Fairholt Street House by AR Architecture
Fairholt Street House transforms a former pub site in Knightsbridge, Greater London, England, United Kingdom into a lavish single-family home by AR Architecture. Behind the restored facade, the 2017 project layers contemporary interior design, a two-level basement, and generous outdoor terraces into a tight urban plot just steps from Harrods. Every room pushes for comfort while holding a firm line with the conservation area outside.
Warm light spills through tall sash windows onto the street as evening falls, catching the relief of red brick above a crisp white base. Inside, bronzed metal, pale stone, and deep timber build a richer story than the restrained conservation-area frontage suggests.
This luxury house in Knightsbridge replaces a former pub with a five-bedroom home that keeps the original street presence intact. AR Architecture shapes the residence as a high-end urban retreat, pairing a retained facade and new mansard roof with contemporary interiors organized around vertical circulation, light, and a layered palette. Every level, from the two-level basement to the roof terraces, leans on material contrast and refined furnishings to define how the family moves, gathers, and unwinds.
Balancing Street And Courtyard
From the sidewalk, the composition reads as a traditional London townhouse, with a ground floor washed in white and upper stories of brick capped by a dark mansard roof. Original pub proportions stay legible, so the project sits comfortably within the conservation streetscape while new windows set a domestic rhythm. At the rear, large sliding glass panels and roof terraces open the house to daylight and city views, loosening the form into a more relaxed, contemporary posture. That tension between public frontage and private openness sets up the interior experience.
Staging The Living Level
Beyond the front door, the main living areas revolve around a long, low horizon line of dark stone and cabinetry that grounds the lounge. A linear fireplace and a wall-mounted television sit within veined stone panels, while pale upholstered seating softens the scene. Overhead, a clean ceiling plane with recessed lighting keeps the room calm, letting texture and warm metals carry the drama. The effect is quietly theatrical, tuned for both everyday relaxation and evening entertaining.
Dining In Warm Metals
The adjacent dining room wraps a dark timber floor and ceiling around a central table, creating an intimate volume anchored by a sculptural copper-toned light grid. Leather chairs in a rich caramel hue add warmth against pale wall panels that are trimmed with slim metallic lines for crisp definition. A built-in cabinet at one end holds glassware and bottles like a compact bar, turning the room into a dedicated setting for long dinners. Materials shift subtly from matte to gloss, giving depth without clutter.
Crisp Kitchen And Vertical Drama
In the kitchen, white cabinetry and light stone flooring offset a dark countertop that runs along a bank of large windows. Vertical timber slats and a mesh-like metallic screen punctuate the ends, tying this brighter room back to the richer tones elsewhere. Circulation knots around a sculpted stair, where glass balustrades, dark treads, and lit handrails form a vertical spine visible from multiple levels. Landings act as small galleries, framed by reflective surfaces and slender wall lights that echo the linear motif.
Bedrooms, Spa, And Terraces
Upstairs, the primary bedroom layers soft neutrals over pale timber flooring, with full-height wall panels and pendant lights flanking the bed for a tailored hotel-like calm. A bench with metal legs and a light rug reinforce the horizontal lines, while curtains conceal large openings to outdoor terraces. In the bathroom, a black freestanding tub stands against veined stone and polished marble, lit by a recessed strip that traces the niche above. Down in the basement, the spa and home cinema continue the moody palette, giving the family deeply private rooms away from the street.
On the roof terraces, simple furnishings and clipped hedging gather around the edges, so attention stays on air, sky, and the layered city beyond. As light fades over Knightsbridge, the house glows through its traditional windows, revealing slivers of stone, metal, and timber that hint at the life within while keeping its secrets just out of view.
Photography courtesy of AR Architecture
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