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      Maison François brasserie in London takes cues from Ricardo Bofill's architecture

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      Soaring arches reminiscent of those seen in Ricardo Bofill’s La Fabrica feature in this decadent restaurant in St James, London designed by creative director John Whelan.Whelan – who leads artist collective The Guild of Saint Luke – told Dezeen that, prior to his intervention, Maison François simply looked like “one giant concrete cube”.
      The materiality of the space immediately encouraged Whelan to base his interiors scheme around La Fabrica – an abandoned cement factory just outside of Barcelona that Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill transformed into offices for his practice in 1973.

      The interiors of the restaurant are inspired by Ricardo Bofill’s La Fabrica
      “I always try and find a creative route that respects the DNA of the building, and this felt appropriate,” said Whelan.

      “Furthermore, the client wanted to reference historic brasseries but create a contemporary version – also reflected in the food.”

      Arched recesses have been made in the restaurant’s terracotta walls
      The exterior of Bofill’s La Fabrica is notably punctuated with soaring arched windows. These have been reinterpreted inside Maison François, which boasts terracotta-coloured stucco walls inset with shallow arch-shaped recesses.
      “La Fabrica is probably the greatest home that I will probably never visit, and so the arches were a sort of ‘homage’ to that wonderful creation,” explained Whelan.

      Tubular chandeliers hang from the restaurant’s ceiling
      Walnut has been used to craft the restaurant’s seating banquettes – their latticed backs are inspired by the pews in Germany’s modernist Maria Heimsuchung church, which Whelan came across in a photography series by Robert Goetzfried.
      Chairs have been upholstered in creamy linen to match the colour of the lacquered-wood dining tables. Tubular chandeliers have also been suspended from the ceiling, which has been finished with a faux-cement patina.

      The seating banquettes are crafted from walnut wood
      Mahogany has been used to craft a latticed hood above the open kitchen, where dishes that draw upon traditional French cuisine will be prepared.
      Food will be served by both chefs and waiters, an attempt by the restaurant to diffuse the typical boundaries between front and back-of-house operations.
      “Maison François will be everything a brasserie should be – welcoming, fun and hospitable, with classic dishes made with the best seasonal produce we can get our hands on – whilst also ripping up the rulebook when it comes to service,” said the restaurant’s founder, François O’Neill.

      A huge clock sits above the restaurant’s open kitchen
      At the centre of the hood is a huge clock that Whelan had made bespoke from patinated nickel and bronze.
      Weighing half a ton, the grills on the side of the clock are meant to subtly mirror those that feature on the front of vintage Rolls Royce cars, often seen outside the restaurant on the affluent streets of St James.

      John Whelan adorns Paris’ Nolinski restaurant with art-deco details

      “The clock is a classic of historic brasserie design, and can be found around the world from Bouillon Julien in Paris to Fischer’s in London,” added Whelan.
      “We wanted to have this iconic focal point but with our own style.”

      Underneath the restaurant is a wine bar called Frank’s
      Stairs lead down to Maison François’ adjoining wine bar, called Frank’s. This space is intended to have a slightly more industrial feel, so has been completed with exposed white-brick walls, polished concrete flooring and black-leather seating.
      Bofill’s La Fabrica is referenced again at this level but this time in the form of arched mirror wall panels.

      White-brick walls give the wine bar a more industrial look
      John Whelan established The Guild of Saint Luke in 2017, working with artists, artisans and architects to restore and revive historic French brasseries.
      Earlier this year Whelan overhauled Parisian eatery Nolinski, filling its interiors with art deco-inspired details like gold-leaf “sunburst” columns.
      Photography is by Oskar Proctor.

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      Sella Concept brings retro feel to Sister Jane Townhouse in London

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      Fringed furnishings and velvet walls feature inside the west London headquarters that design studio Sella Concept has created for fashion brand Sister Jane, which includes a showroom, restaurant and roof terrace.Sella Concept said it drew upon “untapped maximalist style” to design Sister Jane Townhouse, which takes over a prominent corner property on Golborne Road in the affluent neighbourhood of Notting Hill.
      Having outgrown their old studio on the nearby Portobello Road, the fashion brand had been keen to move into a larger space that could offer a more immersive retail experience.

      The ground floor of Sister Jane Townhouse has a restaurant called Cha Cha’s
      The three-storey townhouse incorporates a restaurant, a showroom and an office where employees can plan and design future clothing collections. On the roof there is also an outdoor terrace where visitors can gather for drinks.

      When it came to developing the interiors, Sella Concept sought to reflect the retro style of Sister Jane’s billowy blouses and dresses. The studio’s co-founder, Tatjana Von Stein, particularly found herself referencing the aesthetics of the 1970s.

      Furnishings in the restaurant feature fringed detailing
      “I must admit that I am always inspired by the ’70s forms, shapes and use of space,” Von Stein told Dezeen.
      “There is a movement and warmth in its design history that I love to employ with a contemporary twist.”

      A collage wall in the restaurant displays campaign photos by Sister Jane
      On the ground floor of Sister Jane Townhouse is the restaurant, called Cha Cha’s, which serves up a roster of Latin-fusion brunch dishes.
      The space has peach-coloured walls and is dominated by a huge hexagonal, brass-edged bar counter. It’s surrounded by a series of Deja Vu stools by Masquespacio that boast tiers of mauve, cream and beige fringing.

      Sister Jane’s clothing showroom is on the townhouse’s first floor
      Fringing also skirts the burnt-orange seating banquette that winds around a corner of the room, and runs along the edge of the six-sided dining tables. Mustard-yellow lamps with fringed shades have additionally been dotted throughout as decor.
      Cha Cha’s includes a collage wall which will be plastered with different striking images from Sister Jane’s fashion campaigns.
      The wall runs directly beside a brass-tread staircase – the steps had previously been closed in by a partition wall, but Von Stein knocked this down to encourage diners to explore the showroom on the first floor.

      Garments hang from bespoke walnut rails in the showroom
      Upstairs in the showroom, surfaces take on a pinkish hue.
      Some clothes are displayed within a veiled pod that sits at the centre of the room, enclosed by sheer white curtains. Other garments hang from custom-made walnut rails or are presented on mannequins which perch on a curvaceous platform covered in teal-blue carpet.

      An adjacent showroom will display Sister Jane’s Ghospell clothing line
      A short walkway leads through to a room that showcases Sister Jane’s Ghospell line, which offers pared-back clothes with sculptural silhouettes.
      This space has aptly been given a slightly more minimal finish – walls here are either clad in steel or upholstered with buttery yellow velvet, while the changing room is entirely lined with mirrored panels.
      Wooden flooring that runs throughout the rest of the townhouse has also been replaced here by micro cement.

      Walls in this showroom are clad in steel and yellow velvet
      Above the showrooms are the offices for Sister Jane staff, followed by the roof terrace dressed with comfy cushioned benches and green wire-frame chairs.
      Guests can alternatively relax in the secret ground-floor garden room, which is accessed via a door disguised as an antique armoire.

      The customer changing room is entirely lined with mirrored panels
      “We have a true inclination for concept spaces which indulge in all the senses and offer the design challenge to seam together a variety of experiences and brands,” explained Von Stein.
      “But it was tricky – in essence, we had 2-3 clients on one building.”

      An antique armoire hides a door leading to Sister Jane Townhouse’s secret garden room
      Sella Concept was established by Tatjana Von Stein and Gayle Noonan. Previous projects by the studio include Public Hall, a plush co-working space that occupies the former office of the UK secret intelligence service, and Night Tales, a pink-tinged cocktail bar.
      At the end of last year the studio also debuted its first furniture collection, which comprises a series of curvaceous stool seats.
      Photography is by Genevieve Lutkin.

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      Birch hotel by Red Deer takes over an 18th-century English mansion

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      Architecture studio Red Deer carried out an understated overhaul of a centuries-old mansion near Hertfordshire, England to form the Birch hotel, which is designed to challenge the idea of luxury.Birch is set on a 55-acre estate in the English town of Cheshunt, occupying a heritage-listed brick mansion that dates back to 1763.

      Red Deer has designed the Birch hotel in Cheshunt with slightly stripped back guest rooms
      The 140-room hotel is the brainchild of entrepreneur Chris King and former managing director of London’s Ace Hotel, Chris Penn, with interiors by architecture studio Red Deer.

      While respecting the grandiose nature of the mansion, the studio wanted Birch to shift perceptions of luxury hotels.

      Each bedroom contains a bespoke valet stand. Photo by Fergus Coyle
      “[We] consider the term ‘luxury’ as degraded through overuse, and the parameters of what constitutes a ‘luxury hotel’ can be tricky to define,” said Red Deer.
      “For [us], luxury comes from the creation of a meaningful emotional connection between the hotel guest and the space they inhabit.”

      The cinema room has striped deck chairs
      “As the landscape for luxury hospitality has evolved, the onus is now focused on creating a unique and personalised one-to-one experience for guests,” it continued.
      “Hotels aren’t just bedrooms with smart technology, but memory-making experiences that create value and loyalty.”

      Birch has a spacious coworking area
      The guest rooms of the Birch hotel are therefore slightly stripped back in appearance, finished with white-painted walls, exposed-wire lights and simple rattan headboards.
      TVs and work desks have also been purposefully omitted so that guests can completely detach from the stresses of everyday life.

      The coworking space has patchy plaster walls
      Each room includes a bespoke valet stand that Red Deer commissioned London-based designer Jan Hendzel to make alongside designer Charlotte Kidger, ceramicist Emma Louise Payne and metalsmith Lucie Naujalis.
      The stands are anchored by colourful orb or pill-shaped bases that Kidger has crafted from waste plastic, held in by sycamore and ash wood frames made by Hendzel.

      Red Deer commissioned local artists to create a series of unique spaces
      Spokes of the frame extend up to form clothes hooks, balance flower vases by Payne or support hand-beaten copper bowls by Naujalis that can hold knick-knacks like keys or cash.

      Red Deer and Jan Hendzel Studio combine ceramics, beaten copper and recycled plastic for hotel valet stands

      “It felt crucial to bring local artists and makers on-board to work on the interior projects and create some truly unique pieces to be enjoyed by the guests, challenging the idea that uniformity was essential for large batch runs of furniture,” added the studio.

      Original details were retained in the hotel where possible
      Throughout the rest of the hotel Red Deer has tried to “only intervene where it counted”, contradicting the typical “wastefulness” associated with luxury spaces.
      Several spaces still boast the building’s original panelled walls and ornate cornicing. This includes the mint-green cinema room, where guests are invited to sit and watch the latest films or documentaries from striped deck chairs.

      The communal spaces contain original panelling
      The spacious coworking area has patchy plaster walls, while the reception room features elaborate wooden boiserie and floorboards marked with white-painted numbers left behind by builders from the building’s last renovation.
      Rather than trying to cover them up, Red Deer instead decided to keep them as a quirky design feature.
      The central concierge desk, which has a faceted blue-metal base, brings a modern touch to the room.

      The Gun Room is a private dining area
      “We wanted to take a light touch on the existing features and celebrate the Georgian building,” said ​Ciarán O’Brien, co-founder of Red Deer. ​
      “The building created a really strong backdrop, so we looked at each space from the point of what already existed,” he continued. “Any intervention within a space needed to work with that, and once you build that design story it allows us to imagine how that room will operate.”

      The Zebra Riding Club is one of three restaurants
      Other on-site experiences that guests can enjoy include an interactive bakery, a pottery workshop, fitness studios and an open-air swimming pool.
      There are also three restaurants: Zebra Riding Club, which will serve “unfussy” dishes made with ingredients from Birch’s farm, The Gun Room, a wood-lined private dining room that seats just eight guests and Valeries, an all-day eatery that features sky-blue walls and chandeliers dangling from the ceiling.
      Red Deer is based between London and Barcelona and was founded by Lionel Real de Azúa, Ciarán O’Brien and Lucas Che Tizard.
      Previous projects by the studio include a pastel-green pasta restaurant and a virtual reality arcade which has neon interiors inspired by the work of artist James Turrell.
      Photography is by Adam Firman unless stated otherwise.

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      Bureau de Change inserts bronze lift into 1920s art deco office block

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      Bronze laser-cut sheets wrap around the lift shaft that extends up through this building in central London, which has been updated by architecture studio Bureau de Change.The elevator links together all four floors of The Gaslight, a mixed-use development that’s been created within an art deco building in central London’s Fitzrovia neighbourhood.

      Originally constructed in 1929 as offices for the now-defunct Gas, Coke and Light Company, the building has recently been completely renovated by dMFK Architects to include a series of bright, airy rooms.

      Bureau de Change was tasked with developing the interiors, which are meant to have a contemporary feel while still showing hints of the building’s art deco heritage.

      “We enjoy working with existing buildings, transforming them for a new purpose but doing it with a kind of nostalgia at the heart of the designs,” said Bureau de Change’s co-director, Katerina Dionysopoulou.
      “It was a pleasure to explore these ideas for The Gaslight and ultimately enrich a building so that it can take on a new meaning.”

      The Gaslight building is accessed via a lobby that’s illuminated by a trio of large spherical pendant lamps.
      At its centre is a striking lift. The shaft of the lift is made from concrete which Bureau de Change has wrapped in two layers of bespoke bronze sheeting.

      The first bronze sheet is flat and has been laser-cut to feature an intricate art deco-inspired pattern. Laser cutting has also been done to the second bronze sheet, but this has been folded to feature concertina-style pleats.
      Layered over each other, the sheets create a moiré effect that obscures the concrete underneath.

      The second pleated bronze sheet turns at a 90-degree angle to clad the underside of the lobby’s stairs. This eventually “peels off”, leaving just the flat bronze sheet to cover the lift shaft on the building’s upper levels.

      Atelier Dau adds kinetic bronze facade to Chimney House extension in Sydney

      “Industrial materials and fabrication techniques were therefore explored in a more artisan-like manner, with laser-cut bronze panels folded to create an intricate framework,” added the studio’s co-director, Billy Mavropoulos.

      The white terrazzo that covers the floor and stairs of the lobby has also been used to line the lower half of the building’s bathrooms and hallways, a modern interpretation of the wooden panelling that the studio thinks would have appeared in the original building.
      Surfaces have otherwise been painted in cool grey or sage-green tones.

      Some of the glazed partitions in the building have been overlaid with shapely patterns that match the cut-outs on the lift shaft.
      Other unique details include the building’s entrance door handles, which have been hand-carved with a series of grooves. The Gaslight’s address number has also been shaped into the metal spokes that run along the top of its restored front gate.

      Bureau de Change is based in Clerkenwell. The studio has previously created a barn-style home in the Cotswolds with an ombre-effect timber facade and added a texture brick building into a century-old London terrace.
      Photography is by Gilbert McCarragher.
      Project credits:
      Architects: dMFKInterior architects: Bureau de ChangeStructural engineer: Michael Hadi AssociatesM&E engineers: WB ShielsProject manager: Alford PorterQuantity surveyor: Alford PorterMetal fabricator: John Desmond

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      Island Rest is a black-timber holiday home on the English coast

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      British practice Ström Architects has completed Island Rest, a low-lying holiday home in the Isle of Wight that is clad in beams of blackened larch wood.Island Rest has been designed by Ström Architects as a “home away from home” for a family of four, who wanted a place where they could spend quality time together.
      The house is nestled in a creek that looks out across The Solent, a 20-mile-long stretch of water that separates the Isle of Wight from mainland England.

      First revealed in a series of renderings in 2018, the now-complete Island Rest house comprises a single-storey rectilinear volume clad with beams of black-stained larch wood.

      A low-lying structure was specifically chosen so as not to compromise views of the surrounding natural landscape.

      “We wanted the house to sit quietly against the backdrop of trees, while feeling like it embraced the views when looking out,” said the practice.
      “Our clients asked for an architecturally timeless building, drawing on the very best modern architectural concepts to create a whole – no frivolous moves; rigour must flow through every space and every detail that the building is.”

      As the area surrounding Island Rest is prone to flooding, it has been positioned to sit at the highest point of the site.
      At one end the house is supported by a grassy hill, but as this gradually slopes away, slim metal poles are instead used to elevate the structure.

      Magnus Ström models gabled annex for Hampshire home on “rustic boutique hotel”

      Expansive panels of glazing have also been fitted on both sides of the home to maximise sightlines and natural light.

      Inside lies an open-plan living and dining area, complete with a jet-black kitchen suite. This leads off to a fleet of bedrooms for the owners’ three young children.
      Each room has been given a largely simple fit-out to make them “places to sleep and not places to stay”, in a bid to encourage the children to spend more time playing outdoors.

      To give the parents a greater sense of privacy, their bedroom has been placed on the opposite side of the house.
      It has ensuite bathroom facilities and access to a small deck that leads down to the swimming pool and verdant garden.
      “Landscaping was a consideration from the outset and has a very natural and organic feel, with mowed paths through wildflowers leading to and defining areas of different function and interest,” added the practice.

      Ström Architects was established in 2010 and is based in the New Forest, a district of Hampshire, England.
      Other homes on the picturesque Isle of Wight include The Sett by Dow Jones Architects, which takes design cues from black-painted fishermen sheds seen dotted along the island’s beaches.
      There’s also House for a Yachtsman by The Manser Practice, which is punctuated by several glazed openings.
      Photography is by Nick Hufton of Hufton + Crow.

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      ARC Club is a London co-working space for people wanting to escape working from home

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      Architect Caro Lundin took a less-is-more approach for the creation of ARC Club, a fuss-free co-working space in east London for those struggling to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic.It took just six weeks for Lundin and her self-titled studio to complete ARC Club, which takes over a formerly characterless retail unit in the neighbourhood of Homerton.
      The co-working space is meant to cater to the growing number of individuals who, according to surveys observed by Lundin, are finding it tricky to efficiently do their job from home during the pandemic due to lack of proper workspaces.

      Its “starkly beautiful” interiors have been decked out with a selection of low-cost and durable materials that Lundin felt reflected a climate where co-working is “a necessity and not a nice-to-have”.

      Designing a more modest space also meant that membership would be cheaper for those interested in working at ARC Club according to the architect.
      “Intricate details and indoor gardens are fun, but they come with a big price tag – and they’re a lot harder to keep clean,” said Lundin, who founded ARC Club alongside Hannah Philp.

      “When designing ARC Club, I asked myself ‘what do people need to work?’ A comfortable seat, natural light, thoughtful acoustics; the physical and emotional space in which to think,” she told Dezeen.
      “Functional doesn’t have to be boring, it’s a neutral space that enables the people who visit it to be their best professional selves.”

      At the centre of ARC Club, which measures just over 232 square metres, are a pair of boxy, sound-proofed pods crafted from birch plywood.
      Inside, they accommodate a handful of private meeting rooms, storage cupboards, printers and a kitchenette complete with silver-metal cabinetry.
      Lundin chose to house these services inside a pod-style system so that it can be scaled up or down to suit different-sized branches of ARC Club that open in the future.

      The pods are surrounded by various work areas. A few of the furnishings, like the birch-ply tables with the arched legs, were made by Lundin’s studio while some of the chairs were sourced second hand.

      “Offices are going to get much smaller” after pandemic says Sevil Peach

      Pops of colour have been introduced to brighten up the space. Heavy orange curtains are used as room dividers, blue cone-shaped pendant lights have been suspended from the ceiling and bands of yellow paint have been made on the concrete structural columns.
      Yellow tiles also clad surfaces in the bathrooms.

      Further branches of ARC Club co-working spaces are planned to open in 2021.
      Like the Homerton location, they will occupy vacant high-street commercial units in popular residential areas so that members can do what Lundin has monikered “WNH” – work near home.

      “A neighbourhood workplace like ARC Club allows people to retain the best of what the office has to offer – full functionality, work-life separation and human interaction – without having to get on a bus or a train,” Lundin explained.
      “In essence, it’s an accessible flexible option for a new breed of remote worker who has grown used to scheduling their work around their day, instead of the other way.”

      The global coronavirus crisis has forced many to re-think offices and the way in which we work.
      Interior designer Sevil Peach predicts that, post-pandemic, companies will scrap working in corporate towers and instead opt to have central “hubs” where just a small per cent of staff will gather.
      Architecture practice Weston Williamson + Partners also released a series of graphics that illustrated how businesses could create socially-distanced offices. Tips included wrapping screens around desks, having touch-free doors and employing a cook so that employees don’t have to use a shared kitchen.
      Photography is by Andrew Meredith.

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      Architect couple turns Edinburgh apartment into modern living space

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      Married architects Luke and Joanne McClelland have overhauled their own apartment in Edinburgh, Scotland, to feature a sequence of contemporary light-filled living spaces.The lateral apartment spreads across the drawing-room levels of two adjoining Georgian townhouses in Edinburgh’s Comely Bank neighbourhood.
      Joanne and Luke McClelland – who runs his own architecture studio called MCLND – purchased it back in 2018, having spent the past eight years living in a cramped flat in London.

      Despite the grander scale of the Edinburgh apartment, it still had some significant problem areas.

      The north-facing living area had hardly any access to natural light, the bathroom had a dated, 70s-style turquoise interior and the kitchen was small and felt isolated from the other rooms.

      To create a bright and modern home, the McClelland’s decided they had to completely reconfigure the floor plan.
      The former kitchen has been opened up and now includes a dining area, complete with white-painted walls and oak herringbone floors.

      Along the rear wall runs a series of matt-black and wooden cabinets which were all sourced from IKEA – although the architects both have previously designed homes for wealthy clients, they didn’t feel the need to use expensive brands to achieve a high standard of design.
      “Having specified kitchens at over 10 times our available budget, we tried to use affordable products to recreate the specific qualities that previous clients associated with luxury, simplicity, symmetry and integration,” said the pair.

      Old Edinburgh workshop transformed into minimal holiday retreat by Izat Arundell

      To complement the cabinetry, black taps, pendant lamps and door handles have also been incorporated in the space. Black-frame chairs with woven seats have also been placed around the dining table.

      Doorways have been widened to let sunlight from the south side of the apartment penetrate the new living area, which has been created in a former bedroom.
      It’s dressed with a slate-grey sectional sofa, a couple of armchairs upholstered in forest-green velvet armchairs and a graphic monochrome rug.

      Jet-black paint has also been applied to the surround of the room’s fireplace, which used to be bright orange.
      “Whilst it didn’t fit with the Georgian property, there was a charm in the curved bricks and sheer brutality of the design,” the architects explained.

      The architects split the old living area to form two separate bedrooms, both of which feature original pine flooring and ornate cornices.
      A cupboard in the apartment and the disused pantry have together been transformed into a shower room. Stark white tiles have been applied in a grid-like fashion across its walls, while the floor has a striking triangle print.

      In the main bathroom, surfaces have been updated with glazed green tiles which clad the lower half of the walls and the front of the tub.
      The sink basin perches on top of a restored 1960s wooden sideboard by Danish designer Ib Kofod Larsen.

      Luke McClelland launched his own studio this year after leaving his position at Studio 304. He and his wife, Joanne McClelland, met whilst both studying architecture at the Edinburgh College of Art.
      Their apartment joins a number of design-focused properties in the Scottish capital.
      Others include Flitch House by Oliver Chapman Architects, which references the Arts and Crafts movement, and another home by studio Archer + Braun, which has a red-sandstone extension.
      Photography is by Zac and Zac.
      Project credits:
      Architects: Luke and Joanne McClellandStructural engineer: McColls

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      Tsubo House in Hackney features tiny Japanese-style courtyard

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      Architecture practice Fraher & Findlay has renovated and extended a home in east London, adding a small courtyard that offers glimpses of old and new parts of the property.Tsubo House was originally built in Hackney during the Victorian era and over the years had come to look shabby and unloved.
      The house’s current owners – the founders of Studio XAG – brought architecture practice Fraher & Findlay on board to carry out a complete overhaul.

      As part of the works, the Brockley-based practice constructed a spacious back-garden extension.

      It was key for this new living space to feel closely connected to existing rooms in the home and not too distanced from the basement level, which is often utilised by visiting friends and family.

      Fraher & Findlay decided to insert a small courtyard at ground level that would visually link together the new and existing parts of the home.

      Fraher & Findlay adds wildflower-topped extension to London house

      It draws upon tsubo-niwas – tiny interior courtyards that are incorporated into Japanese buildings to provide natural views and bring in additional sunlight.
      The courtyards are traditionally the same size as a tsubo, a Japanese measuring unit of 3.3 square metres that’s roughly equivalent to the area of two tatami mats.

      “We wanted an external environment to act as a pivot point between the spaces, whilst acting as an environmental tool to bring in lots of natural light and to aid natural ventilation,” said the practice.
      “It feels like a quiet force, providing life energy to the house.  it is visible from all the rooms in the house with the exception of two bedrooms and one bathroom.”

      The pebbled courtyard is centred by a tree and has an array of potted plants running around its periphery. Leafy climbing plants also wind up its rear wall.
      One window of the courtyard looks through to the older front section of Tsubo House, while the another has views of the new rear extension that accommodates a kitchen and dining area.

      Designed to feel “textured, calm and lived in”, the kitchen has been finished with pink raw-plaster walls and timber joinery. Some of the brass light fixtures were also sourced second-hand from eBay, complementing the curved brass handles on the cupboards.
      The extension has a slatted black-timber facade and a green roof, which the studio introduced so that, when viewed from the baby’s nursery upstairs, this part of the home would look as if it’s wearing a “hairy hat”.
      Flooring of the extension was also made lower than the rest of the home, as a mid-way between the ground and basement levels.

      Plaster surfaces continue through into the home’s living room, which the practice has updated to match the owners’ creative personalities. It’s dressed with velvet furnishings, shaggy rugs and a bubblegum-pink edition of Faye Toogood’s Roly-Poly chair.
      Decades-old paintwork has also been stripped back from the ornate cornices, ceiling roses and skirting boards.

      More quirky features appear upstairs – the nursery, for example, has a midnight blue ceiling speckled with stars, and all of the bathrooms feature graphic monochromatic tiled floors. One even includes its own fireplace and a freestanding jet-black tub.
      The project also saw Fraher & Findlay create a loft extension for Tsubo House that accommodates an additional bedroom and wash facilities.

      Fraher & Finlay was established in 2009. The practice has previously created a wildflower-topped extension and renovated a home to feature traces of its original architecture.
      Photography is by Adam Scott.
      Project credits:
      Architect: Fraher & FindlayInterior design: Studio XAGEngineer: PD DesignContractor: Steflay DevelopmentsGarden and planting design: Miria Harris

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