A site update from our whole house refurbishment in Chelsea. We are two months in, and the house is still telling us things.
That is normal on a property of this age. You open up a floor expecting one thing and find another, and the programme has to absorb it. It is why the early weeks of a refurbishment are the ones worth opening up as early as possible: a surprise in month two is a change, and a surprise in month eight is a delay.
The part of this job that will not be obvious in any photograph is the integrated control system. Heating, lighting, the intercom and the blinds all run off one system, from an app or from a panel. Getting that in means the routes, the plant space and the containment are drawn before the ceilings close, not after.
The interior is going towards a Ralph Lauren look: deep colour, timber, layered lighting and fabric. That is a direction that only works if the joinery and the lighting are drawn together, which is what the next few weeks are.
More updates as it goes. If you are planning something similar in Chelsea, tell us about the house, or see finished work on our projects page.
Published 4 March 2023. Written by the NU Projects studio, edited since for house style and accuracy.