This Interior Designer Designed Her Art Deco Loft Conversion Bedroom With a Clever Open-Concept Bathroom and a Coffee Station Hidden in the Walls
With concealed joinery, warm Art Deco detailing, and a design that doesn't mean going all the way downstairs for a morning coffee, this Brockley loft proves true luxury is all in thoughtful design
When interior designer Chizitera Pennington converted the loft of her family's 1930s home in Brockley, she knew she didn't want the project to feel like an architectural afterthought.
"With a growing family, we needed an additional bedroom and bathroom, and we also needed a space that felt elevated and special in the midst of the chaos of family life," Chizitera, founder of Chizitera Interiors, explains. "The attic, which spanned the length and breadth of the house, presented an opportunity to create such a space."
Instead, the retreat was shaped by the designer's own daily rituals, family life, and personal narrative, and designed with abundant ideas that just make a lot of sense for a loft conversion, specifically, from its tailored details to clever spatial planning.
What was once an underused roof space is now a sumptuous bedroom suite complete with a bathroom, dressing area, and a series of cleverly concealed storage solutions that make the entire space feel calm, cohesive, and self-contained. Here, Chizitera talks us through the project, including the coffee station she designed to be hidden into the walls.
An enclosed WC makes sense for this bedroom's open concept layout.
From the outset, the goal was about more than just adding functionality. It was about creating a room that could hold both practicality and design storytelling. "The brief was to create a room that felt like a self-contained, refined sanctuary within the house. Aesthetically, it needed to cohesively highlight our story — our backgrounds and personal journeys — while referencing Art Deco codes, as the house was built in the 1930s."
Instead of forcing symmetry onto an awkward roof volume, the design works with the architecture, allowing slopes and structural quirks to define zoning and storage opportunities. Chizitera's approach was to design the loft around life, not just layout.
A clear separation is created between sleeping, dressing, and bathing areas with an architectural room divider, yet the overall effect remains open and fluid, helped by light entering from both sides of the loft. This sense of flow is key to the room’s success. It feels expansive without ever losing intimacy and its signature coziness.
"For me, luxury design is thinking about how you want to live and then finding ways to make that feel effortless and natural," Chizitera says.
One of the most distinctive interventions is a concealed coffee station, built directly into the wall so it disappears into the architecture when not in use. It’s a small gesture that roots the entire design in daily routine.
"I designed this room thinking about how life would unfold in space," Chizitera says. "Having a cup of coffee in the morning is part of my daily ritual. Including a coffee station in the room means I can enjoy my coffee looking out the windows across the parks nearby, and the City and the Shard further afield, without having to go down to the kitchen."
To preserve the calm architectural language of the room, the station is fully concealed, a decision that reinforces the sense of restraint throughout the scheme.
"To have the room feel like a sanctuary, it needed to be restrained, with clean lines, allowing architectural elements like the slats above the headboard space to breathe."
Image credit: Juliet Murphy Photography. Design: Chizitera Interiors
Image credit: Juliet Murphy Photography. Design: Chizitera Interiors
Nearly every awkward angle in the loft has been reworked into something functional, but the loft never feels over-designed. As the designer puts it simply, "no space was going to waste."
Storage is incorporated everywhere, but embedded into the architecture rather than layered on top of it. A flush-mounted wall cabinet disguised in wallpaper concealing first aid and cleaning supplies and a lift-up laundry zone shelf also providing hidden storage are just a few of the innovative design ideas in this loft conversion.
Much of the loft’s success lies in its bespoke joinery, particularly around the chimney breast and eaves, where standard solutions would have failed. The wardrobes are divided into functional zones depending on depth, transforming awkward geometry into highly specific storage for clothing, accessories, and personal items. Meanwhile, the bedside tables are built directly into the headboard, their chamfered edges allowing smooth movement through the space.
Even the most challenging structural elements are absorbed into the design rather than worked around.
A shock of bright red makes this small toilet feel like a hidden treasure.
The material language of the loft is what holds its many references together. Rather than relying on a single aesthetic, the design draws from multiple personal and cultural influences, unified through its tone and texture.
"My design style combines an intentional use of color, layering and clean lines with a client’s story at the heart of it all. This style comes through clearly in the loft. I wanted this space to cohesively capture my English and Nigerian heritage, my husband’s time living in Spain alongside Art Deco references."
Earthy reds, muted greens and warm neutrals form the base palette, softened by a red-based neutral wall color, reminding the designer "of red earth and beautiful palm trees of Nigeria." Terracotta introduces warmth in the bathroom area, while jute underfoot adds texture.
The scheme also references Art Deco detailing through glossy finishes, walnut and zebrano timbers. This is all balanced with carefully considered louvred joinery and more tactile materials such as linen and woven textiles.
Design details tell the family's heritage and history.
Lighting plays a transformative role throughout the loft, shaping how each zone feels at different times of day. A soft downlight above the bath creates an evening glow, while spot lighting supports dressing and grooming areas for getting dressed in the evening.
"The lighting design is probably one of my favourite details about the room. Again, it comes back to thinking about how life will unfold in space," Chizitera notes.
Alabaster pendants above the vanity act as both functional light sources and sculptural elements, while bedroom lighting can be controlled from both the entrance and the bed, ensuring the room always feels immediately welcoming.
GET THE LOOK
The designer used the paint shade Bronze Red by Little Greene for the wardrobes, cabinets and bedside tables.
For a fresh, but not sterile look, Joa’s white by Farrow and Ball is the exact shade to recreate the loft's wall paint.
My absolute favourite detail of the loft is these laquered Red tiles which Chizitera accompanied with Gold tiles in the bathroom achieving a vibrant and characterful corner.
Adding depth to the room, this Liberty Bombazine fabric provides a heritage feel with the flamestich pattern.
Using a standalone vanity like this affordable design can help bring clean lines to a space.
This Palm wallpaper is an exciting way to reinterpret the Art Deco era in a contemporary way.
Despite its complexity, this loft bedroom forms a calm, intuitive, and deeply lived-in space where every element works. For any homeowners converting their lofts, Chizitera imparts ,"good design starts long before the first brick is laid. It is so important to start off having a clear idea of what purpose of the room is."
Sometimes it is important to let architecture lead and to design around daily rituals. True luxury isn’t always about opulence and excessive design, it can be having the clarity that everything is exactly where it needs to be.
For more inspiration for your loft conversion, read our 5 clever ways to create space, or sign up to the Livingetc newsletter for even more ideas.
