There is a particular kind of London flat that torments its owners. It has the bones, the ceiling height, the industrial windows, the sense that something extraordinary is lurking inside, and yet, every morning, it greets them with magnolia walls and laminate flooring. Potential, cruelly withheld.

There is a particular kind of design problem that most renovation guides never address: what do you do when the building itself is the brief?

Built in 1885, Hyde Park Mansions gave upwardly mobile Victorians townhouse stature without the upkeep. Nearly 140 years later, Studio Akiva transformed one of its newly purchased apartments into a home that feels both rooted in its architecture and entirely of the present, designed remotely, procured in full, and delivered without the client needing to be on site.

A characterful Victorian terrace in NW3 held every material promise, high ceilings, bay windows, a generous garden, yet fell short of a singular vision. Studio Akiva redesigned the floor plan entirely, relocated the kitchen, rebuilt the bathroom from studwork, and saved the client £1,900 through trade procurement.