Renovation design for an apartment in Malone, Belfast

Complete renovation and interior design for this gorgeous apartment

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Design scope presented to our architects

This two-bedroom apartment on one of South Belfast’s leafy avenues was a good size, but had dated interiors that didn’t make the most of the space. Our brief was to transform every room without adding a single square foot, rethinking the layout to create a home that feels twice the size.

The result is a complete reinvention. We took complete control of every aspect of this project, from architectural design, to kitchen design, sourcing fixtures/furnishings and interiors.

Previously poky rooms became a bright, open-plan kitchen, living and dining area, flooded with natural light.

Both bedrooms now have en-suite bathrooms, with a guest cloakroom and a utility room fitted into the layout, alongside generous storage throughout.

A cohesive colour palette ties every room together, giving the apartment the feel of a boutique hotel, rather than a standard residential renovation.

It’s a renovation design project that proves you don’t always need more space. You just need to use it properly.

Renovation design from layout to last detail: interior design and styling

For this project, we also handled the interior design and styling, selecting the colours, finishes, fixtures, fittings and furnishings that bring the architecture to life.

We offer this service when clients want a completely resolved result, where every detail is considered as part of the same design vision rather than pieced together afterwards.

South Belfast apartment renovation before and after

The existing hallway felt cramped and featureless. Panelling and additional storage helped. We closed up the existing kitchen doorway and added a console table in a nook at the top of the hall in its place (just pictured).

Internal steel glazed doors opened up the entire apartment to the leafy view out the tall front windows.

A bright corridor with white walls, doors on both sides, a radiator on the left, and sunlight streaming in through a glass door at the far end.
A modern hallway with light blue vertical panelling, wood herringbone floors, a white door on the right, black wall lights, and a glass door at the end leading to another room.

The same cohesive colour palette and finishes were repeated throughout the apartment, as well as antique brass fittings and verre églomisé in the kitchen splashback and hallway. You might even spot that repeated indigo Ikat print in several of these images. You can see here how the glazing to the hallway has really opened up the apartment. We even fitted in a utility room behind fluted glass doors at the far end of the hallway.

We also used our experience in renovation designs to open up the living area into the kitchen, bringing in more light and flow.

A bright, empty room with light wood flooring, white walls, an open door, and a modern fireplace with a glass screen. Sunlight streams in from the left, casting shadows on the floor.
Modern interior with glass and black metal-framed double doors, light wood herringbone floor, and a kitchen with pale blue cupboards and a tiled splashback. Wall sconces and minimal decor create a clean, open look.
A kitchen with wooden cupboards, beige worktops, a white sink under a window with a blind, and an exposed area under the sink. Some items and cables are scattered on the counters and floor.
Modern kitchen with light green cupboards, gold tap, wood herringbone floor, and a window with a patterned blue and white Roman blind. Natural light enters from the window above the sink.

We squared off the existing opening into the dining area – more stylish and even more light! All the glazing in the apartment got an upgrade too. We replaced the long veneered floorboards with a herringbone oak finish that points the view towards the dining area, without making it feel like a corridor.

A sunlit room with light wood flooring, white walls, a radiator, and large sliding glass doors with vertical blinds leading to an outdoor area.
A modern dining area with a glass table, four green chairs, a minimalist pendant light, and a wooden armchair in the foreground. Large windows and a slanted standard lamp add natural light to the room.

We couldn’t leave that 70s serving hatch between the existing kitchen and dining areas. Instead, we opened up the two rooms to create a sizeable space for cooking and eating.

A small, empty white room with light wood flooring, a radiator on the right, a closed power socket, and a small wall hatch or cupboard partially open. Sunlight creates shadows on the floor.
Modern dining area with four green velvet chairs around a black table, under a minimalist pendant light. The room features wood-patterned flooring and grey cupboards in the background. A framed print rests against the wall.

The two featureless bedrooms got a rebrand – one in blue and one in smoky green, with the same antique brass accents as the rest of the apartment. Panelling on the split-painted walls gave each bedroom more definition.

One bedroom already had a dated ensuite. We didn’t hate the retro pink bathroom suite (watch this space, they’re making a comeback) but it wasn’t right for this stylish city pad. Instead, both new ensuites got a boutique hotel upgrade. Both have spacious walk-in showers and the blue bedroom/ensuite also has a massive tub bath.

With each bedroom having their own private bathroom, we turned the existing bathroom off the hallway into a guest cloakroom, finished in terrazzo and marble. We borrowed some space from this existing bathroom to create the second ensuite.

Gallery of the full renovation

Modern interior with glass and black metal-framed double doors, light wood herringbone floor, and a kitchen with pale blue cupboards and a tiled splashback. Wall sconces and minimal decor create a clean, open look.
Modern kitchen with light green cupboards, gold tap, wood herringbone floor, and a window with a patterned blue and white Roman blind. Natural light enters from the window above the sink.
Modern dining area with four green velvet chairs around a black table, under a minimalist pendant light. The room features wood-patterned flooring and grey cupboards in the background. A framed print rests against the wall.
A modern hallway with light blue vertical panelling, wood herringbone floors, a white door on the right, black wall lights, and a glass door at the end leading to another room.
Modern bathroom with a freestanding white bath, wall-mounted toilet, terrazzo flooring, patterned towel, and a window with a blue-and-white patterned blind. Dark tiles cover the wall behind the bath.
Modern kitchen and dining area with a glass table, four green chairs, minimalist cupboards, built-in ovens, and a globe pendant light, viewed through a large window with a brick wall on the left.
A modern dining area with a glass table, four green chairs, a minimalist pendant light, and a wooden armchair in the foreground. Large windows and a slanted standard lamp add natural light to the room.
Modern bathroom with terrazzo flooring, a wall-mounted toilet, a glass shower with green vertical tiles, a washbasin, and a window with a blue patterned blind. Towels are hung near the washbasin.
Modern bathroom with terrazzo floor, white walls, a round mirror above a white basin, a black soap dispenser, and a circular wall light.
A close-up of a metallic switch panel with six toggle switches mounted on a white wall, with a blurred modern glass door and interior in the background.
A neatly made bed with blue and white striped bedding is in a small room with blue panelling, a patterned curtain, a window, and a brass wall lamp above the bed.
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