collection in 2019.

Alice Lockerbie, who joined from David Collins Studio in 2014 and now heads the design studio, is particularly pleased with this new development. “After years of collaborating with interior designers and architects to realise their visions, it has been a joy to create our own pieces and show what Sedilia stands for,” she says. “Our collection is taking the business in a really fresh and exciting direction which we just wouldn't be able to do with our bespoke work alone.”