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Design Duo Fredrikson Stallard Opens the Door to Their Exquisite Live-Work Space in London

Combining spaces for making and for living, the artists’ residence radiates with the inventiveness and visual punch that characterize their celebrated furnishings and sculptures

By Gay Gassmann Photography by Kate Martin
Modern living room with abstract art, dark couches, and a round marble coffee table adorned with decorative sculptures.
The living room of Patrik Fredrikson and Ian Stallard’s London residence features numerous works they have made together under the studio name Fredrikson Stallard, including the wall sculpture above the fireplace, the stoneware lamp, the bronze side tables, the alabaster cocktail table, and the green ceramics on top; the table also hosts glass pieces by Timo Sarpaneva and a Charles Sykes sculpture.

The approach to Patrik Fredrikson and Ian Stallard’s London home makes an impression. Behind an unmarked gate on a quiet street in Holborn lies a long, moodily lit corridor with a very Dickensian vibe, except for the hanging sculpture of undulating gold metal that reflects luminous swirls onto the surrounding brick walls. It’s a captivating moment of theater before one reaches the entrance door beyond, conjured by an artistic duo whose work has long focused on achieving exquisitely refined, visually striking effects with industrial materials.

The two met in the mid-’90s at the London art school Central Saint Martins, where Fredrikson, who is Swedish, was studying industrial design, while British-born Stallard was focused on ceramics. They have been a couple and collaborators ever since, practicing under the name Fredrikson Stallard, making hard-to-pin-down work that straddles the worlds of art, design, and craft. Their output spans furnishings, decorative objects, and sculpture, with unconventional combinations of materiality and form at the core of everything they create.

Stallard (left) and Fredrikson are seated on their birch-shaded terrace, which is outfitted with their carbon-steel furnishings cushioned in Sunbrella fabric, stoneware side tables, and a Cor-Ten steel table topped by one of their stoneware creations.
Open window with a view of a spiral staircase and greenery outside, birdcage and bookshelf inside a modern, bright room.
The couple created a bird out of Swarovski crystals for the Tage Andersen aviary, which sits between the dining room’s 1880s steel windows.
Modern living room with abstract painting, artistic sculptures on table, large windows, and minimalistic decor
A painting by Gaspard Chevalier, one of the emerging artists whose work the duo admire, is displayed next to a Fredrikson Stallard bronze jardinière in the living room.

In addition to their well-known pieces in shaped mirrored metal, the pair have forged bronze tables and cabinets with surfaces molded from scraps of cardboard boxes, devised dazzling acrylic furniture modeled precisely on fragments of ice, and sculpted chairs and sofas from polyurethane foam that they coated in sumptuous velvet, the results suggesting intensely hued geologic forms or perhaps asteroids from outer space.

Fredrikson and Stallard reside above the studio and exhibition space in a two-story creative hub, a kind of design laboratory for living. Part of the ground level is occupied by what they call the gallery, which is typically filled with whatever they are making at the moment. “In this space things can live for weeks,” Fredrikson says. “Our works are tactile and people want to touch them, sit on them. They are here so we can live with them and see: Are they finished? Do we need to do more work?”

Modern living room with abstract art, cozy seating, marble table, and a large window allowing natural light.
The living room of Patrik Fredrikson and Ian Stallard’s London residence features numerous works they have made together under the studio name Fredrikson Stallard, including the wall sculpture above the fireplace, the stoneware lamp, the bronze side tables, the alabaster cocktail table, and the green ceramics on top.
Industrial-style hallway with exposed pipes and a gold geometric sculpture hanging from the ceiling.
A Fredrikson Stallard work in mirror-polished aluminum hangs in the former industrial space’s entrance hallway, where a sculpture by Paul McCarthy stands in the distance.

Although the duo have a larger studio next door, their ceramics workshop is here, adjacent to their gallery, where they have a kiln and are constantly experimenting with new expressively hand-molded forms. “Patrik always wants to push porcelain beyond where you’re meant to take it,” says Stallard. “It is a difficult material to work with, and we have to wait and see what survives and what doesn’t.”

We created this outdoor private room, with water and birch trees. It has the Scandinavian feel we love but also a Japanese sensibility”

Patrik Fredrikson

Up a flight of stairs, the couple’s residence is a personal, curated world full of their creations and collections. Before moving in 13 years ago, they completely redid the former industrial space, which they divided into separate rooms largely dictated by the steel beams and support columns.

Modern dining room with black table, green chairs, and large windows. Artworks and books adorn the shelves and walls.
Fredrikson and Stallard, who designed all the patinated carbon-steel furniture in the dining room, created the stoneware side tables and lamps as well as the white-bronze candelabra and porcelain sculptures on the marble-top table. One of their wall pieces is mounted over the sofa, which is upholstered in a Dedar fabric and accented with a Fredrikson Stallard velvet-coated Species cushion. The large painting is by Charlie Boothright.

They designed the kitchen, outfitted with minimalist black cabinetry and lots of dusky gray marble, to open onto the dining area, where a Fredrikson Stallard table is joined by a long banquette that’s perfect for enjoying drinks or morning coffee. These spaces are where the couple spend much of their time (Stallard cooks, Fredrikson does the dishes), and the dining table doubles as a spot for meetings.

There are outdoor spaces on both levels, including a pebbled garden with fish-filled fountains outside the studio and, off of the living room and bedroom, a gracious terrace bordered by 200 silver birch trees. “We created this outdoor private room, with water and birch trees—what we would call in Sweden a garden room,” Fredrikson says. “It has the Scandinavian feel we love but also a Japanese sensibility. We tend to bonsai trees and have a bonsai master.”

Modern bedroom with large window, abstract art, and indoor plants, featuring a green and white bedspread.
A Charlie Boothright canvas overlooks the couple’s Living Divani bed, which is outfitted with a Hästens mattress and flanked by Luceplan wall-mounted lights. Another Boothright work hangs near the window, and the painting above the Fredrikson Stallard carbon-steel planter is by Bo Hultén.
Elegant modern bathroom with large mirror, marble countertop, decorative vases with flowers, and contemporary lighting fixtures.
The couple’s bath features Porcelanosa flooring and a custom-made vanity in marble and steel with Dornbracht sink fixtures.

Throughout the apartment, the furnishings and art are a mix of Fredrikson Stallard pieces and works by artists and artisans the couple admire. They own midcentury Scandinavian ceramics and glass by makers such as Timo Sarpaneva, Axel Salto, and Berndt Friberg. Their art collection ranges from pieces by emerging talents—“We use this space to show young artists and invite our friends and collectors over,” Stallard notes—to works by major figures such as Jannis Kounellis, George Condo, and Paul McCarthy, a favorite to whom they were introduced by David Gill, their longtime London gallerist.

Lush garden with circular wood benches, surrounded by tall green trees and plants under a clear blue sky.
Fredrikson and Stallard designed the garden’s larger planters in steel, complementing them with smaller ones they made in stoneware.
Modern art piece beside a colorful abstract painting in a sleek, contemporary hallway with polished wooden floor.
A painting by Bengt Lindström hangs next to a Fredrikson Stallard model study.

Fredrikson and Stallard will have their next show with David Gill, who oversees the gallery with his partner, designer Francis Sultana, from October 4 to 27. They will be presenting new pieces in mirrored stainless steel, elegantly bent and folded. “The work is about absolute perfection and sublime minimalism,” explains Stallard. “It has a sense of the Baroque but with the distorted reflections. Opulence and self-identity.”

A version of this article first appeared in print in our 2025 Fall Issue under the headline “Dual Purpose.” Subscribe to the magazine.