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MannMade Furniture By Sebastian Mann

[MannMade London] Battersea collection, lifestyle, Rozel dressing table, dark, £885 (1)

This is a brand new line of furniture by the architect and designer Sebastian Mann and with prices starting at £155, I think it’s one we should be taking a closer look at. It’s refined and elegant but also quite masculine and the strong clean lines would work well in both modern and traditional interiors.

The 13-piece collection has things for every room including shelving units and dressing tables, magazine racks and, my personal favourite, and also (hurray) the cheapest thing – and that never happens to me – the mirrors. I love the mirror with the black square handle. I wouldn’t have chosen copper ordinarily either but now that I see it in these mirrors with the black handle to counteract the pretty pink I find I like it more than I have ever liked anything copper.

[MannMade London] Battersea collection, lifestyle, Howie bedside table, dark, £685

However, I am nothing if not practical (cue howls of hollow laughter) so if I were buying it and I needed to look in it I would buy the silver. If I wanted it as a trick to bounce light around in a dark hallway (see yesterday’s post) I might choose the copper.

The collection was inspired by Mann’s Battersea neighbourhood and the materials and shapes are all reminiscent of the local architecture while each item is named after a street in the area.

[MannMade London] Battersea collection, lifestyle, Northcote shelves, dark, £785

But Mann is first and foremost an architect so it’s more than just a collection of names. “I am passionate about creating items that are aesthetically beautiful but functional,” he says. “This is an expression of architectural composition but it is also pure, and functional, design and real life.

“We wanted to create a pure urban vibe inspired by London.”

[MannMade London] Battersea collection, Edna mirror, light, side 2, £155

The resulting pieces are definitely industrial but in a more grown up and refined way than we have seen in recent years. You don’t have to live in a loft to own these. They would work equally well in a pared back Victorian scheme as a modernist house.

Everything is made from wood and steel and a new product called Valchromat, which is the grey element. It’s a sort of compressed high density fibre panel and you can choose the pale version with the lighter wood or the dark with the walnut.

[MannMade London] Battersea collection, Edna mirror, dark, alt, £155

Edna, the mirror is £155 while the dressing table, Rozel, is £885. The tall shelves would work well in a hallway as well as bedrooms and sitting rooms. What do you think? You can see it all here at Mannmade.

Kate Watson-Smyth

The author Kate Watson-Smyth

I’m a journalist who writes about interiors mainly for The Financial Times but I have also written regularly for The Independent and The Daily Mail. My house has been in Living Etc, HeartHome and featured in The Wall Street Journal & Corriere della Sera. I also run an interior styling consultancy Mad About Your House. Welcome to my Mad House.

7 Comments

  1. Such beautiful home furnishing pieces! Lots of inspiration to be derived from here! All the neutral/ earthy tones combined with simple and geometric shapes, enables this collection to be timeless and elegant. It’s always exciting recreating a space, and choosing how you’ll design it from wall colour to furniture and everything in between.

  2. I love that mirror and have been indeed looking for one to go in my very large but windowless hall in my flat to bounce the light around.
    Could I ask why you think the copper would do that better than the clear glass?

    1. Hi Zoe, I didn’t explain properly – what I meant was if I was buying a mirror to bounce light around rather than to check my reflection I would consider the copper. If it was for spinach-in-teeth checking or to see if I had the right shade of lipstick on then I would probably go for the traditional silver version.

      1. I see (excuse the pun). Lack of light in the hallway means I tend to check my make up in the bedroom so the copper it is (if they ship to Italy). I have a very large hallway which I have no idea what to do with…hopefully you’ll do a post on this scenario too one day (hint, hint).

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