Colourful Principal Suite Transformation

As part of a full house refurbishment project for a growing family, we created a new principal suite on the top floor of a four-bedroom Victorian terraced house. This extension allowed the clients to stay in their current home rather than move. This was especially important to them as the local school intake area was very small and one of their children was already on the waiting list.

Previously there was a storage cupboard at the top of the stairs which had been used as excess storage for the rest of the house, it hadn’t been the best used of space but it was going to be perfect in its new role as a dressing area that would sit outside the main walk-in. We created a neat little dressing table area in this spot, which now sits perfectly in front of the walk-in wardrobe. It’s a lovely spot for getting ready with drawers, shelving, and good lighting from the new pendant light and also from the skylight above.

We removed the poorly laid out storage and used every square inch of what had previously been the typical box room. It was very difficult to access everything in this room and not the best use of prime space. We removed the door on the sloped ceiling box room and installed bespoke made open wardrobe units to fit the space perfectly. The storage design for this space was created to be flexible; the shelves are moveable and drawer units are on wheels so can move around when needed.

This bedroom had previously been a guest bedroom. It is a very tricky space as the ceiling height offers little full height space. It was really important to be able to use the space carefully without making it feel too crowded.

Although the principal bedroom itself is small, there were many clever ways that we made the most of the space. The kingsize bed is an ottoman storage bed, so is able to hold a lot underneath the mattress. The headboard was bespoke made, upholstered in the fabulous Kanoko fabric in copper by Zoffany, to bring in a punch of colour. We used Arté wallpaper on the headboard wall, which has a great textured finish to create more depth in the small room.

Pendants for bedside lighting were chosen so that the bedside tabletops were left clear for other items, and the use of an additional little shelf above the bedside tables created yet more storage options for glasses, accessories, or any other necessary bedside matter. On the other side of the room, we placed a beautiful vintage sideboard; vintage pieces always add more interest and more of a tale to a space.

We rearranged the en-suite bathroom layout to create more storage, by closing off an old side door into the box room and using a sliding door to enter it. We had the bespoke vanity unit stretch across the whole side of the room, as well as provide a walk-in shower in a wet room area.  The basin was a particularly special piece from the London Basin company and added the luxury that this bathroom deserved.