GS Renovation creates open-plan and broken-plan spaces in Westminster's period homes, from kitchen-diners in Marylebone townhouses to knock-throughs in Pimlico and Belgravia. With over 30 years in W1, SW1 and W2, we combine grand period rooms into flowing, light-filled spaces while respecting the structure that holds these Georgian and Regency buildings up.
Open-plan conversions in Westminster townhouses
The classic Westminster knock-through joins two reception rooms, or a kitchen and dining room, into one generous space that suits how these homes are lived in today. In the terraces of Belgravia and Marylebone the dividing wall between those rooms is usually load-bearing, so we do not simply open it up. A structural engineer sizes a steel beam to span the opening, bearing onto padstones, and we prop the floors above while the wall is removed in stages.
Not every Westminster homeowner wants a single vast room, and broken-plan layouts suit these tall, formal interiors well. We keep a sense of separation with a wide supported opening, a part-height return, or slim Crittall-style glazed dividers that let light travel through while defining a snug or study. In leasehold mansion-block flats around Paddington and W9, many internal walls are non-structural partitions, which gives more freedom to reconfigure, though the freeholder's consent still applies.
Consents for open-plan living in Westminster
Opening up a Westminster home is internal work, so it is controlled under the Building Regulations rather than planning permission. Westminster City Council's building control inspects the beam, the padstones and the fire and ventilation arrangements before signing off. If your townhouse is listed, as many are in Mayfair and Belgravia, removing original walls or cornices may need listed-building consent, so we establish the property's status before any design is finalised.
Where the wall being opened is a party wall shared with a neighbouring house, the Party Wall Act applies and you serve notice before work begins, standard practice in the linked terraces of SW1 and W1. In a mansion-block flat we secure the freeholder's licence to alter, coordinate with the managing agent, and meet the building-management rules on sound insulation between flats. Whichever your home, we line up every consent up front.
- Making good, plastering and decorating the finished space
- Open-plan kitchen-diner conversions
- Rooflights and glazed roofs to bring light deep into the plan
- Radiator relocation and underfloor heating in the new layout
- Lighting, heating and electrical reconfiguration
Why Choose GS Renovation in Westminster
Westminster homeowners choose GS Renovation for open-plan work because we deliver the whole project through one accountable team. We build the structure to an engineer's design and install the steel, and finish with the plastering, flooring and Crittall glazing. Party wall notices or the freeholder's licence, and building control sign-off, are all handled, with tidy working in your period home and 30+ years behind every job.
- Fully insured, with cover in place on every site
- The house kept usable while the opening is formed in stages
- Broken-plan and Crittall-style options priced alongside full open-plan
- Materials priced at options, so you choose the finish
- Neighbours given notice before the noisy stages
- Floor levels and thresholds evened out across the whole space