Intro by Sarah Ball, Q&A by Bridget Arsenault
As Duchess Catherine continues to peck away at furnishing her London apartment and her country house--the former was estimated to go under a $1.5 million renovation--London's Grosvenor House has created something to inspire Kate's take on at least one room. The hotel recently hired British nursery firm Dragon's of Walton Street ahead of Baby Wales's arrival, their mandate to design a quintessential English nursery "fit for a royal baby." Dragon's, meanwhile, comes with their own regal pedigree: back in the 1980s, both Diana, Princess of Wales and Fergie, Duchess of York tapped them to make custom rooms for Princes William and Harry and Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and the company's famous hand-painted furniture has lured clients like Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham, Samantha Cameron, and Madonna.
Today, Dragon's offers "bespoke" children's interiors for clients all over the world, and they've created quite a range: a boy's "captain's quarters" aboard an English explorer's ship, a girlish lilac garden, and a topsy-turvy ode to the whimsy of Alice in Wonderland, to name a few. So--are they working for Will and Kate? They decline to confirm or deny a patronage, but they did share with us exclusive interior photos of their Grosvenor project, in which any tot--royal or not--would feel very comfortably installed.
Click to view photos of the suite, officially opening to the public in June, and below, read highlights from our chat with the managing director of Dragon's, Lucinda Croft, about her royal-worthy designs, Diana's shopping habits, and her most outrageous client stories.
Royal Nursery
