Savoir

When theatre impresario and hotelier Richard D’Oyly Carte unveiled the Savoy Hotel in 1889 guests were wowed by a new level of luxury: the ensuite bathrooms with hot and cold running water, the electric lighting and the lifts. To ensure that the beds themselves were of the same high standard, in 1905 he commissioned James Edwards Limited to create one especially for the hotel. After continued requests, he allowed select guests to commission their own bed, and the Savoy bed was born – still made by the company today as the Savoir N o 2.

Since the beginning Savoir has championed ‘slow craftsmanship’ with the aim of providing every customer (from prime ministers and actors to singers and socialites) with the most comfortable and stylish bed imaginable – which is why only a thousand are made each year, using traditional techniques and natural materials. The four signature beds share the same fundamental principles for achieving the best sleep. Each is made to order to suit the individual and everything is taken into consideration, from the shape of the body to the interior of the home.

Dimensions, materials and fabrics can all be personalised. Optimised support comes from the placement and tension of the pocket springs and there is a virtually unlimited choice of contemporary fabrics. In fact anything that can be dreamt of can be made, whether it’s a bed for a superyacht or a headboard inspired by architecture or a famous painting. From start to finish, each bespoke bed is made by a single skilled craftsman in the workshops in West London or Wales. (It takes a year to teach an apprentice to make a base, two years to perfect the techniques for mattresses and headboards.)

In 2018 the company joined forces with the National Gallery, a partnership that entitles Savoir customers to choose any of its paintings to adorn their bespoke beds. Other design collaborators include Steve Leung, the award-winning Hong Kong-based designer, Fromental, creators of the world’s most beautiful wallcoverings, and Nicole Fuller, the New York- and Los Angeles-based designer who is behind Savoir’s STELLA bed.

This spring Savoir will partner with the world’s leading manufacturer of bespoke turntable technology to launch a new, circular, rotating version of the Savoir N o 1 bed, with 360 degrees movement. The craft time dedicated to making this design exceeds 300 hours. From the master bed makers to the highly skilled Savoir carpenters, the new bed celebrates an extraordinary level of British craft and design. This season also sees the launch of a made-to-order bedlinen collection produced by artisans in England using natural materials woven in Italian mills. As if that weren’t all, this year two new showrooms will open in Berlin and Singapore, adding to the 12 stores already located around the world.

It’s no secret that there is a direct correlation between sleep quality and overall happiness and that the foundation of good slumber is a comfortable, exceptionally well-crafted bed – which is precisely what Savoir has been specialising in for more than a century.