Studio 29 Architects

29/09/2026

A few notes I jotted down after my visit to Charleston, the home of Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant in East Sussex.
There is a lot to learn from a house – a rental! They never owned it – put together by painters, with little money but plenty of talent, wit and personality.
A lesson on how to make rooms that inspire, are fit for purpose and make every day life a lot happier.

In this image: how to harvest natural light. A tiled low table is placed under a window. Its glossy surface captures the light and bounces it back into the room.
The painted window reveals will lend a rosy tone to the cold light in winter.

➡️ swipe left for more

A rococo painted console, a modernist painting in primary colours and two pencil sketches are brought together and elevated by decorating the wall behind them in an almost tribal pattern.
This is the power of a good dark background: just think about how bland the group would look on a white wall!

A lesson on how to treat a white kitchen: add colour, pattern and fun.
The splashback of the cooker is tiled, a collection of plates fills the blank space above it and the lampshade is a surprise. Is it a fruit colander, or it’s just shaped like one? And What about hanging it to the ceiling with three strings of glass beads?

This is a reminder of not place furniture along the perimeter of the room, but where it’s needed (in this case by the fireplace). And also to use more screens!

22/09/2026

Because we know that you like a Before & After.
✨That’s where the magic lies. ✨
Getting a room that is tired, uninspired, not functional and turning in to something that sparks joy and helps you in your daily life.

And all that is in between the before and after images? The sweat and the tears, the planning, sourcing, budgeting, managing …

For that, count on us: we are architects and interior designers and we have done it for a long time.

Swipe right to see b&a of our project in Queen’s Park ➡️

02/09/2026

When the red board goes up.

First day on site: setting up camp, the first cup of tea, seeing beyond the stripped out messy rooms the beautiful spaces that will come.
It looks like a starting point, but it took months (13 for this complete renovation in Kennington) to arrive here.

Design meetings (mostly via Zoom as the clients live in the US), negotiations with the planners, two sets of prices (happy you made it 🗝️ Domestic Contractors ), revisions, revisions … but we are finally here!
To see what’s going to happen in the next 8 months scroll to the right ➡️

This mess is allowed today only: from tomorrow we want a spotless staff coffee area!

Here we are planning a pink cloakroom - with a small window, as you can see - and coat cupboards to the left.

A ugly lobby has been removed and a good sized bedroom reinstated.

The basement is now a maze of small rooms: we are opening it up and extending it and then we will fit it with a bronze kitchen, a burgundy table, a tiled fireplace and more!

29/08/2026

Getting ready for today’s steel bands competition in Kensal Road.
The best way to warm up for Carnival!
It’s depressing to read all the negative comments about carnival - mainly from people that have never been!
Just go out, try not to dance if you can, try not to love jerk chicken and - once you have been - try to say it’s not a wonderful joyful event for people of all ages!

28/08/2026

Jumping on the “what’s chic” wagon with a slight feeling that this is totally un-chic … 😊.
Anyway, we never lose an opportunity to share our very opinionated views on everything home, style and art de vivre!

25/08/2026

A few unforgettable rooms I was in this Summer.
Starting with the V&A East Storehouse. Not a “room” in the classical sense, but a space that wows any room enthusiast!
The unexpected pairings of objects on the shelves against the beautifully functional architecture is a source of inspiration and goes beyond the imagination of the most creative eclecticist!
10/10
(Captions for each slide)

The laundry room at Audley End House in Essex: another example of how beautiful a room fit for purpose can be (and of the aesthetic advantage to stick to white for all your linen).

Not strictly a room, this small passage in Milano’s Navigli area, becomes one, thanks to a few, well balanced elements.
The paving, the old olive urn, the red wall in the background.
Milano knows how to make an entryway!

family home in Santa Margherita. Its sitting room windows gives a meaning to the expression “like a postcard”.
Kisses from Liguria!

A client asked us to have a look at a house she was thinking of buying and renovating in the Brentham Conservation area in Ealing.

The thought of stripping off these beautifully put together room, that is so well nodding to the Arts & Craft style of the house made me sad.

At the end she didn’t buy the house, and for once we were happy not to have to intervene!

A bedroom at Erddig Hall in North Wales, a hpuse with a ling history and a distinctive sense of humour.
There are many fun touches here and there. In this image acid green walls lift and adds a note of fun to a traditionally furnished room with a rather dark and serious bed. Take note!

24/08/2026

🦀 A weekend in North Devon to mark the end of the Summer.
🦀 I know, I know: next week is Notting Hill Carnival and THAT’s the real@end of Summertime.
🦀 Let’s say this was last opportunity for a dip in the sea before Autumn.
🦀 North Devon has such a variety of beaches, from huge to secluded, from golden sand to black rocks that the weekend felt longer than two days.
🦀 We left refuelled, tan topped and now ready for Carnival!

19/08/2026