Opening a Victorian classroom into a light-soaked duplex home.

The Details

Client: Young professional couple relocating to London

Task: Re-plan and fit-out a two-storey apartment inside a former Victorian board school, turning a dark kitchenette and disjointed living areas into one cohesive open plan space, and creating an investment-grade loft.

The Brief

The owners were instantly smitten by the apartment’s towering Crittall-style windows and warm London-stock brick, yet day-to-day living felt hemmed in by a galley kitchenette, awkward circulation and a bathroom long past its best. They asked us to re-imagine the duplex as a genuine open-plan hub where cooking, dining and relaxing could unfold in one seamless sweep, all while amplifying the double-height shell’s extraordinary daylight.

Our brief also called for finishes that would feel sophisticated yet hard-wearing: think forest-green joinery, quartz worktops and oak herringbone, all set within a calm, nature-inflected palette.

Our approach

Our work began with a detailed site visit and measured survey that laid bare the building’s possibilities: the pony wall slicing across the ground floor could safely come down, services could be corralled into discreet bulkheads, and the double-height brickwork was begging to be celebrated rather than hidden. With that knowledge in hand we moved into concept development, testing a series of layout options before settling on the winning scheme—one that would stretch the kitchen a full seven metres along the brick façade, draw a Calacatta-look waterfall island into the room and realign circulation so the entire ground floor read as a single, light-soaked volume.

Because the clients opted for our Premium Make-Over package for the open-plan zone and bathroom, we pushed the detailing further: colour-matched forest-green cabinetry, brass shadow-lines with concealed LED strips, engineered oak herringbone warmed by electric under-floor heating and, upstairs, a spa-calm bathroom cloaked in large-format taupe porcelain and brushed-brass fittings. Meanwhile the bedroom mezzanine and home office received our Basic Make-Over treatment—fresh finishes, streamlined storage and a quiet, cohesive palette—ensuring every corner of the duplex felt considered, even at a lighter touchpoint.

Open-Plan Loft Heart

By removing the dividing pony wall we unlocked a single, light-soaked volume where a seven-metre run of forest-green cabinetry, a Calacatta-look waterfall island and oak herringbone flooring flow effortlessly beneath the double-height Crittall windows—uniting kitchen, dining and lounge in one cohesive sweep.

Spa-Calm Ensuite

Wrapped floor-to-ceiling in soft-taupe porcelain and finished with brushed-brass fittings, this floating-vanity bathroom turns a compact footprint into a boutique retreat, complete with halo-lit mirror and recessed niche for clutter-free serenity.

Before: The Untapped Shell

These images show the duplex exactly as we found it: a characterful Victorian schoolroom divided by half-height partitions and a dated galley kitchen. Warm brickwork and double-height ceilings were already in place, but white-framed windows, cherry-toned floors and a maze of low walls left the space feeling narrow and disjointed. The dining area stared into a blank pony wall, the living zone was marooned at the far end, and the kitchen—tucked behind a waist-high barrier—offered little more than a single-person work triangle. Our challenge was to honour the building’s heritage bones while opening the plan, modernising the finishes and creating a cohesive, light-filled heart of the home.

Bathroom Design

The updated floor plan shows how every millimetre of the entrance level has been re-thought. Step through the front door and, before the new kitchen begins, a pocket door on the left now reveals the re-configured bathroom—easily accessed from the social zone yet discreetly tucked away.

Along the same left-hand wall, the kitchen stretches a full 7 metres: forest-green, handle-less cabinetry runs beneath the original brick, while a Calacatta-look quartz waterfall island draws the dining table and lounge into one uninterrupted, light-filled sweep beneath the double-height Crittall windows. Elevations highlight how the cabinetry height, island proportions and low modular sofa were all set deliberately below the window datum so the heritage brick and steel frames remain the star.

The drawings for the bathroom—located just inside the entrance, also on the left—carry the project’s calm, natural palette. Large-format taupe porcelain tiles wrap floor and walls, a halo-lit mirror softens the ceiling line and brushed-brass fixtures add warmth. Initial concepts featured a floating basin, but a storage audit led us to a built-in vanity instead: the cabinet still reads light and linear, yet its deep drawers and open walnut cubby swallow towels, toiletries and cleaning kit, marrying spa aesthetics with everyday practicality.