Most London interiors begin inside a building that is already a century or two old: a Georgian or Victorian terrace, a mansion flat, a mews house that was once a stable. The rooms are handsome and usually darker than anyone would like. The walls are solid brick that has to stay dry, and much of what you might change is governed by the council, a neighbour or the freeholder.
NYKS is a design studio in C Scheme, Jaipur, and the rooms we have finished to date are in Jaipur and Udaipur. We take on a London project as a whole and run it from the studio: design, craft and bespoke pieces come from Jaipur; the ARB-registered architect, chartered surveyor or structural engineer the work needs joins the team in London; a London contractor builds; and we lead the design and are on site when the decisive work happens.
None of our finished work is in London, so the evidence is of a particular kind: rooms made inside an old building without erasing it, walls finished by hand in lime, and furniture made to be crated, shipped and placed. These three projects show each.
In an old building the order of decisions matters more than their speed, so a London project follows a fixed sequence. The designer who draws your rooms is the one who checks them on site; the studio page explains how NYKS is organised.
‘Architect’ is a protected title in the UK under the Architects Act 1997, so we do not use it for ourselves. NYKS leads the design; the ARB-registered architect, chartered surveyor or structural engineer your work needs is appointed in London as part of the team, and our drawings are developed inside their applications. It is the ordinary way a project like this is run here, and it is what the consents below require. What we plan around:
London’s rain is moderate — about 615 mm a year at Heathrow — but it falls on more than a hundred days, and the shortest day has under eight hours of light. Solid brick walls cope by letting absorbed moisture evaporate back out. Cement render and impermeable modern finishes stop that, and Historic England and the SPAB both warn that moisture trapped in old fabric is where damp and decay begin.
So the walls of a period house stay breathable: lime plaster and mineral paint, with araish — the polished lime plaster we commission in Jaipur — placed where its polished surface will not be asked to help a damp wall dry, such as a niche or an internal panel. Palettes are tested in grey daylight and in lamplight, which are different problems. Warm, tactile materials — timber, wool, velvet, brass — do more here than cool reflective ones, and original mouldings, shutters and fireplaces are repaired and worked around, not boxed in.
One considered piece of craft does more in a London room than a theme. A hand-carved stone jaali can screen a radiator or a bay; a hand-forged brass light can warm a north-facing drawing room; block-printed linen and cotton durries soften a stair or a bedroom without competing with the cornice.
Pieces are made for the rules they will live under. Upholstered furniture supplied in the UK must meet the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988 and carry a permanent label, so fillings and covers are specified to them from the first drawing. Freight, duty and import VAT are costed at design stage, not discovered at the port.
One appointed in London and registered with the Architects Registration Board: the title is protected in the UK, so we do not use it for ourselves. They take the planning, listed building and building-regulations side. NYKS leads the design of the rooms, the craft and the bespoke pieces, coordinates the team with your contractor, and is on site at the stages that decide the result.
Anything that affects its special character can need listed building consent, including internal work such as removing a partition, altering a fireplace or replacing old joinery. Consent comes from the council, carries no application fee, and working without it is a criminal offence. We talk to the conservation officer early, design to what consent is likely to allow, and let new work read as new rather than imitate the original.
Start with the lease. Most require the freeholder’s formal consent — a licence to alter — for anything beyond decoration, often with conditions on contractors, insurance and working hours. If the work touches a wall shared with a neighbour, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires notice as well. A new bathroom, rewiring or heating also needs building regulations approval. We map all of this before the design is fixed.
Import VAT at 20%, charged on the goods plus freight and any duty. Duty depends on the commodity code: wooden furniture generally carries none, while rugs and ceramics carry a few per cent, which the UK–India trade agreement can reduce for goods of Indian origin with valid proof. We cost each piece’s route before you commit.
India is four and a half hours ahead of London in summer and five and a half in winter; it does not change its clocks. The studio is open Monday to Saturday, 10:00 to 20:00 IST — 05:30 to 15:30 in London during British Summer Time, 04:30 to 14:30 in winter — so London mornings work best. WhatsApp on +91 91191 16662 is often quickest.