Andover Road, London N7

Within this 3 bedroom maisonette we re-designed the kitchen and dining space, including blocking up a doorway into the living room and transforming the master bedroom to maximise the vertical storage capacity of a steep sloped ceiling. We worked with our clients throughout the project – from initial concept design to sourcing, specifying, ordering and overseeing the workmanship on site.

Kitchen

When it came to designing their kitchen, our clients had some clear ideas of they wanted to achieve:

• a Shaker style kitchen

• a more efficient layout while maximising storage potential

• a spacious dining area which could seat a family of 4 and cater for larger numbers on occasion

• space for an American style fridge/freezer, integrated dishwasher & built-in microwave/grill and oven

At the space planning phase, we came up with several layout options, out of which 1 layout was chosen to be developed further. This layout involved blocking up a second entrance into the kitchen from the living room in favour of a corner dining bench whilst retaining some light and airflow between the rooms via a hatch with bi-fold shutters. We suggested a generously sized 1.2m diameter round dining table which can be extended, a tall pull-out larder and a new 1.5 bowl sink to be fitted infront of the window.

Our clients had felt strongly against a sleek, glossy kitchen style and instead were drawn to a contemporary shaker style and a marble-effect Quartz worktop which compliments the square tiled ‘patchwork’ splashback. We replaced the existing floor tiles with wood-effect Amtico LVTs in a herringbone pattern which are warmer and quieter underfoot and very practical in kitchens. We considered various lighting options for the kitchen before settling on a combination of dimmable recessed downlights, a dramatic pendant light over the dining table and LED strip lighting beneath the wall cabinets to light the worktop surface.

The hatch opening between the rooms can be shut and completely concealed with a mirror hung on a sliding track on the living room side.

The Design Process

The Implementation Process

 Master Bedroom

The unusual proportions of the master bedroom with it’s steep angled ceiling made it a challenging space to re-design. The brief from our clients included maximising storage space within the new layout and creating a concealed dressing table area with the aim to have a calm, spacious atmosphere in the bedroom.

We experimented with a few different layouts but it quickly became apparent that due to the sloped ceiling, tall wardrobes with additional storage cupboards above would make the most of the storage capacity at the taller end of the room. An ottoman bed (with internal storage) was another way we were able to increase storage in the room. The shallow sliding door wardrobes opposite the bed contain the concealed dressing area at standing height with drawers below. We also fitted an LED lighting strip on a motion sensor to light up automatically when the sliding door is opened. This is both convenient and dramatic especially with the yellow neon framed mirror we found to enhance this space and give an element of surprise when you open the door.

Together with the clients, we put together a palette of purply-greys, crisp white and aubergine to create a tranquil colour scheme. We suggested a combination of sheer curtains and a roller blind on the window for privacy and to regulate light at different times of the day.

The Design Process

The Implementation Process