Interior designers in Kensington and Chelsea

NU Projects runs an interior design team that works across Kensington and Chelsea. This is how we approach a house here. We also explain why the approach is different from anywhere else in London.

What the area is made of

Kensington and Chelsea is stucco terraces, stately townhouses and mansion blocks. It also has a growing number of lateral apartments. Each of those is a different problem. A townhouse is about the plan, the stair and the daylight. A mansion flat is about the freeholder, the licence to alter and the acoustics. It is also about what runs through somebody else’s ceiling.

Years of working in the borough tells you which questions to ask first. It also tells you which planning positions are worth testing.

More than decoration

Our interior work covers layout and space planning. Materials, lighting and joinery are part of it too. It also has to coordinate with the architecture, the structure and the services. An interior scheme that ignores those gets value engineered out on site.

We work on residential and on retail and commercial interiors. That keeps the team used to tighter programmes and harder wearing detailing.

Old fabric, modern living

The reason people buy in Kensington and Chelsea is the period architecture. The reason they renovate is that the plans were drawn for a different century. The job is to keep the first and fix the second. Restore the proportions, the cornices and the joinery. Put modern services, storage and light behind them.

Time and budget

Programme and cost are not the enemy of a good interior. They are what makes it happen. The scheme is developed alongside the cost plan. The project manager reports on both during the work, not at the end.

Drawn for the household

We start with consultations and a visit to the house. What we want to understand is how you live in it. Where you eat, where people arrive. What has to be stored, what you have outgrown. The scheme comes out of that. Every detail in it should be traceable back to an answer you gave.

Talk it through

Are you planning an interior in Kensington or Chelsea? If you are, tell us about the property. Or call the studio on 020 7731 6841. Kitchens, wardrobes and fitted furniture are made by Cochrane Bespoke, our joinery partner.