Chelsea | SW3

Bright and modern kitchen with white cabinets, a central beige island, a skylight, and a glass door leading to a small outdoor lightwell with potted plants.

Victorian Basement Kitchen Extension & Feature Staircase in Chelsea

This project involved the extension, reconfiguration, and full refurbishment of a 4-storey mid-Victorian terraced house within the Chelsea Conservation Area. The brief was to transform the existing lower ground floor, formerly dark and enclosed, into a light-filled, inviting kitchen and dining space that would become the heart of the home.

We lowered the rear half of the lower ground floor to achieve a generous 2.7m ceiling height, and extended beneath the rear garden to create a much larger, more usable space. A new light well was introduced to bring natural light deep into the interior. The front portion of the lower ground floor now serves as an informal living area, connected both physically and visually to the kitchen via a large Crittall screen and a shared half-landing on the feature staircase.

A sculptural dog-legged staircase was designed to wrap around the kitchen and dining space, descending from the ground floor hallway and remaining open to the area below. This creates a dramatic double-height void over the dining area, allowing views across and down into the space, and avoiding the enclosed feeling typical of basement-level rooms.

Within this double-height volume, a large horizontal high-level window and a walk-on roof light above the garden flood the space with daylight. A small, planted light well at the rear corner of the kitchen adds further natural light and was designed with recessed niches to hold herbs and small plants—extending the kitchen garden concept indoors.

We worked closely with the clients to deliver a fully bespoke kitchen layout, tailored precisely to their needs and making the most of the available space. The design provides generous storage while maintaining clean lines and open views, reinforcing the sense of spaciousness and light.