Tour a triplex apartment in Fitzrovia

Apartment Arabescato, London by Grafted (Stylist: Sania Pell)

(Image credit: James Retief)

A new penthouse apartment in the heart of London’s Fitzrovia has created a new benchmark for aspirational living in the capital. Apartment Arabescato by Grafted Architects results from the combination of two apartments in the DSDHA-designed Corner Building in Central London, pairing the ‘crystalline pavilion’ with a property directly beneath it to create an expansive triple-level flat.

The apartment sits atop the Corner Building in London's Fitzrovia

The clients, Benoit and Bruno, have three children, and wanted to expand their living quarters to accommodate impending adolescence. After acquiring the apartment below, they approached Grafted to incorporate the two properties, cutting into the floorplan of DSDHA’s building and inserting a new timber staircase with refined, industrial-style balustrades.

A new staircase links the apartment to the new third floor spaces

The new apartment has been transformed into two additional bedrooms and a family room, creating another 113 square metres of living space to bring it to a teenager-friendly 352 square metres (plus another 94 square metres of roof terrace with stunning central London views). The new third floor accommodation joins the primary living spaces on the fourth floor and the reorganised primary suite on the fifth floor.

The main living room on the fourth floor featuring a Ligne Roset Togo

Craft and quality are evident in every corner, from the Dinesen Oak flooring that transforms into a display shelf in the hallway, to the sunburst-patterned chevron maple marquetry on the sliding doors of the media unit in the family room.

Exquisite pieces of art and furniture are also scattered around the space, with midcentury pieces (many from France, referencing Benoit and Bruno’s French heritage) paired with new joinery and pieces created especially for the refurbishment.

These include wardrobes and desks in the new bedrooms, with the latter designed to be adjustable so they’ll last for many years. Outside the primary bedroom is a bespoke desk created especially to occupy the triangular niche at the top of the stairs.

Grafted created this bespoke desk for the upper landing

Many of the interior materials from the original apartments have been retained and repurposed, with the perception of their quality enhanced by high quality design and joinery. The material quality is also given a boost by the extensive use of the marble that gives the apartment its name, Arabescato, which features grey veining and is usually found in Tuscany.

The kitchen features extensive use of Arabescato marble

For example, not only does the new kitchen – set beneath the faceted glass roof structure – make extensive use of book-matched marble countertops and splashbacks, but a large piece of the stone is also used at the top of the new staircase to provide a backdrop to a piece of sculpture. Grafted carefully plotted out the marble components in CAD before they were cut to maximise the available material.

Detail of the Arabescato marble in the kitchen

Art and furniture is carefully placed throughout the space, with lighting in particular chosen for gallery-quality illumination on just the right spots. The main living room has a gallery-like quality as a result, with metal bi-fold doors that can be slid across to close off the dining room. In addition to the new bedrooms and living areas, a former bedroom on the middle level is now a consultation room for psychotherapist Benoit.

The dining room seen from the main living room

Throughout the project, the clients haven’t lost sight of the fact that this is a refurbishment of a relatively new fit-out. As a result, many elements have been re-used and updated, such as the Bulthaup kitchen system.

The primary bedroom suite occupies the entire fifth floor

Nevertheless, a feeling of luxury and craft permeates the space, especially in the new primary bedroom suite on the upper level, where the existing free-standing bath now has an even more prominent location by the glazing and private terrace. The latter includes a Drop Spa hot tub (which required a road closure to install), perfect for skyline soaks on a summer evening.

The freestanding bath overlooks the private fifth floor terrace

According to Grafted’s Lemma Redda, who founded the practice alongside Nicole Fassihi, ‘our interventions were an exercise in restraint. We used our background in fabrication to be ambitious with the joinery, creating elements that are truly bespoke to the family’s needs. We’re incredibly proud of the result – a truly family-oriented home in the heart of Central London.’

Bespoke joinery abounds, including these adjustable desks

The clients have expressed their delight at being able to stay put and expand their living space. ‘We [also] liked the idea of partnering, for the design of our project, with a young architect launching his own studio, who would listen to us, be personally invested in our project and embrace our innovative ideas,’ they said, 'Lemma and Grafted perfectly understood our constraints and our goals in terms of organisation of the apartment, specifications, respect of the environmental, aesthetics and budget, and accurately translated them into design and execution.’

The apartment also serves as a showcase for the clients' collection of art and furniture

Grafted’s first completed project, Cast Corbel House, received a 2025 RIBA East Award. The London-based studio is currently working in the capital as well on a rural property. Apartment Arabescato shows a skilful ability to work across genres and different spatial and material challenges.

The fifth floor terrace includes a hot tub with skyline views

Grafted.Ltd, @__Grafted

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Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.