London, Belgrave Square, 600 m². Sometimes an address, and the surface area say enough about the grandezza of a given project. Gert Voorjans was commissioned to decorate the penthouse of a new apartment block on Belgrave Square for a prominent businessman. It was intended as a pied-à-terre for a cosmopolitan aesthete with classic tastes. The scale was no issue for Voorjans; his challenge was how to give the place distinctive character. ‘A townhouse in a penthouse: that was my guiding principle,’ he says. ‘I wanted to create the look of a classic London mansion, but in a brand-new apartment. To make that happen, I needed to apply craftsmanship, tradition and English class.’ All the interior elements are new; from floors and mantelpieces to panelling and ceilings. Only the antique English furniture and art came from the owner’s private collection.