de rosee sa brightens dark kensington apartment in london
all images courtesy of de rosee sa

 

 

 

illuminating the drab interior of the victorian apartment in london’s royal borough of kensington and chelsea, local architecture practice, de rosee sa has transformed it into a brightly lit and uplifting environment. the brief from the clients was for a fun mix of classic and contemporary elements with an open-plan living space for entertaining. the formerly lowered ceiling cramped the proportions of the flat, while only one main bathroom and a traditional but worn design was unsympathetic to the owners lifestyle. the main challenge was to bring light into a boxed-in, windowless lobby that formed its core – achieved by installing a permeable, paneled joinery feature.

 

‘we wanted to eliminate dark corridors, maximise space, and retain the traditional proportions of the flat,’ said sanchia stowe, de rosee sa project architect at bassett road.

 

de rosee sa brightens dark kensington apartment in london
main living area

 

 

allowing light from the south facing windows to filter through, the bespoke piece can be open or closed from the lobby, directly controlling the levels of privacy required. careful spatial planning also helped to enliven the dark rooms. the flat now consists of an open-plan living and kitchen area, a south-facing master suite (including en-suite shower room and walk-through dressing room), a guest bedroom, main bathroom and utility storage area.

 

de rosee sa brightens dark kensington apartment in london
the kitchen

 

 

engineered oak parquet adds depth to the floor of the main living area. the tone of the bianco gioia marble surfaces create a dramatic contrast, and paired with oak veneer cupboards, it ties the two sections of the space together. other customized built-in features include a wooden banquette, LED backlit bookshelf and raised stone hearth.

 

 

de rosee sa brightens dark kensington apartment in london
bespoke joinery in the original lobby space 

 

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corner detail of the joinery

 

de rosee sa brightens dark kensington apartment in london
hand-crafted banquette and eating area

 

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kitchen storage and cleaning nook

 

de rosee sa brightens dark kensington apartment in london
the master bedroom

 

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dressing area

 

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the master bathroom

 

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bathroom detailing

 

designboom has received this project from our ‘DIY submissions‘ feature, where we welcome our readers to submit their own work for publication. see more project submissions from our readers here.