{"id":442821,"date":"2026-01-28T11:30:11","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442821\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T11:30:11","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T11:30:11","slug":"london-flat-undergoes-revamp-where-no-single-author-is-visible","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/442821\/","title":{"rendered":"London flat undergoes revamp where “no single author is visible”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Architecture practice Polysmiths<\/a> has teamed up with Diaz Interiors and a network of craftspeople to overhaul this family apartment<\/a> in South Kensington.<\/p>\n

The Grade II-listed apartment is set within an Edwardian-era building and, over the years, had fallen into disrepair.<\/p>\n

To make the space fit for moving in, the new owners asked Polysmiths<\/a> to steer the architectural side of the renovation and Diaz Interiors<\/a> to lead on the design.<\/p>\n

\"ApartmentTo open up the apartment, sliding glazed doors were inserted between the kitchen and dining room<\/p>\n

A select group of plasterers, carpenters, stone masons, furniture makers and fabric designers were also brought on board.<\/p>\n

“Though there was only one client, each consultant and craftsman brought their intimate knowledge of a certain material or process,” Polysmiths’ founder Charles Wu told Dezeen.<\/p>\n

“We had to listen carefully, be humble and willing to learn from their knowledge and experience, then strategically pick out the best way to maintain the project vision,” he continued.<\/p>\n

“This open exchange led to a coherent result where no single author is visible.”<\/p>\n

\"ApartmentThe dining room was also given ornate cornicing and new sash windows<\/p>\n

One of the client’s key requests was that the home’s communal rooms should have a more open layout, so that they can flex to different uses.<\/p>\n

Rather than knocking through a slew of partitions, Polysmiths made the decision to insert sliding glazed doors between the kitchen and dining area, and keep the sitting room closed off.<\/p>\n

\"ApartmentA contemporary fireplace features in the living room<\/p>\n

“While the dining room becomes more ‘public’, the living room becomes a more ‘private’ family room,” Wu explained.<\/p>\n

“Obviously, this also reduced the structural cost and potential disruption to the listed building fabric.”<\/p>\n

\"ApartmentThe space also includes a custom-made sofa<\/p>\n

These spaces have undergone aesthetic changes, too; the kitchen now boasts oak cabinetry, a marble backsplash, and an extractor hood with a burnished brass-like surface finish.<\/p>\n

In the dining area there’s an expansive cream rug, on top of which sits a table and armchairs overlaid with a herringbone-style fabric.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Arch<\/p>\n

Polysmiths adds Mediterranean texture to Arch House in London\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

Here, as throughout the rest of the apartment, heritage cornicing and skirting boards have been installed to emulate what would have originally been in place.<\/p>\n

New timber sash windows have also been fitted.<\/p>\n

\"ApartmentUpholstered headboards add interest to the bedrooms<\/p>\n

The focal point of the nearby living room is a new fireplace. It features a curved flue that has been hand-coated in buttermilk-coloured plaster, and a long limestone hearth that doubles as a display shelf.<\/p>\n

At the centre of the space is a custom L-shaped sofa.<\/p>\n

\"ApartmentItalian marble vanities amplify the luxurious feel of the bathrooms<\/p>\n

The same rich materials that were applied in the apartment’s communal spaces have been used in the apartment’s private quarters.<\/p>\n

The bedrooms boast velvet curtains and plush upholstered headboards, while the bathrooms have vanities made from pale Italian marble and striking octagonal mirrors.<\/p>\n

A herringbone-pattern fabric similar to what appears on the dining room chairs also lines the cupboard doors of the client’s walk-in wardrobe.<\/p>\n

\"ApartmentThe walk-in wardrobe is cloaked in herringbone-pattern fabric<\/p>\n

Founded in 2019, Polysmiths has worked on a number of residences across London.<\/p>\n

This includes a home in the suburb of Wanstead that features Mediterranean-style archways<\/a>, and a basement apartment in Tufnell Park that’s designed to feel like a “cabin in the woods”<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The photography is by Pierce Scourfield<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Project credits:<\/p>\n

Architect: Polysmiths AD
Interior design: Diaz Interiors
Structural engineer: SD Engineers
Building control: Cook Brown
Main contractor: JB Construction<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Architecture practice Polysmiths has teamed up with Diaz Interiors and a network of craftspeople to overhaul this family…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":442822,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[449,458,459,64,63,460,1208,134,2022,182448,230082,61745,62769,5429],"class_list":{"0":"post-442821","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arts-and-design","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-arts-and-design","10":"tag-artsanddesign","11":"tag-au","12":"tag-australia","13":"tag-design","14":"tag-england","15":"tag-entertainment","16":"tag-london","17":"tag-london-apartments","18":"tag-polysmiths","19":"tag-sectionall","20":"tag-sectioninteriors","21":"tag-uk"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=442821"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/442821\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/442822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=442821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=442821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=442821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}