A dark velvet sofa, a timber wall unit and a large chandelier set the tone from the first room. The interior of this new-build house was developed as a complete scheme, with the five levels mapped in 3D before the final layout was filled in with furniture and joinery. That step mattered here: the souterrain, kitchen, living level, bedrooms and attic rooms each asked for a different use of light, storage and surface.

The result is a modern chic interior that moves from one floor to the next without losing its line. Black and anthracite surfaces recur in the seating areas and cabinet fronts, while oak tones soften the darker parts of the plan. Textured wall finishes and patterned wallpaper break up the larger walls, so the rooms do not read as one continuous shell. They change character through placement, finish and the way each zone catches light.

Five levels planned before the furniture was chosen

Because the house was worked out in 3D first, the layout could be read as a sequence rather than a collection of separate rooms. The souterrain, eat-in kitchen, living floor, sleeping areas and attic with children’s rooms were all given their own proportions on screen before the final interior was assembled. That approach shows in the finished project. Built-in storage sits where it can clear circulation, while larger pieces such as sofas, tables and desks are positioned to hold the view from one zone to the next.

The modern chic interior is strongest where contrast is allowed to stay visible. Dark cabinetry meets pale walls. Wood grain sits next to stone-look surfaces. A black sofa anchors the living room, but the surrounding joinery and soft furnishings stop the space from feeling heavy. The palette is not broad; it is controlled, with black, grey, timber and a few warmer notes doing most of the work.

Joinery that pulls the rooms into line

Custom cabinetry runs through the project as a quiet structure. In the living areas, a custom wall unit forms a backdrop for the television and display pieces, with open recesses and closed fronts breaking up the mass. In the hallway and dressing areas, built-in storage uses the full height of the wall and keeps doors flush with the surrounding surfaces. The effect is practical first, but it also sharpens the geometry of the rooms. Handles are reduced, edges stay clean, and the joinery reads as part of the architecture rather than an extra layer.

Wood is used to warm those straight lines. Cabinet fronts, panels and side elements carry a visible grain, sometimes in a lighter tone, sometimes darker and almost smoky. Where the doors are integrated into the wall, the finish is restrained enough to let the room keep its pace. The custom wall unit in the living zone and the built-in storage in the entry and dressing areas make the same point in different ways: storage can hold the room together without taking over the view.

A living room built around dark texture and light above

The living room leans on one strong seating group. The black velvet sofa sits low against darker wall elements, and the fabric catches light differently from the surrounding finishes. Nearby, statement lighting changes the tone of the room. A chandelier above the seating area gives the room a more formal centre, while smaller ceiling lights and wall lights keep the corners legible. The arrangement is simple, but the layers of surface make it richer than a straight-line plan would suggest.

A dark wall unit on one side of the living room helps define the television area. The panelled section behind it reads almost like a backdrop, with wood and darker tones framing the screen. In front of it, a glass-topped coffee table and a patterned rug add a sharper note. Nothing is overfilled. The room leaves space around the larger pieces, so the sofa, table and wall unit can be read clearly from the adjoining areas.

The kitchen uses stone-look surfaces to hold the eye

The kitchen shifts the palette without abandoning it. A stone-look wall gives the cooking zone a more grounded surface, and the island carries that same sense of weight across the room. Dark cabinetry lines the wall, while open shelving and a few green accents interrupt the darker run of fronts. The materials are not glossy or loud. They rely on surface depth: the look of stone, the matte feel of the cabinetry, and the grain in the timber details around them.

Against that background, the dining area stays clear and centered. An oval table softens the sharper lines of the joinery, and the black base gives it enough presence to stay with the darker wall surfaces. The chairs curve more than the rest of the room, which helps the dining zone feel separate without needing a screen or partition. Light falls from above and from nearby fittings, keeping the table readable even when the rest of the room recedes.

Work and dressing spaces kept within the same language

The home office is handled with the same discipline as the living spaces. A dark timber desk is set against a textured wall, so the working zone has depth without visual noise. The room does not rely on decoration to define it; the desk, the wall finish and the light are enough. The surface behind the desk does the quietest job in the house, breaking the flatness of the wall and giving the work area a slower, more focused feel.

In the dressing and hallway areas, built-in storage takes over from loose furniture. Full-height wardrobes, integrated doors and smooth front panels keep the circulation open. One image shows a wardrobe run with a side bench-like element, another a compact vanity table with a mirror and dark backdrop. These smaller moments matter because they show how the modern chic interior was extended beyond the main reception rooms. The same set of materials keeps repeating, but in a more domestic register.

Bedrooms with stronger colour and softer edges

The sleeping rooms move away from the darker social spaces and add more colour, though the material language stays consistent. One bedroom uses an orange accent wall under a sloped ceiling, with a custom unit fitted into the available space. Another relies on patterned wallpaper in deep tones, giving the wall behind the bed more presence than the furniture itself. The furniture remains measured and low, so the walls can lead the composition instead of being pushed into the background.

Textiles and finishes soften those rooms without turning them decorative. A light upholstered seat, a smaller bedside piece and the curved lines of a vanity chair are enough to interrupt the straighter cabinet fronts. The attic rooms, including the children’s rooms, are part of the same overall planning logic: each space is fitted to the floor it sits on, rather than forced into one formula. That is where the 3D development becomes visible in the finished interior.

What holds the project together

Across the house, the strongest moves are the simplest ones. Dark surfaces are placed where they can anchor a room. Timber is used where the eye needs relief. Stone-look finishes and textured walls bring variation without breaking the palette. Statement lighting appears in the living and work areas, but never as a separate idea; it is tied to the way each room is used and viewed. The project is less about isolated features than about how each level picks up the same language in a different register.

Seen as a whole, the new-build house interior is a study in controlled contrast. The custom wall unit, custom cabinetry and built-in storage are not decorative add-ons. They shape how the floors connect, how the rooms hold light, and how the darker seating and work zones stay readable. The finished result is a modern chic interior that depends on exact placement, strong surfaces and a clear sequence from souterrain to attic.