Ten years from its first transformation, our Maida Vale Duplex has been warmly reimagined. Marking a new decade of design, we injected a fresh take into the colour and textures, whilst staying true to the thoughtful and serene space we originally created.
We used the transition of the seasons as the Red Thread for the project. With the passing of ten years, we sensed a need to change from the sun-bleached, muted blues of late summer to the deepening warmth and richness of autumn. This need reflects the transition of the apartment and its family, and the changes a decade carries with it. With older, more engaged young adults, the apartment needed to answer new questions of living, and we wanted to reflect this new chapter in family life, changing the way that the kitchen worked as a hub of family life, and injecting more warmth and character throughout.
The original walnut dining table became a focal material for the kitchen and a common thread throughout the apartment, intensifying the space and injecting a beautiful warmth. The table was stripped back, and the grey tones were removed from the original flooring, to let the warmer tones shine through and give a new lease of life. We continued the warm walnut on the kitchen panels and changed the connecting elements of the stair’s handrail, finally adding walnut accents to the custom-made wardrobes in the bedrooms upstairs.
We transformed the kitchen from function to purpose. Once a space solely for storage, it became a place to gather and create moments and memories around. The Calcatta Matarazzo marble – with its beautiful detailing and intricate veining – was the perfect piece of functional sculpture, and clearly defined the crossing between the kitchen and dining areas.
The space was further elevated by the Roll and Hill pendant, which takes inspiration from 1970s super-graphics, becoming an important architectural element. We added three lights from another American atelier, Allied Maker, over the island, creating a beautiful still life when viewed through the corridor into the kitchen.
We switched up the orientation of the children’s bedrooms, allowing room for growth, and space for their own collections to take centre stage: an opportunity to exert their maturing personalities and identities. We also removed the desk from the snug, as this space was no longer needed to multifunction and instead could be used for the family to lean into and enjoy.
Combining a transition of seasons and change, alongside a focus on colour, warmth and character, our Maida Vale Duplex perfectly captures the spirit of this transformation and marks a new decade of design and the next chapter of family life for our clients.
