Double glazing in Kensington and Chelsea is usually a question of what the Royal Borough will allow on a historic frontage, and Inspired Glazing can help you work within that. We survey, make and fit aluminium windows and doors, secondary glazing, UPVC windows and composite doors for houses and flats across the borough. Our aluminium frames are made at our own workshop in Fifield, near Windsor, and fitted by our own team. We have no showroom in central London; the borough is roughly 24 miles from Fifield by road, typically 45 minutes to an hour along the M4 and A4, and our team drives in from Fifield.
Get a free, fixed-price quote in Kensington and Chelsea
Made in our own Fifield workshop and fitted by our own team. Aluminium windows from £400, lead times from 10 days and a 10-year guarantee. Tell us what you need and we’ll book a free survey.
Nearly three quarters of the borough is protected
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has 38 conservation areas, which together protect nearly three quarters of its land. On top of that, the council has made Article 4 directions street by street. Their purpose, in the council’s words, is to control small-scale external changes to houses, and the examples it gives are windows, front doors, boundary walls and roof coverings, often on the front elevation. Before you commission any new windows, check with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea whether your street is covered and whether the building is listed.
Stucco, gault brick and red-brick mansion blocks
In Notting Hill, the Ladbroke Estate got properly under way in the 1840s, with terraces and crescents arranged around private communal gardens and many stucco-fronted, pillar-porched houses. Many of those large houses were split into multiple occupation in the twentieth century before single-family homes came back into favour from the 1980s.
The Boltons conservation area, near Brompton, is a good example of the detail involved. Most of it was built between 1850 and 1876 in an Italianate style: large stucco villas around an elliptical garden, gault-brick semi-detached villas on Tregunter Road and Redcliffe Gardens, and long terraces with canted stucco bays. It also has red-brick mansion blocks from about 1886 to 1905, including Coleherne Court on Old Brompton Road. The council’s appraisal notes that windows are usually painted timber sliding sashes, identical across a terrace, getting smaller and simpler towards the top floor, and that poor window design harms the area’s character.
North Kensington is different again, with a high proportion of social rented housing and post-war towers such as Trellick Tower alongside Victorian streets.
Mansion flats and leasehold homes
Kensington and Chelsea is among the most densely populated places in the UK, and its mansion blocks, converted townhouses and council estates hold a large number of flats. Flats have no householder permitted development rights, so window changes can need planning permission anywhere in the borough. Leaseholders also need written consent from the freeholder or managing agent, and some leases set rules about matching the existing windows across the building.
How our products fit the borough
Secondary glazing for sash-windowed frontages
We do not make timber sash windows. For a stucco terrace or mansion flat where the original sashes should stay, secondary glazing fitted on the inside is often the most realistic upgrade, improving warmth and reducing noise from busy roads while leaving the street view untouched. Ask the council first if the building is listed.
Aluminium for rear elevations and modern infill
Where planning allows, our aluminium windows, including the Reynaers SlimLine 68 outward-opening casement and Cortizo and Alunet ranges, suit rear extensions and modern backland houses. Reynaers ConceptPatio 130 sliding doors, Smart Visofold or Cortizo bifold doors and roof lanterns can open a lower-ground floor onto a garden or lightwell.
Other products
UPVC windows on the Selecta Advance 70 system and composite doors are available where they suit the building and the rules, and we also build conservatories and orangeries.
Where we work
We cover Notting Hill, Holland Park, Kensington, Earl’s Court, South Kensington, Brompton, Chelsea and North Kensington. Neighbouring pages: Hammersmith and Fulham, Westminster and Wandsworth, plus our west London hub.
Survey, consent and fitting
Our surveyor travels from Fifield, measures and photographs every elevation, and discusses what is likely to be acceptable before you spend money on drawings. If an application is needed, we can provide product details and drawings to support it, and we only order once consent is in place. Aluminium windows start from £400, lead times start from 10 days, and every installation carries our 10-year guarantee. For more, see our double glazing cost guide and our guide to planning permission for replacement windows.
Book a free survey
Call 01753 965 005, WhatsApp 07934 152 343 or request a quote online. You can reach us between 8am and 6pm on weekdays and from 9am to 1pm on Saturdays.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put double glazing into a listed house in Kensington or Chelsea?
Replacing windows in a listed building needs listed building consent, and conservation area appraisals such as The Boltons treat original timber sashes as part of the character. Secondary glazing, fitted inside the existing windows, is often the more acceptable route. Always check with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea before ordering, and we can supply details for an application.
Does an Article 4 direction cover my street?
The Royal Borough lists its Article 4 directions street by street. They are designed to control small external changes to houses, with windows, front doors, boundary walls and roof coverings given as examples, often on the front elevation. With 38 conservation areas covering nearly three quarters of the borough, check your address with the council first.
I own a mansion flat in Earl's Court. What do I need before replacing windows?
You will normally need written consent from the freeholder or managing agent, and possibly planning permission, because flats have no householder permitted development rights. Some leases also require windows to match across the building. Get those answers first. If replacement is not allowed, secondary glazing may still be an option.
Do you make timber sash windows?
No. We do not make timber windows or doors. In Kensington and Chelsea that matters, because appraisals such as The Boltons describe painted timber sashes as the usual window. We will tell you honestly where our range fits, and offer secondary glazing for original windows, and aluminium doors and windows for rear or modern elevations where the rules allow.
How far is Kensington and Chelsea from your workshop?
Our workshop and fitters are based at Fifield, near Windsor. Kensington and Chelsea is roughly 24 miles away by road, typically 45 minutes to an hour along the M4 and A4, depending on traffic. We have no central London office, so we book surveys and installation days in advance.