Grade II Listed Apartment Renovation, SW1, London 

Client: Private

Type: Residential Renovation

Size: 100sqm

Status: Built

Photos: Behbahani Hall

A sensitive renovation of an apartment within a grand mid 19th Century Grade II listed terrace building in the heart of Pimlico, London SW1.

Our client purchased a poorly maintained apartment occupying the lower ground floor of a grand mid 19th Century Grade II listed terrace building on Warwick Square in London, SW1. 

We were appointed to create proposals for the general refurbishment of the property and replacement of the existing conservatory, as well as to obtain the necessary Planning and Listed Building Consents, Freeholder license agreements, and to coordinate the party wall awards that were required. Following careful negotiations with the authorities and the other interested parties all permissions were successfully obtained.

The existing apartment was cluttered and busy, both in terms of the spatial configuration and the decoration.  By removing the dated non-original interior decorations, we aimed to create a calm, uncluttered and elegant interior, which highlights the original period features and retains the apartment’s essential character.  

Our primary design aim was to find a way to create a connection between the disparate 'social’ areas such as living room, kitchen, conservatory and exterior patio without resorting to extensive structural alterations that would be costly and potentially contentious with the authorities. We achieved this by extending a common material language between these spaces, and by making new visual connections where possible.

We felt the kitchen should become the main social heart of the apartment, therefore, the existing kitchen and breakfast room were reconfigured to create a new open galley kitchen with a long uninterrupted work surface that runs the length of the room to create a breakfast bar, work point, or a seating area for friends while cooking. At this position the kitchen directly connected to the new conservatory and external patio beyond.

The existing conservatory was replaced with a new, slightly larger extension with a minimised mono-pitch roof structure and a larger expanse of glass to maximises the amount of north light into the space. Folding sliding doors open fully to connect the interior space to the outside patio during warmer months.

A natural muted material palette was proposed that responds to both the traditional and the contemporary. The social spaces such as the hall, kitchen and new conservatory were proposed as light spaces with polished Portland stone floors that allow light to transmit through them, whereas, the more private spaces or places of relaxation like the bedrooms and living room were proposed in richer tones with warm oak timber flooring.