Before and after: a boring and bland house completely transformed with just paint and good decoration

He Topology interior design studio has transformed a dull gray box in London into a warm, modern home with luxury finish. This project is a true masterclass in how to apply simple updates to bring a space to life and shows the transformative power of warm neutral tones. It was a house full of potential, but dressed in some unattractive and somewhat disproportionate furniture and unflattering white walls. The mission was clear, to make the space more lively and welcoming. Athina Bluff, interior designer and founder of Topologyexplains how he completely renovated the ground floor, which includes a work-from-home space, a living room and a large open-plan kitchen-dining area.

Tell us what condition the house was in and why the client decided to renovate it.

AB:”The client came to us because he was very interested in making some improvements to his home to make it look more lived in and welcoming. Even though the property already had incredible structure and the previous sellers did a great job on the architectural design, the lack of time to put it in order as a busy professional made the house look a little bland. Our first impression when we saw the space was that it needed some life: it was painted a simple white, along with the furniture white kitchen which gave off a rather clinical air. In the living room, the layout was not optimized to the maximum: it was empty, with little furniture, incl carpet too smalldull, gray walls and a couch that was disproportionate to the room.

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How did the reform begin and how did it proceed?

AB: We always start with design, since good design is undoubtedly the key to a well-thought-out design. Once the client approves, we start developing the design by creating a concept. At this stage, we generally highlight key elements such as paint colors the main elements needed for the space and some smaller elements such as e.g the lighting or decoration accessories. If necessary, we carry out a series of revisions and adjustments with the client to make it perfect, and then we finalize the entire design down to the small details to make it a reality, right down to the lamps and the filling of the cushions!

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The kitchen before and after.

How did you update the design?

AB: The current layout of the house worked well as the previous owner had carried out a comprehensive and well thought out renovation. However, the problem was in the distribution of the furniture. The existing furniture was items that our client had brought from their last residence and had not had time to replace with new ones, so they did not fit or adapt well to the new space. Additionally, the main living area lacked sufficient lighting. So we made everything much more proportional and balanced and filled in some gaps. We also added some custom trim such as paneling and wall sconces to make it more appealing.

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The living room before and after.

What challenges did you face during the reform?

AB: For us, this project was a fairly straightforward renovation that involved mostly electrical work, carpentry and painting. The space was already in great shape and just needed a few quick changes to tidy it up. The most invasive work we did was to cut out the walls to install electrical cables to provide new lighting.