Handleless Kitchen
A warm-white handleless kitchen with solid oak worktop, integrated sink, under-counter fridge, and concealed washer-dryer behind cabinet doors.
Belgravia Apartment Refurbishment
9 Thorburn House, Belgravia SW1X
A clean, contemporary one-bedroom apartment refurbishment in Thorburn House, designed around a pale, calming palette of white oak, natural linen, and honed limestone — a quieter counterpoint to the bolder schemes delivered elsewhere on Kinnerton Street.
Programme 5 months
Budget Band £220k – £300k
Borough Westminster
Outcome Pied-à-terre finish
Project Overview
Minimal design, maximum calm in Belgravia
The client uses this apartment as a London pied-à-terre and wanted it to feel like a boutique hotel: uncomplicated, beautifully finished, and completely maintenance-free.
Flat 9 is a compact one-bedroom apartment at the rear of Thorburn House, quieter than the street-facing units and with a restful garden outlook. The existing interior was functional but characterless — magnolia walls, beige carpet, and a dated bathroom.
The design used a deliberately limited palette: white oak flooring, honed Jura limestone in the bathroom, pale plaster walls, and natural linen curtains. The kitchen was replaced with a simple, handleless design in warm white with an oak worktop and integrated sink. Built-in storage was maximised throughout, with every cupboard planned specifically for the client’s possessions.
The bathroom is the centrepiece: floor-to-ceiling honed limestone, a curbless shower with invisible drain, wall-hung basin, and a single recessed shelf for essentials. The lighting was designed to be warm and indirect throughout, with no visible downlights in the living space.
9 Thorburn House Belgravia - minimal one-bedroom apartment with white oak floors and honed limestone bathroom
Scope Delivered
What the refurbishment actually changed
Limestone Bathroom
Floor-to-ceiling honed Jura limestone, curbless shower, wall-hung basin, recessed niche, and warm indirect lighting.
Built-In Storage
Every wardrobe, shelf, and cupboard was planned around the client’s specific requirements, with interior fittings customised for a pied-à-terre lifestyle.
Lighting Design
Warm indirect lighting throughout: cove LEDs in the living room, backlit bathroom mirror, and bedside reading lights recessed into the headboard wall.
Programme
How the project moved from brief to handover
Stage 1
Design workshop
A single design workshop established the palette, layout, and procurement list for the entire apartment.
Stage 2
Strip-out
Complete removal of existing finishes, carpet, kitchen, and bathroom in one week.
Stage 3
Services and preparation
New electrics, plumbing adjustments, and subfloor preparation for limestone and oak flooring.
Stage 4
Installation
Kitchen, bathroom, flooring, and built-in storage installed in a tight three-week sequence.
Stage 5
Finishing
Decoration, lighting, curtains, and final snagging before handover.
Delivery Challenges
Challenge
Challenge
Challenge
Outcome
The details that mattered most on site
Compact footprint
Every millimetre mattered. Joinery was designed to within 5mm tolerances to ensure the apartment felt spacious rather than cramped.
Invisible lighting
Achieving warm, even light without visible fittings required precise coordination between joinery, plaster, and electrical trades.
Limestone handling
Honed limestone is heavy, porous, and unforgiving of poor cutting. Each piece was templated, cut off-site, and installed with expansion joints to prevent cracking.
A London retreat
The finished apartment is a calm, precise space that the client described as ‘the quietest room in London’ — exactly what a pied-à-terre should be.
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