The Faraday Club’s Cinema Luxe Lounge at Harrods has been shortlisted for SBID International Design Awards 2026. This Fifth Floor installation, delivered in partnership with IndigoZest, L-Acoustics, Cinema Luxe, Studio Vellari and Control4, has been recognised in the Technology & Equipment category. Take this exclusive tour courtesy of Essential Install.
The Faraday Club is described as a curated collective of some of the world’s most refined audio, visual and custom installation brands, united by a shared vision: to elevate entertainment into immersive and unforgettable experiences. The Faraday Club’s Cinema Luxe Lounge was born to epitomise and promote those ideals and it appears to have paid off as the project has been revealed to have reached the shortlist for the SBID International Design Awards 2026 in the Technology & Equipment category.
The SBID International Design Awards recognise excellence across the interior design and specification industry, with entries assessed by a panel of industry-leading experts. Public voting accounts for 10% of the final score, with the winners announced on November 6.
You can vote for this entry in the public vote here.
“Being shortlisted for an SBID Award reflects the calibre of collaboration behind this project. Every partner brought expertise to the room, and the result is a space that shows exactly what’s possible when technology and design are considered together from the outset,” says Tim Garman, Co-Founder of Faraday Club.
The design team explain that the Faraday Club’s Cinema Luxe Lounge is an update to an existing media room within the technology section on the Fifth Floor of Harrods. The previous room was functional but dated and no longer represented a space in which clients could picture their own home. Bringing together key Faraday Club partners, the updated lounge brings interiors and technology together, with each shaping the other rather than one simply sitting on top of the other.
The plan was always to create a space worthy of its position within Harrods. Working alongside key partners and the Harrods retail team, the vision for the room developed into a space you could live in, where the interiors, the sound and the light are considered together, so the technology is felt rather than seen.
The room was designed by Cinema Luxe in collaboration with integration partner IndigoZest, shaping the space around how it would be used and experienced, not just what technology would sit inside it.
For the audio, the room runs a reference-grade 7.1.2 L-Acoustics sound system, with the space also featuring plaster-in audio from Amina, allowing the Lounge to demonstrate this discreet, fully concealed speaker technology alongside the main system.
The room also includes the modular Lancaster range from Studio Vellari, adding comfort and a residential quality to the space.
A single, unified Control4 system runs audio, video, lighting and shading from one point of control. The room also features integrated Q Motion blinds to offer an insight into this type of technology, not just for a media space, but the whole home.
To add another level of luxury and style, bespoke artwork was commissioned from Kate Mayer, a London-based abstract artist whose sound-led practice explores the relationship between art, atmosphere and emotional experience within a space — a natural fit for a room built around sound and mood.
Meeting the challenge
The main test was working within the constraints of a live retail location. The build was completed in two weeks to a tight store deadline and alongside other works taking place in the surrounding area at the same time, ensuring the team were under pressure to deliver, but deliver they did.
The main achievement for the project is the feeling that you are no longer in the middle of a busy department store. It’s a calming space that, once the audio plays, immerses visitors completely. The team report that seeing people’s reactions to that moment has been one of the best parts of the project.
The Lounge sits within the technology zone on the Fifth Floor, with demonstrations available via Harrods staff. For those who want to go further, a private consultation can be booked with the Faraday Club team to explore how the same approach would work in their own home.
The Cinema Luxe Lounge is open to view by appointment, with private demonstrations available on request.
Essential Kit List
Seating
Studio Vellari — Lancaster: modular bespoke seating upholstered in Napa leather
Integrated home control (commissioned by IndigoZest)
A complete single-room control solution comprising:
• Control4 Core 3 Controller
• Control4 T4 Touchscreen
• Control4 Halo Remote
• Araknis network infrastructure
Audio
• L-Acoustics 7.1.2 reference-grade sound system
o Front: 2 x SOKA, 1 x X6i
o LFE: 3 x SB10r In-Wall
o Surround: 4 x X4i In-Wall, 4 x SB6i In-Wall
o Tops: 2 x X4i loudspeakers
• Amina plaster-in speakers
o 1 x Amina Sub ALF100-CV, for joinery installation
o 2 x Sapphire 250 — single-channel 50W panel
o 3 x Sapphire 375 — single-channel 75W panel
Screen
• Hisense 85in TV
Design
• Cinema Luxe — room design
• Kate Mayer — bespoke artwork
All images courtesy of Mark Hardy Creative
