Design studio Nice Projects drew on the surrounding art deco architecture when designing The Screening Room cinema for private members' club The Roof Gardens in Kensington, London.

The 68-square-metre cinema shows cult classics and arthouse films and is located inside the private members' club, which Nice Projects said influenced its design.

"We felt that we could design the space to be even more relaxed than a public cinema, which is why the design of the cinema seats varies, with a row of chaise longues in the front followed by deep, plush armchairs with footrests in the middle and then a row of full daybeds at the back," creative director Sacha Leong told Dezeen.

The compact space has 20 seats, as well as a cocktail bar, in a moody, monochrome setting.

"The limited size of the space meant that layouts had to work really hard and we had to include some clever details to ensure it still felt like a generous and comfortable experience," Leong said.

These include leather-topped side tables and custom-cast glass table lamps for each seat, as well as a sweet station.

When it came to colours, Nice Projects aimed to create a "warm, rich setting" for the cinema interior.

"We selected a tonal material palette of burnt orange fabric wall covering, red velvet upholstery for the custom seating set on top of a dark terracotta wool carpet," Leong said.

This was contrasted with the colour of the cinema lobby, which is a dark peach hue, and a silver curtain in front of the screen.

The studio also juxtaposed different materials in the cinema, combining hard and soft materials.

"We wanted to pair the softness of the red and orange velvet seating with the sharpness of a brushed stainless steel bar with a yellow onyx counter," Leong explained.

"Every material we used needed to be tactile and age well, so we used leather-wrapped handrails and saddle leather-topped side tables," he continued.

"We also added some beautiful cast glass details from the vintage door handle to the wall sconces and also added some feature glowy alabaster wall lights from Pierre Chareau."

Overall, Nice Projects, which also recently designed the interior of UK retailer Selfridges' private members club, hoped to create a joyful atmosphere in a small space.

"We wanted to pay tribute to the incredible history of its 1920s art deco building and capture the glamour and sophistication of the era, while at the same time bringing back the joy and excitement of the cinema experience, within a very intimate setting," Leong concluded.

Nice Projects, which has offices in London and Sydney, was also the creative consultant on the New Bahru lifestyle hub in Singapore.

The photography is by Andrew Urwin unless otherwise stated.