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Gloria Tso

A quick Google search of Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi’s name brings up multiple headlines hinting at his many lives in the spotlight. He is, after all, the husband of Princess Beatrice, a descendant of Italian nobility himself, and the founder and CEO of London-based design studio Banda, which now boasts high-end, high-profile projects everywhere from Hyde Park to the Hamptons.
First and foremost, however, the luxury property developer will have you know he’s also a child of divorce, speaking with unexpected candour about how the experience has shaped his life trajectory and informed his design philosophy.

“Having lived in multiple homes with divorced parents and seeing how much design affects family life, the built environment, especially at home, was so important to me,” he tells me matter-of-factly over a video call from London on a sunny Monday morning. Above all, Mapelli Mozzi is a figure who understands the nuances of family life better than many. Now 41, with several notable property projects under his belt and prestigious clients to match, he’s a full-time family man himself, a far cry from the fresh-faced 23-year-old university graduate who started his business with little credentials beyond bold, brash ideas and a sense of urgency to do things differently.
“I guess there was a lot of naivete in me at the time, with a huge amount of energy,” the entrepreneur muses. “I came to London looking for exciting opportunities and, looking at what other developers were doing, felt there was a lot of generic luxury. Everything looked the same architecturally, interior-wise. Everything felt very uncomfortable – you’d walk into very expensive houses, people telling you, ‘take your shoes off’. You didn’t feel comfortable sitting down.”

Banda’s answer to generic luxury has been anything but, blending past, present and future together in what Mapelli Mozzi calls a completely bespoke manner. The developer’s latest project, 5 Whistler Square – housed in the Chelsea Barracks neighbourhood, in the heart of London’s famously lavish Belgravia district – is steeped in this ethos of luxury with character, every corner exuding a sense of familiarity for those who strive to fill their inner worlds with the same amount of love and care.
“Good design today is different from what good design [will be] in the future, so you need to be authentic to the location,” he says. Mapelli Mozzi has spoken liberally in interviews about his desire to create spaces that feel lived in not just right at the start, but that seem even more homely with time. He describes working with the world’s finest ateliers to include new pieces that bring energy into any given space, building maybe “30, 40 per cent of the furniture, interiors designed specifically for that project”, before introducing vintage furnishings with their own exciting existing personalities into the mix.

Orchestrating these voices of varying origins to sing harmoniously together is no simple task, but there’s an ease and effortlessness to Banda homes that make you feel as though you might’ve curated them yourself. A 1950s chandelier by Barovier, the famed Murano glassware maker, takes pride of place in 5 Whistler Square’s otherwise airy and modern principal bedroom, anchoring the space as an elegant centrepiece that appears frozen in time. Its quirkier counterpart, a custom velvet banana sofa by luxury homeware brand de Le Cuona – which, in its art deco style, evokes another era but otherwise feels made for the moment – adds that tangible warmth that makes the space come alive.
“One of the things … that made me feel uncomfortable was that [in] a lot of these homes where everything was new, day one [move-in day] was the best day,” says Mapelli Mozzi. “To do a little bit of vintage – maybe 10 per cent, maybe it’s 20 – allows the new to breathe, to age gracefully.”

It’s a thoughtful formula that the entrepreneur has applied time and time again while growing Banda from a London-based developer working primarily on boutique developments in the city, to a global firm with the privilege of focusing on building out the world’s most beautiful private homes.
“I said to our designers, we can’t even copy ourselves,” Mapelli Mozzi says, looking back on the firm’s evolution and inimitable portfolio. In his 17-plus years overseeing the company, property markets have changed and design trends have come and gone, but Mapelli Mozzi’s commitment to curating interiors with a timeless quality has never wavered, allowing the business to age gracefully, so to speak, in its own thoughtful, considered way.

“Margins got smaller and smaller, land pricing went up, affordable housing came in, construction costs went up, and we weren’t able to provide that level of design I wanted to provide because of lack of viability,” Mapelli Mozzi says of the pivot away from larger apartment developments. Curating homes with a life of their own, which will continue to evolve with the people inhabiting them, has always been the goal – but the sprawling floor plans of private houses like 5 Whistler Square have proven a more fruitful platform for the firm to fully realise its design ambitions, and exercise greater creative freedom.
“A home has to be functional, a design for how you want to live,” Mapelli Mozzi adds. “You can’t be worried about people jumping on sofas, about an entrance having marks or scuffs.” Everything within the walls of 5 Whistler Square may be aesthetically pleasing now, but eventual wear and tear is intended to be part of the design, he says. Every nook and cranny, from the walnut cabinetry to the marble shelves, is supposed to look just as good more roughed up around the edges as it does on move-in day – every custom chair or table made with durability in mind, to exemplify this idea of functional luxury.

In spite of all these finishing touches meant to make the space feel like home, 5 Whistler Square’s sizeably grand, gallery-like proportions are unlike anything I’ve personally lived in before, a gentle reminder that this is ultimately still a story about aspirational living – the property’s price tag is an eye-watering total of £55 million (US$74 million). Just as a gallery is designed to give you the room to dream, Mapelli Mozzi explains, the home’s quiet, understated comforts are designed to put you in that same state of mind.
There’s a therapeutic element to the selection and curation of art present throughout the space, where feeling grounded, at home and at peace with your surroundings evolves naturally into turning inward and enriching the soul, pondering the meaning behind these thought-provoking pieces. A brief overview reveals the names of artists entirely new to me, from Barcelona-based Aythamy Armas, whose work hangs in the principal bedroom, to a piece by contemporary British artist Richard Zinon on display in the kitchen.

For Mapelli Mozzi, the message lies not in the artworks or antiques that adorn the space, but in the untold stories behind them: “How it’s been created, where it’s come from, who’s worked on it. We empower our clients with that story, take them on that journey. That gives you that value and love for that piece that you wouldn’t have just by walking in and seeing it.” That journey is key to the 5 Whistler Square experience, where seemingly highbrow design is introduced not to add the air of elitism – no need, given the property is already located in one of London’s most exclusive neighbourhoods – but with the ultimate aim of making luxury feel more accessible and sentimental.
“You’re not just creating something disposable,” Mapelli Mozzi says of introducing clients to meaningful art and stories through Banda’s interior design work. Beyond functionality, the firm’s mandate is also about responsible luxury.

“I don’t want to fill a corner with some cheap furniture for the sake of filling a corner – I’d rather leave that space blank. Each piece is very deliberate, whether it’s a vintage that’s been on this planet for 100 years already, or the new pieces that we’ve designed and will be here for multiple generations.” Mapelli Mozzi emphasises how “awful that [other developers] have put cheap joinery in just for the sake of trying to sell”, and the importance of taking a more intentional approach. “If you’re going to do it, do it once, but to the highest degree possible, so that it’s sustainable in that sort of way.”

Instant impact is one thing, eternal significance is another entirely. It’s evident in how delicately Mozzi speaks about the “provenance” of materials that using natural timbers, stone and marble in Banda’s handcrafted pieces isn’t just a decorative gimmick – it puts into practice everything the entrepreneur has learned over the years about good design, and good taste as a whole. Nothing built to last is worth building at all. In any case, he adds, today’s “sophisticated” homeowners could likely spot the difference between an authentic, well-made gem and a lifeless imitation.
“People are far more well travelled,” says Mapelli Mozzi. “People see design spreading in seconds across the world on social media.” His latest venture, Banda Gallery, builds on and digitises what the firm has already done for homes worldwide by putting an exclusive collection of antiques, furnishings designed in-house and works crafted by artists-in-residence up for sale online. More importantly, it’s a network of the many creatives who share Mapelli Mozzi’s vision, an extension of Banda’s ambitions “to celebrate different ways to bring people together into different spaces”.

As the conversation gradually transitions away from design and towards the importance of culture more generally, I take the time to ask how Mapelli Mozzi’s ever-evolving understanding of family life – especially the one he’s now building with his royal wife – has shifted his perspective on the purpose of living, and living well. Having “that emotional awareness to really think through space planning”, the developer says, seems to have transformed his outlook on everything in life. We speak extensively about the pursuit of imperfection – derived from the Japanese wabi-sabi approach to appreciating beauty – and acceptance of the constant role change plays in shaping the way we live.
“Family life has changed,” says Mapelli Mozzi, who grew up going to school “a stone’s throw” away from Chelsea Barracks, back when it was still being used as a home for the British Army. He describes how 5 Whistler Square’s open floor plan was inspired by post-pandemic living, the realities of working from home, and the understanding of how our relationship with the spaces we live in impacts everything from our physical to mental health. And though he sidesteps the specifics about what his own family life looks like today, he seems genuinely happy reflecting on it – a contentment that certainly reflects in his current work.
“Design,” he says with a smile, “has to be authentic to where you are in your own personal life.”


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The luxury property developer shares his insights on authentic design, family life and sustainable luxury


The luxury property developer shares his insights on authentic design, family life and sustainable luxury.


How Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi is redefining bespoke design: Princess Beatrice’s husband’s latest project is a US$74 million home in London’s Belgravia that blends vintage charm and responsible luxury

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The luxury property developer shares his insights on authentic design, family life and sustainable luxury

The luxury property developer shares his insights on authentic design, family life and sustainable luxury