Interior Designer · EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4, E14
Interior design in City & Canary Wharf
Katherine Varnava Interiors is a luxury interior designer for homes and commercial spaces in City & Canary Wharf. A BIID Registered Interior Designer® studio based in Mayfair, London, it offers full interior design, technical design and bespoke joinery, FF&E procurement and a single design-and-build service, with Katherine personally involved in every project.
Homes in City & Canary Wharf
The City and Canary Wharf are mainly office districts, with a growing number of homes in residential towers and in estates such as the Barbican. Interior work here is shaped less by conservation rules than by leases, landlord consent and strict limits on when noisy work can happen around occupied buildings.
Commercial floors in the City and Canary Wharf are typically let either as shell space or with a Category A fit-out, which extends the building's services onto the floor plate, leaving the occupier's Category B fit-out to create the working interior. Residential stock includes the Barbican, listed Grade II in 2001, and towers at Canary Wharf such as One Park Drive, with 483 apartments over 58 storeys, and 10 Park Drive, with 345 homes over 42 storeys. Interior projects here typically involve office and workplace interiors within an existing Category A shell, and apartment schemes where layout, joinery, lighting and finishes have to work within lease terms and building management rules.
How the studio works
Every project, from a single room to a whole house or a commercial space, follows the same five-stage, RIBA-aligned journey: Define, Develop, Resolve, Deliver and Complete. The studio works alongside your architect and contractor, or delivers a single design-and-build service from concept to completion.
- Full interior design, from a single room to a whole house
- Interior architecture and spatial planning
- Technical design and bespoke joinery
- Lighting design
- FF&E design, procurement and installation
- Commercial interiors
- Design and build, or alongside your architect and contractor
The studio takes on projects across EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4, E14, including streets such as Barbican, Golden Lane, Moorgate, Bank and Wood Wharf.
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Before you start in City & Canary Wharf
The consents and local rules that most often shape an interior project here, each linked to its official source. The studio checks them for your property at the start, so they are planned into the design and the programme.
Most commercial and residential leases contain a covenant against alterations without the landlord's licence or consent. Section 19(2) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 provides that, for improvements, such consent is not to be unreasonably withheld, while allowing the landlord to require reasonable costs, compensation for any loss in value and, where reasonable, an undertaking to reinstate.Source: legislation.gov.uk
The City of London Corporation requires Barbican long leaseholders to obtain Landlord's Approval before alterations, with plans or specifications, contractor details, a signed declaration of compliance with the Standard Conditions for Proposed Works and Alterations, and the contractor's Waste Carrier Licence. Building control for higher-risk residential buildings has passed to the Building Safety Regulator since 1 October 2023.Source: cityoflondon.gov.uk
The Barbican Estate was listed Grade II in 2001 and lies within the Barbican and Golden Lane Conservation Area, designated in 2018. The City publishes Listed Building Management Guidelines, Volume I (Introduction) and Volume II (Residential), to help residents work out which alterations need listed building consent.Source: cityoflondon.gov.uk
The City's standard hours for noisy construction work are 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday and 9am to 2pm on Saturdays, with no working on Sundays or bank holidays. Where businesses are likely to be disturbed, quiet hours of 10am to noon and 2pm to 4pm apply on weekdays, under the City's Code of Practice for Deconstruction and Construction Sites.Source: cityoflondon.gov.uk
Tower Hamlets permits construction work from 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday. Noisy work on Saturdays, Sundays or bank holidays needs prior approval from the council's Environmental Protection (Noise) team under its 2023 Code of Construction Practice.Source: towerhamlets.gov.uk
Questions
Interior design in City & Canary Wharf
What is the difference between a Category A and a Category B fit-out?
Category A extends a building's central services onto the floor plate: typically suspended ceilings, raised floors, heating, cooling and ventilation, basic lighting, fire and life safety systems and power distribution. Category B is the occupier's own fit-out on top of that, such as partitions, meeting rooms, specialist lighting, finishes, furniture and branding. Interior design work for offices sits mainly in Category B, coordinated with the Category A installation.Source: designingbuildings.co.uk
Do we need our landlord's consent before fitting out our office or apartment?
Almost always. Leases usually prohibit alterations without the landlord's licence. For improvements, section 19(2) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1927 says consent is not to be unreasonably withheld, but the landlord can require reasonable costs and, where reasonable, reinstatement at the end of the lease. We prepare the drawings and specifications landlords typically ask for, and plan the programme around the time consent takes.Source: legislation.gov.uk
When can noisy fit-out work take place in the City?
The City's standard hours for noisy work are 8am to 6pm on weekdays and 9am to 2pm on Saturdays, with none on Sundays or bank holidays, and quiet periods of 10am to noon and 2pm to 4pm can apply near businesses. In Tower Hamlets, which includes Canary Wharf, noisy weekend work needs prior approval. Building managers often add their own rules, so we confirm both.Source: cityoflondon.gov.uk
Do you take on single rooms as well as whole houses in City & Canary Wharf?
Yes. Projects range from a single room, which can also be designed remotely through the Virtual Studio, to whole-house refurbishments, new builds and commercial spaces. Every project follows the same five-stage, RIBA-aligned process: Define, Develop, Resolve, Deliver and Complete.
Can you manage the build as well as the design?
Yes. The studio can work alongside your architect and contractor, providing contractor coordination and design oversight on site, or deliver a single design-and-build service that takes the project from concept to completion.
Will Katherine be involved personally?
Yes. Katherine Varnava, a BIID Registered Interior Designer®, leads every project herself. The studio takes on a deliberately limited number of projects each year so that she stays involved in every detail, from concept to completion.
Updated 17 October 2026
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