A Contemporary Courtyard for a £38 Million Address
Some projects are defined by their location as much as their stonework. This job came to Coulon Stone as part of a complete rebuild of a Grade II terraced property in Chelsea; a house that had to be entirely demolished and reconstructed from scratch after subsidence from a neighbouring basement excavation caused it to slide. The insurance settlement ran to £38 million. The brief, when it came to the courtyard and external staircase, was straightforward: a finish that was contemporary, durable, and entirely low-maintenance.
The Material
Porcelain tiles were specified for the courtyard floor and all external treads and risers. Porcelain was the right choice for this environment; it performs exceptionally well in cold weather, requires virtually no maintenance, and holds its appearance over time without sealing or specialist care. For a London courtyard that would be used intermittently and needed to look well without any effort, it was the practical and aesthetic solution in equal measure.
The Work
The full courtyard was laid in porcelain onto a concrete substrate, with all treads and risers fitted with bullnosed edges throughout for a clean, considered finish at every step. The concrete base had been prepared on site by others, and part of the work involved making good from that finish before the stone could go down. The terraced garden layout, visible from the upper floors of the property, gives the courtyard a structured, formal quality that works well against the restored Victorian façade above it.
The Challenge
The work itself was straightforward. The challenge was entirely logistical: parking and access in central Chelsea, on a terraced street where space is limited and delivery windows are tight. It is the kind of problem that experience solves more effectively than any amount of planning.
The Result
The finished courtyard is clean, contemporary, and built to last. The porcelain tiles give the space a hard-wearing surface that needs nothing from the owner beyond the occasional brush down, and the bullnosed treads carry the quality of finish from the exterior staircase across the full garden level. For a house rebuilt to look exactly as it always did, but with every modern convenience beneath the surface, the courtyard matches the ambition of the rest of the project.
