Kensington II

Kensington, London Private Client 560 m² | 6,000 ft² 2007

Refurbishment of West London town house

This 6,000 sq foot Victorian town house was substantially rebuilt to meet the client’s brief which involved the creation of a meticulously detailed and uncompromisingly high-quality family home to house their extensive art collection.

Various structural alterations were required to support heavy artwork and to remove the traditional roof beams on the top floor. Underfloor heating was installed throughout the basement and ground floors and comfort cooling was introduced into all the principal rooms.

Lighting was developed to ensure that all walls were evenly lit to allow flexible positioning of art, whilst the positioning of doorways and the size of skirtings and cornices were designed to allow four substantial canvasses to be hung in the main living room. Other works of art were recessed into walls and one bathroom was completely papered using silver “Pharmacy” wallpaper.

Furnishings and lighting were designed and fabricated by an exceptionally creative team of interior designers including (Edward) Barber and (Jay) Osgerby, Bill Amberg and Paola Petrobelli with other pieces by Zaha Hadid, Ron Arad, Marc Newson and Julian Schnabel.

The pallet of materials used included marble, Corian, colour laminated glass, leather, and wood, whilst fittings – such as the radiator covers, door handles, ventilation grills and kitchen – were all specially designed for the house. All cabinetry was detailed to the highest specification including solid cedar dressing room cupboards lined in fluorescent Perspex. Of particular note are the two master bathrooms which were clad in rare marbles, completely covering all walls to produce a seamless finish.

The positioning of doorways and the size of skirtings and cornices were designed to allow four substantial canvasses to be hung in the main living room