Inside the Dedar Library by Pirajean Lees

As part of our Inside editorial series, Hotel Designs explored some of this year’s most compelling interiors from WOW!house 2025. One of the most arresting experiences came from the famously narrative design studio Pirajean Lees, in collaboration with Italian textile virtuosos Dedar, with a library room that blurred the boundary between silence, sound, and story.

Titled A440 Hz – Connecting in Silence, the Dedar Library drew conceptual inspiration from the universal tuning note A440 Hz – a tone that resonates through orchestras worldwide just before a performance begins. A simple note, but one rich with anticipation; at WOW!house, Pirajean Lees transformed the auditory cue into a fully immersive design language.

What resulted was a room that beecame a space for deep listening. In place of rows of books or formal reading tables, visitors were offered layered textures to sink into, considered acoustics, and a physical sense of pause. Dynamic bronze sculptures ‘danced’ along velveteen shelves, in between record sleeves depicting the intricate details of the design studio’s WOW!house-debut.

At the core of the design was a material narrative – one written in Dedar’s textiles. Walls were cloaked in warm, absorbent layers of Aplomb and Splendido, creating a soft acoustic envelope. Light danced across mirrored columns draped in perforated A Love Supreme, while the ceiling, wrapped in Amoir Libre, added a rhythmic softness above. These were not just aesthetic choices however, but part of a highly controlled sound environment, intended to absorb, diffuse, and enhance rather than eliminate sound. “In today’s urban landscape, true silence is not the absence of sound but the art of controlling it,” the studio reflected.

Even the library’s floorplan was reminiscent of a record on a turning circle, as this early, bird’s-eye studio sketch depicts | Image credit: Pirajean Lees

Informed by Pirajean Lees and Dedar’s shared love of music – particularly jazz – the room explored the interplay between quiet and expression. “The result is a design that captures that moment of breath before a performance begins, a space full of intent and stillness.”

Pirajean Lees’ architectural storytelling continued through bespoke joinery. Shelving, inspired by traditional luthier instrument cases, was handcrafted by Bluecrow and lined in Fanfara and Vladimiro fabrics, balancing visual richness with acoustic function. The result was a circular space where every surface contributed to the overall tone – enhancing spatial rhythm while absorbing and diffusing sound to create a cocooning experience.

Throughout the room were pieces from the studio’s furniture collection (now available!), realised in collaboration with master makers such as Maison Phelippeau, and handcrafted in London. Standouts included the Listening Chair, upholstered in Dedar’s woven Kotakot with piped Amoir Libre, designed to accommodate both a record player and curated vinyl selection. Additionally, a modular sofa in plush Monsieur Baudelaire velvet anchors the space, layered with cushions in Adorabile Alpaca and Patchwork, each finished with pin rouche braid.

The installation centred around an impressive graphic rug, inspired by Chladni sound figures: patterns formed by particles on a vibrating surface | Image credit: James McDonald

Lighting – subtle, sculptural, and highly intentional – set the tone. Bespoke lamps clad in Wide Wool QB offered soft ambient glows, while an upturned shade hung centrally within the room from a circular mirror – the effect of which was like looking up at a heavenly record. A graphic rug by Jennifer Manners, inspired by Chladni sound figures (patterns formed by particles on a vibrating surface), echoed the room’s sonic theme underfoot.

Further standout pieces, such as the timber stools by Ben Whistler or the scattered bronze sculptures handcrafted by a family member of the Pirajean Lees studio, were carefully arranged to create a lived-in, almost residential feel. With it, the library was inviting, less like a gallery space and more like a place to become comfortably enfolded within.

In a setting like WOW!house, where theatricality is often front and centre, A440 Hz – Connecting in Silence stood apart with its hushed tones but rich design. The room wasn’t auditorily loud, unless you were there for the fabulous live music performance by Josh Barry (as I was lucky enough to be), but it was an incredibly impressive and enveloping space. An environment that rewards stillness, encourages presence, and reframes how design can affect us; it made me feel solaced – which isn’t an easy feat amongst the WOW!house crowds.

As the founders of Pirajean Lees said: “We created a space that encourages pause, connection, and deep listening; a room that speaks through silence – and listens, too.” Bravo Pirajean Lees, Bravo.

Main image credit: James McDonald