Sleek lines, sculptural metal, a touch of whimsy: Lara Bohinc’s pad is every bit as cool as the other wordly jewellery she creates. By Alex Rayner. Photographed by David Newby

It’s a sign of Lara Bohinc’s success that she had to bring her couch home from the office for safekeeping. The Slovenia-born, London-based jewellery designer originally wanted her vintage B&B Italia sofa to sit in the meeting area of her East London studio. Unfortunately, the pace of Bohinc’s business didn’t quite suit the white upholstery. “There was too much foot traffic coming in,” she explains, “and dirt was everywhere.” So it is now safe in Bohinc’s living room, alongside some other items from her professional life: copious jewellery boxes, of course; a black and white illustrated portrait, a gift from design collective Surface to Air (“They snapped my picture at one of their shows, then the next thing I know they’ve produced this piece of art”); and her favourite new bag design, the lambskin, snakeskin and metal Laratella, which is, she points out in a way that only a fashion person would, “very comfortable.”

Though much of the light-flooded seventh-floor apartment is filled with carefully curated European modernist dA~©cor, it shows that Bohinc clearly has a sense of humour. One wall is hung with twisted rods that appear to be pricey metal sculptures, but are in fact plastic wind chimes picked up on holiday in Thailand. On a nearby shelf, Batman and Catwoman dolls peek over her handbags. “I bought them ages ago,” she says, “but I hang onto them because they look nice with the bags.”

While Bohinc’s offices are in Hoxton Square, land of asymmetrical haircuts and amorphous rock music, she goes home to the more salubrious neighbourhood of Fitzrovia, a posh district of pubs, bookstores and ad agencies near Soho. Her balcony faces west, overlooking the shops of Bond Street, some of London’s prettier ecclesiastical buildings, and, off in the distance, Kensington home of the Royal College of Art, where Bohinc got her master’s in jewellery design.

No sooner had Bohinc graduated than a pair of ornamental headphones she constructed for a classmate made their way into a Mario Testino shoot for British Vogue. She went on to work for Costume National and Gucci, and is now a design consultant for Cartier when she’s not working on her namesake line.

Jewellery-making is, according to Bohinc, quite hard work. “You have to do a lot of sawing,” she says. “It’s very physical, especially if you’re working with something hard like platinum.” And then there’s the jet lag. “We’re expanding all the time,” she says, “trying to sell more pieces all over the world.” Looks like the pristine upholstery on Bohinc’s white couch is safe for the time being the lady’s got no time to lounge.