Tiam Architects has reunited two early-19th-century townhouses in Belgravia, London, into a single, light-filled, four-bedroom, four-bathroom family home for a young London family. Following an intensive design process, the project overcomes convoluted layouts, poor natural light, and stringent conservation-area constraints to deliver a serene, cohesive residence.
When a young family acquired neighbouring 19th-century townhouses on the prestigious Chester Row, they imagined a single, sprawling home that would honour the elegance of the past yet speak fluently to contemporary life. Instead, they found two cramped and disparate shells: narrow corridors, dark living rooms, and a half-forgotten labyrinth-like lower-ground floor lurking in gloom. Strict conservation and estate freeholder regulations forbade a heavy-handed revamp. Tiam Architects delivered on the client’s vision to unify and rationalise the layout of the house with a deft touch.
From the moment Tiam stepped inside, they saw the potential for light where others saw limitations. The 19th-century fibrous cornices, fireplaces and sash windows, the very features that made these townhouses special, were reframed as protagonists, not obstacles. Behind their dignified stucco façades lay the opportunity to weave together old and new, to stitch a seamless narrative through five levels of living.
At the heart of Tiam’s intervention is a deceptively simple gesture: carve open the rear and dig downwards, whilst respecting the wider historical context. Through the inventive and calculated use of rooflights, Tiam have been able to draw natural light vertically through the building, avoiding any privacy issues from neighbouring properties. Where once the lower-ground felt warren-like, there now sits an open-plan kitchen and family lounge that spills onto a planted terrace through full-height sliding glass doors. Polished micro cement floors flow unbroken beneath the kitchen island; beyond, white oak stair treads glow softly under the skylight’s wash.
Materials become storytellers. In the principal suite, a continuous, cast-stone vanity and bathtub appear as a single, sculptural form against dove-taupe walls. Polished-nickel taps float above the washbasin; a single globe wall light and the sash window’s generous light combine to create a moment of calm serenity… part gallery, part spa. On the ground floor, a kitchenette and study nook tucked neatly behind restored timber panelling, offering a private retreat for early-morning coffees or home-office hours.
Elegance was achieved through disciplined restraint. By paring each room back to its essentials, Tiam Architects lets honed limestone, lime-washed plaster and warm timber carry the narrative. A muted palette and precisely crafted shadow lines cultivate a hush that feels luxurious without making a show of it. Classical proportions persist, yet their profiles are pared to crisp edges, lending modern clarity to a Georgian shell. The result is a space that feels timeless and freshly alive, a quiet sanctuary where simplicity, comfort and understated sophistication effortlessly converge.
“We knew the family longed for generous, connected spaces without losing any of the townhouse’s character,” explains Tiam co-founder Bahar S. Tabatabaei. “Our task was to act as both storyteller and swordsmith, crafting interventions that would resolve the problems of darkness, disconnection, and underuse, while bringing the building’s soul into the light.”
Rather than masking any surviving historical architectural fabric, Tiam’s design amplifies and enhances it. In the living room, restored limestone surrounds sit beneath delicate cornices. At the same time, oversized sliding pocket doors open onto a garden-facing snug, creating a vista that stretches through three interlocking volumes. Upstairs, six well-proportioned bedrooms boast bespoke joinery and en-suite bathrooms; their muted palette of chalk white and dove grey amplifies natural light at every turn.
By discreetly adding a rear and lower-ground extension, Tiam Architects expanded Chester Row’s living space by 200m²; a 70% uplift achieved entirely within planning and conservation rules. The project wields architecture as quiet transformation: honouring the late Georgian fabric while flooding the interior with daylight and calm, delivering a home that is at once period-rooted and unmistakably contemporary… a sanctuary in one of London’s most storied districts.