New York Art Collector’s Pied-à-terre in Kensington

Being the top floor apartment inside a period red-brick property in the Kensington area of London, our design language has lent itself towards a creative direction of attic spaces and atelier studios for the complete interior refurbishment. The interior design combines the honesty and elegance of classic industrial design with the creative and decorative atmosphere that accompanies Bohemian living spaces.

Our clients are based in Manhattan, are avid art collectors and global travellers. They wanted their London pied-à-terre to be a space to relax and entertain. A home from home with artworks, collected furniture, antique light fittings and homely luxuries to hand in all spaces. 

The upper level of the apartment was conceived as a large open plan entertaining space, industrial-style metal and glass doors are repeated elements in the living area allowing access onto roof terrace and forming the dividing wall to separate the kitchen-dining from the lounge.

The dark metalwork from the classic glazing establishes a masculine backdrop to more decorative, soft finishes – floor to ceiling antique mirror wall panelling, Chinese lacquer wall finishes, antique marble to the kitchen counter and chequerboard flooring.

An existing roof-light over the lounge was replaced for a more traditional English version, typical in workshop spaces across the city. Beneath the new roof glazing a modernist style chandelier was suspended to act as a central sculpture and extend the classic industrial design spirit. 

The lower level of the apartment houses bedrooms and en-suite bathrooms, each designed and decorated individually whilst retaining the spirit of the modernist aesthetic – large scale terrazzo slabs to clad bathroom walls, Carlo Scarpa marble terrazzo flooring to give examples.

An intimate guest bedroom ventures into the more ornate with Jean Paul Gautier ‘cherub’ wallpaper matched with deep-pile Chinese carpets and antique wall lights and chandeliers. The bedrooms and bathrooms are each conceived as treasures in their own right to discover and enjoy through secret doors or mirrored walls. The results form an eclectic but refined combination of artworks and antiques against a masculine but decorative interior design shell.