Explore a Kensington apartment full of personality and charm

(Image credit: James Merrell)

By Livingetc 2020-10-08T14:56:52Z

THE PROPERTY

A two-level Kensington apartment on the top floor of a Victorian terraced house in south west London. The ground floor of this modern home comprises of a hallway, kitchen, sitting room, study and shower room. On the first floor, there is the master bedroom with dressing room and ensuite, guest bedroom and ensuite, laundry room and the central courtyard.

KITCHEN AREA

When planning the apartment, it was important to achieve a fluid feel to the living space with interwoven rooms blending together. ‘We had a strong idea of how we wanted it all to look,’ continues Deian, ‘The open-plan aspect makes the flat feel extremely sociable. I can be cooking in the kitchen while talking to someone in the sitting room. We also wanted a mid-century feel with the furnishings, from the muted yellow kitchen – which incidentally was inspired by a story in a past Livingetc – to the accessories we have chosen. Plus, a lot of natural wood everywhere adds a cosy finish.’

A mid-century feel to the kitchen and dining room was achieved with muted yellow units, vintage furniture and a classic marble splashback.

Kitchen units, bespoke. For similar marble splashback, VictoriaPlum. Kitchen table, The Conran Shop. Chairs vintage 1960 design. Lights (over table) Foscarini.

LIVING AREA

There is always much laughter in this home, and it’s not unusual to find Euan and Deian gathered with friends in a corner of the living room, where a beautiful teak cabinet sits, adorned with various bottles of spirits, just waiting for Euan to mix everyone a cocktail. The piano is tuned ready, and a selection of random vintage portraits of women (‘Why women? Because we love women!’) observe from the wall. “This home has taken dedication,’ acknowledges Deian, ‘But we both agree it’s absolutely been worth it.’

‘We had a ton of scaffolding running up the outside of the building so we could transport heavy materials like granite blocks and even, eventually, the grand piano!,’ reveals Euan. ‘Because it’s such an old house, once we started the project, we discovered loads of problems we couldn’t have foreseen, like old chimney flues in places where we’d planned to add structural steel supports. One time our builder yanked on an old electrical wire and it suddenly popped out of the newly decorated wall of the flat downstairs.’

MASTER BEDROOM

Light streams into this master bedroom through the floor to ceiling sliding glass doors. The natural wood everywhere creates a sense of warmth and comfort.

Rug, John Lewis. For similar bed linen, The White Company.