House In Ladbroke Grove, London
My clients were an antique dealer and an artist, so when they asked me what I could do for their three storey house, I suggested that I should create a clean and minimal blank canvas for their artefacts and art. I achieved this by designing shelved niches wherever there was space throughout the house.
The staircase in the dull hallway looked rather shabby because of its uneven and sloping treads, so I re-clad them and levelled them in solid cherry timber and replaced the original basic handrail with a floor to ceiling glass wall. Then by cladding the right of the staircase in panelling, I created a recessed lit handrail and I continued this modern panelling idea throughout much of the ground floor plus the first floor landing, to emphasise this minimal and clean looking theme.
To create a larger, lighter space my clients wanted the wall between the Hall and the living/dining room/ kitchen to be removed. I dealt with the fire regulations by installing a half hour fire curtain hidden behind a groove in the ceiling, which would only drop down in the event of a fire, and thus provide the required means of escape from the upstairs floors.
I then re-configured the first floor to provide a workable and stylish master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, a study and the existing dressing room was renovated. I then created a guest bedroom and en-suite shower room in the roof area, fitting everything in despite the challenge of the sloping ceilings.
