Fewer, better
We take on a limited number of projects each year so a principal designer can stay on every one.
A studio for quiet rooms
Loftara is fourteen designers, architects and makers in a converted weaving shed in Northgate.
We believe a good room is mostly proportion, light and restraint, and only then things.
Margaux Ellery founded the studio in 2011 after a decade in architecture practices. Today we design homes, hotels and restaurants across eleven countries, still from one long drawing table.
See the projects14Years in practice
240+Rooms completed
14People in the studio
70%Made locally
Principles
How we work
Honest materials
Lime, timber, stone and wool: things that age well and can be repaired rather than replaced.
Drawn in-house
Every joinery drawing, lighting plan and specification is produced by the studio, not outsourced.
Local makers
Around 70% of our furniture and joinery is made within 200 km of the studio.
The team
People at the table
Designers, architects, a sourcing lead and a site team who have worked together for years.
The studio
Drawn by hand first
Every project starts on tracing paper. Our material library holds more than 1,200 samples and is open to clients every Thursday afternoon.
Clients
In their words
They listened for two hours before drawing a single line. The house finally feels like the way we actually live.
Clara & Jonas WhitlowLinden House, 2025
Loftara delivered forty-two suites on time, on budget, and our guest reviews now mention the rooms before the view.
Rafael MontielGM, Hotel Marlowe
Every material came with a reason. Two years on, the kitchen still looks like the day it was photographed.
Elena ProstCalder Kitchen, 2024
As featured in
- Plan & Plaster
- Dwelling Quarterly
- The Room Review
- Materia Journal
- Hearth & Frame
- Northern Interiors
Start a project
Come and see the studio
The kettle is always on. Book a consultation or visit the material library.
