Case study
Mansion-Block Flat, Chelsea
Two balconies and their planters, lit so the flat reads from the street without touching one brick of a building the owners share.
- Property
- Mansion-block flat
- Area
- Chelsea, SW3
- Access
- From inside the flat only
- Fixings
- Rail clips, fully reversible
Schemes like this run £1,500–£1,700 for the season
The brief
A third-floor flat in a red-brick Chelsea mansion block, SW3. The owners do not own the facade, the managing agent had already refused two schemes that year, and the brief was simply: "make our two balconies read from the street."
What we installed
- Warm white pea fairy along both balcony rails, front and return
- Four planters lit from inside the foliage
- A short garland at the French doors, visible from the pavement
- Everything on one timer, off by 11pm to keep neighbours onside
Can you install Christmas lights on a leasehold flat?
Usually, if you can prove nothing touches the common parts. That is what we submit to the agent before anyone books: a one-page scheme showing rail clips only, no penetrations, no cable outside the demise, all power taken from inside the flat, and a removal date. It reads as a method statement rather than a decoration request, and it is the reason this one was approved in four days after two rejections.
Why it works
From street level a mansion block is a grid, and a lit balcony inside that grid is the only thing your eye stops on. Because there is no roofline to play with, the planters do the heavy lifting: light inside the foliage gives depth, so the balcony looks inhabited rather than outlined. Small scheme, disproportionate effect — which is exactly the point when you are lighting one flat in forty.
Related reading
Same treatment, your house
Tell us about the property
A few photos is all it takes. We'll come back with a scheme and a fixed seasonal price.
