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At the end of a gracious Georgian terrace in London’s
Belgravia is a five storey, Grade II listed townhouse, its
serene facade silent as to the radical transformation it has
undergone. The original townhouse follows a classic Georgian
structure with two well-proportioned rooms on each floor,
but extensions over time had incorporated a garage and staff
accommodation within the rear mews and further spaces at
half landings and different levels to the original house. For
the owner this presented a unique o pportunity: to restore
the architectural grandeur to the house while carving out a
functional and architecturally inspiring home for him and his
family, that answers all the questions of modern life.
The integration of these spaces into a cohesive whole
presented a design challenge to PEEK Architecture + Design
and interior designers Staffan Tollgård Design Group. How to
realise a spatial arrangement which flows through the building
whilst accommodating the constraints imposed by both the
structure and the listed status? “The client understood the
importance of being respectful of the building’s history, but
also needed the property to work as a Twenty First Century
family home” says Creative Director, Staffan Tollgård. Thus,
there is a difference in architectural detailing between the
old and new parts of the house but it very much fulfils the
functional requirements of the client.
Traditional architectural details
were sensitively reinstated in the
refurbishment of this grade ii
listed georgian townhouse
The listing of the property meant that changes to rooms of
the original Georgian townhouse were restricted and the plan
form needed to remain intact. The entertaining spaces are on
the ground and first floors in the original house and embrace
historic detailing. Intricate cornices, stone fireplaces, panelled
wall mouldings and original wall niches were revealed and
new decorative details were carefully selected and reinstated
to complement those that already existed. At ground floor
level an intimate reception room provides a framed view of
the mature Magnolia tree at the front and extends to a formal
dining room with curved walls towards a view over the private
courtyard garden and terraces at the back. The first floor
reception stretches the full width of the house with two full
height sash windows flooding the room with light and leading
through to a study.
Opposite page: The ground floor reception room
mixes period architectural details with contemporary
furniture and lighting
This page: The ground and first floor entertaining spaces