A Marvelous Duplex

01

The double height

The duplex opens on its full height. A cluster of slim brass tubes falls through the void at different lengths, read from the sofa as a light fitting and from the floor above as a line of verticals crossing the opening.

Everything around it is kept quiet. White panelled walls, a mezzanine edge held thin, sheer curtains the depth of the wall. The volume is the event, so nothing competes with it.

02

Living and dining

Living and dining share one floor and one rug line. A grey stone panel carries the television, cream upholstered chairs surround a dark dining table, and the sofa is cream with orange cushions.

That orange is the whole colour strategy in miniature. One lounge chair, a few cushions, nothing else, against grey, cream and the blue of the rug. The palette is subdued so that the one bright thing lands.

03

Kitchen

Dark grey shaker fronts run the length of one wall to a pale island, lit by brass pendants on long drops.

It is planned to be seen. The kitchen opens straight onto the dining floor rather than closing behind a door, so the greys read as a continuation of the living room rather than as a service space.

04

The bedrooms

Each bedroom takes one strong surface and leaves the rest pale. In the first it is a crimson panelled wall behind the bed, with a mirrored wardrobe in a fine black grid opposite and a gold pendant hung low at the bedside.

In the second it is a deep navy velvet headboard, against white panelling, a teal throw, black louvred blinds and a mirrored dressing counter with gold-framed stools. Two rooms, two moves, the same restraint underneath.

05

The home office

The one room that goes dark throughout. Grey-green walls, a slim black desk, and timber shelving with light run into the shelf edge so the books are lit rather than the room.

It is the counterweight to the double height: low, contained, and the only place in the plan where the daylight is filtered rather than let in.