The Queensgate Studio Loft

Welcome to this charming, compact loft-style apartment!
Enter the apartment to find a bathroom a few steps to your left and the kitchen directly ahead. The apartment is compact, but beautifully remodeled and quite comfortable. It receives excellent reviews. One of the first things you notice is the beautifully refinished oak wood floor that is complimented with the blond-oak kitchen cabinets and the white-painted walls. This theme is carried throughout the apartment to enhance its space and give it an airy feel.

Fully-equipped kitchen with modern appliances and fixtures
The kitchen has been totally remodeled and decorated with recessed lighting and pretty green glass mosaic tiles behind the cabinets. It offers plenty of counter-top space and every modern appliance you would need. Besides the convection oven, stove, and refrigerator, you'll find a washer, toaster, microwave, drip coffeemaker, Nespresso coffee maker, pots and pans, and top-of-the-line dishes and utensils - everything you'll need to prepare gourmet meals.

Looking from the living room towards the dining and kitchen
This compact apartment measures 400 square feet, but has a wonderful feeling of space and light.

Dining nook of our London studio apartment rental
The apartment angles to the right as you exit the kitchen, and immediately on your right you find a small dining nook. It has a glass-toped table and leather dining chairs with two extra folding chairs in a cupboard to seat up to four people.

Note the abundance of storage cupboards here and in the entryway for your luggage and personal items.

Sunny living room of our Queensgate London apartment
We fell in love with the Queens Gate loft the moment we stepped in the door; the 13 foot ceilings and huge windows give a fantastic feel of space and light. We took advantage of the features by furnishing the living room with a combination of old world elegance and contemporary comfort. We had 13 foot-long silk taffeta curtains made, found a beautiful chandelier in Belgium, imported a large distressed white mirror from Italy. We found a huge painting from a theatre set at an antique market in France which we hung opposite the mirror on the left wall. It is a beautiful copy of an 18th century romantic style painting, in the same style as the romantic and original Victorian paintings on the ceiling of the loft. Quality and comfort are important to us, so we bought a contemporary style sofa in Italy which converts to two single beds at night and a tub style armchair of rattan from France. The rug is in soft cream colors, a modern rendition of a Persian design.

Living room with TV, DVD player, stereo and free internet
Notice the flat screen TV on the right; it has a long arm that pulls out and swivels in any direction: to face the sofa so you can enjoy watching TV from the living room, dining table or kitchen. There is also a dual standard DVD player and you can watch a movie from the small selection that we provide or bring your own favorites. There is also a CD player with radio and a small selection of CD music.

You'll also find free high-speed Internet access - both an ethernet cable and wireless -- so you can catch up on your emails.

Sofa converts to one or two single beds at night
This loft apartment offers a maximum of sleeping options. The loft has a queen-sized bed and the sofa converts to two separate twin beds at night and is excellent for lounging or napping on during the day. The seat of the sofa pulls out slightly at night to make a full width single bed. In addition, there is a trundle underneath which can roll out to make a second single bed. It's so much easier than most sofa beds as you don't have to remove lots of cushions to go to sleep at night.

Double-glazed windows and fans for good ventilation
The Queen's Gate apartment is located on a busy street, but the windows are double-glazed for sound insulation. For ventilation, we offer two fans, or you can open the side windows which have iron grillwork for security.

The sofa was made for us in Italy, where they have mastered the best designs for sofa beds. Notice the second bed; a spring action allows you to lift up the headboard and voilà, it rises to the same height as the other bed.

Cleverly designed staircase leads to the mezzanine
The immense height of the ceiling allowed for the construction of a mezzanine for additional sleeping quarters. In order to conserve space and make access less steep, we built a 'pigeon' staircase that is increasingly used in Europe, with alternate risers rather than steep ladder stairs. It's an excellent space saving idea - one of those 'why didn't someone think of this before' and easier to climb than a ladder. Please note that we recommend the sofa bed rather than the upper mezzanine for elderly guests.

Original ceiling frescoes have historic listing status
The ceilings are over 12 feet high, which give a wonderful feeling of light and space. There are two oil paintings, one of angels above the living area and this second one above the bed. They are original, painted in the 1800's and are historically listed by The Monuments Commission in London.

Queen-sized bed and storage on the mezzanine level
Climb the stairs to the mezzanine which has a high-quality queen bed and a comfortable pillow top mattress so you can sink into it and sleep soundly at night. There are reading lights above the headboard and cupboards for storage, and there are additional cupboards under the stairs, in the entryway, and in the eating nook, so there is plenty of storage space.

Having a separate sleeping area is a nice plus and guests appreciate the fact that they are paying less than the price of a London hotel room but have a separate a sleeping area, living room, kitchen, dining area...a small home in London.

Spacious bathroom with shower, sink and toilet
The spacious bathroom has been remodeled to the highest standards. It features a large corner shower tiled in beige, pale wood cabinets, white porcelain sink and toilet.

Princess Diana's dresses are on display at Kensington Palace
Visit Kensington Palace to see a collection of dresses and gowns owned by the late Princess Diana.

The most famous dress that is on loan is the midnight blue velvet ballgown by Victor Edelstein. She wore it at the White House in 1985, when she danced with John Travolta. This gown set a record of $225,000 in 1997 when Diana sold 79 of her dresses at a charity auction at Christie's New York. It broke the previous record of $145,000.

Also featured is the pink and blue silk taffeta gown worn by Diana in Melborune Australia when she and Prince Charles lit up the dance floor.

Kensington palace, where Diana and Princess Margaret lived
Kensington Palace, where Diana and Princess Margaret lived is in Kensington Gardens – a 5 minute walk.

Princess Diana playground is just beyond Kensington Palace
Go to the Princess Diana Playground just beyond Kensington Palace - the award-winning theme is Peter Pan.

The famous Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens
Kensington Gardens is three blocks away where you can visit the Palace where Diana lived. This is one of the largest parks in the center of any City, delightful to picnic in on sunny days.

Rent a row boat on The Serpentine
On sunny days, picnic in Kensington Gardens, rent a row boat or paddle boat on The Serpentine. It's wonderful to be so close to two of the largest City Parks in the world - Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park.

Natural History Museum in London
The Queensgate loft apartment sits across from Imperial College and Museum Row, allowing for a pleasant stroll through the college's campus to visit the Science Museum and the Natural History Museum (one of our favorite Victorian 'grand buildings').

Gatekeepers lodge behind the Natural History Museum
The small gatekeepers cottage is just behind the Natural History Museum and a few doors away.

Iconic red phone box outside the Natural History Museum

Find the Royal College of Art nearby
The Royal College of Art, The Royal Geographical Society (where Victorian explorers such as Livingston hung out in the Victorian era), and many more interesting sights are just outside your door.

Budding opera singers perform at the Royal College of Music
Visit The Royal College of Music, where budding opera singers and musicians apply to attend from around the world (stop by and check the programs for ongoing operas and recitals given at reasonable prices by the students year round). Attend concerts all year young at the Royal Albert Hall, famous for its multitude of concerts of all varieties - from classical Opera to pop.

Take a seat outside the Victoria and Albert Museum
Benches outside the Victoria and Albert Museum on an Autumn morning.

World class shopping just a few minutes away!
The location of the Queensgate apartment is also walking distance to the world class shopping of London: Knightsbridge, Sloane Street and the chic designers stores around Bromptom Cross. The old Michelin building is one of the landmarks, converted to the Conran store with restaurant.

Walking distance to some of the best interior design stores
London is also one of the centers of Interior Design - and the Queensgate is also walking distance to some of the biggest interior design stores - on Sloane Square, Fulham Road, Walton Street, King's Road and Old Bromptom Road. You'll come home inspired to make changes to your own home!

Designer stores are walking distance from The Queensgate
London is about history, but also about design and fashion. Chanel, Jimmy Choo and all the hot London designers have stores that are walking distance from The Queensgate.