Inside the Set: How Harper Charles Designed Steven Bartlett’s New Podcast Studio

Harper Charles is a luxury interior design practice specialising in full turnkey interiors for prime private residences, serving UHNW clients worldwide from the UK and Dubai. The company is particularly known for designing hotel-inspired master suites and luxury bedroom interiors within private homes.

The idea began as a creative exploration.

Podcast studios are usually designed with practicality in mind - sound treatment, lighting, equipment. Rarely are they approached as environments with a strong visual identity.

We wanted to explore what a podcast studio might look like if it were designed through the lens of luxury interiors.

Steven Bartlett and the team behind Flight Studio were a natural point of inspiration. Not only because of the scale of what they’ve built with The Diary of a CEO, but because of the cultural conversation that surrounds it.

There wasn’t a formal brief. The project began simply as a question: what would a Harper Charles podcast set look like if it were designed for Steven Bartlett?

So we designed it.

The concept was developed with the same thinking we apply to private residential interiors - materials, atmosphere and proportion working together to create a strong visual presence without distracting from the experience itself.

When designing a podcast set, the challenge is slightly different from a home. The space has to communicate something immediately. Before a single word is spoken, the environment should already reflect the tone of the conversation.

This is particularly relevant today, as podcasts are increasingly experienced visually. Platforms like YouTube, TikTok and Instagram mean the set has become part of the storytelling. The room itself becomes part of the brand.

The design quickly resonated. When the concept was shared publicly, it caught the attention of Steven Bartlett and the Flight Studio team the very same evening.

For us, the project represents something slightly different. It reflects a growing interest in how interior design intersects with culture, media and storytelling.

At Harper Charles, we’ve always believed that spaces should do more than simply function. They should hold presence. They should say something.

Projects like this open the door to new possibilities - from creative collaborations to cultural environments where design becomes part of the narrative.

Because today, interiors are no longer just the backdrop to the story.

Sometimes, they are part of it.