A tiny London flat with ingenious interiors by Beata Heuman

For the young owners of this two-bedroom flat on the ground floor of an elegant, mid-19th-century stucco house in leafy west London, coming across it when they were looking for somewhere to buy was like discovering a diamond in the rough. ‘While the internal space might appear small on the floor plan, it certainly doesn’t feel that way at all when you are living in it,’ the wife explains.

This owes much to the ingenuity of Swedish-born, London-based interior designer Beata Heuman and her senior designer Fosca Mariani, whom the couple called on to renovate the flat when they bought it in late 2018. Balancing the challenges of redesigning such a small space within the restrictions of a Grade II-listed building amplified how important it was to make every inch count and Beata’s attention to detail became microscopic. ‘Details are always very important to us, but they matter even more in a small space, because everything is experienced so closely,’ she explains.

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The key was creating a sense of different areas and moods ‘so the owners didn’t get bored with the one main room they have’, she adds. Here, as the kitchen, dining space and sitting room converge as one, Beata and Fosca’s design scheme needed to satisfy the varied demands of cooking, relaxing, working and entertaining. The trick they used was to differentiate between the cooking and sitting areas – previously all found in the one space – by installing a U-shaped kitchen. This immediately created an additional surface on which to serve food or use as a bar. ‘It also provided a wall against which to place a banquette, which was something the owners really wanted,’ says Beata.

Customised joinery also took advantage of the flat’s impressive ceiling heights and the flow of light, which constantly filters through the full-length windows. ‘With all that vertical volume, extending details like the artwork and bookshelves draws the eye upwards,’ says Beata. The rounded edges of the kitchen cupboards, the marble shower surround and the dining table – even the lip-curve of one of the bespoke sofas – also lend ‘subtle welcoming touches that make it feel easier and lighter to move around the space’.

Colour has been added through furniture and art. Decorative vintage plates hung high above the picture rail add interest to the otherwise all-white space. The blue and green veins of the Cipollino Verde marble kitchen splashback almost resemble a painterly landscape. A vintage kilim in the kitchen doubles as discreet sound insulation. And a theatrical headboard in the main bedroom and the deep cerulean hue of the bathroom walls – satisfying the client’s desire for something unexpected, explains Fosca – all add personality and character. ‘Such contrast makes the total space feel all the more varied and interesting,’ says Beata.

A layered and ‘slight nostalgic flair’ – as Beata refers to it – runs constantly through her work. ‘It’s a lot more relaxing and true to human nature to spend time in a space that isn’t just one thing,’ she says of the mismatched side tables jostling alongside a Fornasetti-papered TV cabinet, a vibrant circus-print fabric pitted against a delicate Swedish floral wallpaper in a bedroom, and rich hues of mustard juxtaposed against emerald, teal against ruby red. ‘Adding a bit of everything into a space ensures that there are lots of different things to look at and the space can naturally evolve.’

The result is an elegant flat that resonates with ‘warmth and magic’, attest the owners. ‘After living here for over a year,’ says the wife, ‘we still have moments when a particular detail catches our eye and we stop to appreciate its beauty’.

Beata Heuman: beataheuman.com