Cultivated Comfort

The cream of British interior design names – including Banda, Elicyon and 1508 London – has already completed projects at Chelsea Barracks, the redeveloped 12.8-acre London site that once housed battalions of infantry. Now, up steps Studio Atkinson, the studio headed up by designer Susie Atkinson, to create a five-bedroom penthouse that draws on its wraparound terrace to bring the outside in.

“My main priority was to capture the light and to ensure that the outside spaces were as inviting as possible, as it ‘expands’ the day-to-day living area significantly,” says Atkinson of The Penthouse at 9 Mulberry Square. While the terrace is a true oasis in the city – complete with a bar and outdoor kitchen, a sauna and ice bath – it’s the inside that best captures Atkinson’s rich and eclectic style.

Championing British craftsmanship was also a priority, and with some of the capital’s most prestigious design showrooms a few steps away on Pimlico Road, it felt right to source from them to make the interiors feel at home. Soane Britain’s Crillon chairs, upholstered in a lemon yellow leather, feature in the light-filled formal sitting room, while wall lights from Jamb have been used in the stairwell, which is painted in a smart oxblood colour. Paolo Moschino Ltd supplied further lighting in the hallway and study, while a striped de Le Cuona fabric upholsters one of the bedroom’s headboards. “As a business we champion British craftsmanship, and have done since I began working in the industry,” says Atkinson. “We have such a wealth of talent on our doorstep and I tap into this for all our projects.”

The interiors are an intriguing blend of masculine and feminine, tailored and pretty: for every blousy floral fabric, there’s a muscular stripe; there are florid, decorative chandeliers and plain, pared-back neutral lampshades. The spaces also allow room for both formal and informal ways of living: a family living room is a cosier counterpoint to the grander main sitting room, and there is both a proper dining room and a more intimate breakfast area as part of the kitchen. Atkinson says that she was aiming for something that might suit people of different ages, with the outside space having universal appeal as a multifunctional outdoor room for exercise, relaxing, reading or entertaining.

The proportions of the rooms have a Georgian elegance, and the interiors have none of the sterility of a new build. Atkinson says that success here is “all about combinations and balance. I like to include antiques with contemporary pieces and interesting artefacts and artworks. This helps a space feel less sterile and ‘interior designed’ or commercial looking.”

A chinoiserie tallboy greets you in the hallway (from auction house Dreweatts), while two floral and bird painted screens from the 1930s have been framed as artwork. Atkinson says that she has also balanced “warm and cool surfaces, plain and patterned fabrics, or smooth and textured items and antique and contemporary pieces” to create “a characterful, welcoming space that feels like it has evolved.”

Studio Atkinson has its own collection of furniture, lighting and accessories – born of not being able to find quite the right thing for its own projects – and unsurprisingly a lot of those designs pop up here, too. “We are always happy when we can include the right piece in the right place, and there were specific pieces that worked really well in the penthouse,” says the designer. Existing designs, such as the Noughts and Crosses dining table – with its fluted ‘cotton reel’ base and cross-shaped feet, inspired by a French antique – are supplemented by custom-made pieces made by Studio Atkinson’s workshops, including the corner sofa in the family living room, upholstered in Nobilis’ Oia striped and dotted fabric.

Beyond the expansive terrace, the penthouse’s future homeowners can also enjoy Chelsea Barracks’ many other on-site amenities. The Garrison Club includes a sports court, pool, gym, plus a club lounge, business suite and a children’s playroom.