Chelsea’s houses

Chelsea’s streets run from Georgian and early Victorian terraces around its garden squares to the red-brick Queen Anne revival houses of Cadogan Square and Pont Street, and the riverside houses of Cheyne Walk. Many are listed or sit within conservation areas, and their proportions, joinery and plasterwork deserve careful handling.

Behind the main streets, Chelsea’s mews and studio houses offer a different kind of project, where light and space are at a premium. We also work on the area’s mansion flats and lateral apartments, where the challenge is often to modernise layouts and services within a shared building while keeping the original details.

What we do in Chelsea

Typical Chelsea projects include complete renovations of terraced houses, rear and roof extensions where policy allows, new kitchens and family rooms on the lower floors, and the careful refurbishment of listed apartments. We design the architecture and interiors together and make bespoke joinery in our own workshop, so a house feels considered from the front door to the top floor.

Planning in the Royal Borough

Chelsea falls within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where most streets are covered by conservation areas and basement, roof and rear extensions are closely controlled. We shape proposals around the borough’s policies from the first sketch, prepare planning and listed building applications ourselves, and manage the dialogue with planning and conservation officers.

Estates and leaseholds

A large part of Chelsea is owned by long-established estates, notably the Cadogan Estate, and many homes are held on long leases. Alterations frequently need the landlord’s consent as well as planning permission. We prepare the drawings and information that estates and freeholders ask for, and run the licence process alongside the planning timetable so neither holds the other up.

Interiors and joinery

Chelsea interiors often combine period architecture with collected furniture and art. Our interior designers specify finishes, lighting and furnishings to suit how you live, and our joinery workshop makes kitchens, libraries, wardrobes and dressing rooms to fit the house exactly. Where clients bring existing pieces, we plan the rooms around them so they sit naturally in the new scheme.

From design to handover

Our in-house architects, interior designers and project managers work as one team, so a Chelsea renovation has one point of accountability throughout. During construction we act as project manager and contract administrator, overseeing the contractor, the budget and the programme, with regular reporting so you always know where things stand.

Garden squares and conservation

Chelsea’s garden squares, such as Paultons Square and Wellington Square, are among its most carefully protected settings, and changes visible from them are assessed closely. We look at how a proposal will read from the street and the square as well as from inside the house, and prepare drawings and visual material that make the case clearly.

Apartments in mansion blocks

Chelsea’s mansion blocks offer generous lateral apartments, but working within them means agreeing hours with managing agents, protecting common parts and coordinating services that run through the building. Our project managers plan for this from the outset and keep the building’s managers informed throughout.

Buying in Chelsea

If you are buying in Chelsea, we can visit with you before exchange to assess the property’s condition, the approvals and landlord consents your plans would need and a realistic scope of work.

Starting a conversation

Our studio on Kensington High Street is a short journey from Chelsea. A conversation and a visit to your property, including before you buy, are the best way to understand what it needs and how we would approach it. We are also happy to meet your surveyor or agent on site.