Heather spent all of her spare time in the weeks after moving in getting to know her new city and discovering the challenges of procurement in a foreign country, combing London’s vintage markets and interiors stores for the perfect pieces to complement the flat. With a mix of personal items, vintage finds, and eclectic eBay purchases, Heather has managed to highlight the open plan living space as well as create a sense of security and charm, something that is often sacrificed to ideals of minimalism in such spaces.

The central living space makes you feel tall and proud. The room’s low pieces (that alluring green sofa, Danish lounge chairs, and paintings and signs that sit on the floor) and layered rugs add so much texture, while the vast windows of the warehouse building fill the room with light and energy from all directions. It’s an invigorating space to spend time in, and it’s perfectly balanced by the comforts of the downstairs guest bedroom and bathroom and the mezzanine level master bedroom and en suite.

While there is a distinct lack of doors on the upper level, some clever roller blinds have been used to shield from view a wardrobe here, a bathroom there. Every room—every space—has eye-catching features that encourage conversation or raise a cheeky smile: a buffalo by the bath, horns above the bed, a naughty cross stitch, and a never-ending calendar won in a high school bet.

Having character is much more important than being perfect,

says Heather.

The large windows may present a challenge to the privacy-conscious, but there are blinds that shield the bedroom and frosted panes in the bathroom. Besides, the building is well-located in an area mostly used for office space and isn’t overlooked by large numbers of neighboring apartments. This means this eclectic London loft has the added bonus of being centrally located but also quiet during nights and weekends—ideal city life. Heather admits that the kitchen, while elegant and functional, is the least-used thing in the whole flat, but when the local neighborhood has such amazing food and drink, that’s easy to forgive.

The team at Sadie Snelson Architects envisioned an open-plan living room to accentuate the full potential of the warehouse’s space. Dividing walls were removed and parts of the floor were taken away to create double-height areas that maximise light. A new mezzanine floor was added with a steel balustrade and folded steel staircase.

Materials used throughout the property are intended to complement its industrial nature. Walls are left unpainted to expose the plaster finish, and structural I-beams are left exposed. The architects designed the concrete kitchen that the client cast himself. 

Architect:  Sadie Architects
Photos:  Rory Gardiner

The original windows of the nineteenth century building have been reopened, framing dramatic views of the dales to create a spacious and luxurious self-catering holiday cottage for seven guests. It has a large and fully equipped kitchen, a cosy living room, four comfortable bedrooms, two en-suits and a luxurious family bathroom. The reconstruction, designed by Evolution Design, has just recently been finished.

Historic features need to be preserved in a chapel conversion

As the existing building was in a poor state of disrepair and had been vacant for many years, the aim of the reconstruction project was to bring this unique property back to life and to enable visitors to appreciate the history and local architecture while providing a beautiful environment to explore the surround countryside and its vast range of activities.
At the time of acquisition, the property had sustained considerable water ingress due to its state of dereliction and not being maintained. Due to its exposed location, strong winds and driving rain, most of the interior finishes had been damaged badly, besides the main roof had deteriorated badly and the roof rafters required replacement.

Before any scheme or design had been drafted, the first tasks were instructing preliminary repairs for the damaged roof and board the windows and doors to prevent any further water damage. Once this had been completed the project team evaluated the available space to establish the type and quantity of facilities that would suit best the size and location of the Chapel.

New mezzanine floor

The insertion of a new mezzanine floor allowed for planning of three bedrooms upstairs and the kitchen / dining area, the living room, the bathroom and the fourth bedroom on the ground floor. Our approach was to provide solutions that answered the brief, but did not alter the historic details or essence of the Chapel. The main hall was the core element that gives the Chapel its feel of space and with its detailed simplicity it became the heart of the proposed design.

Complement the character of the building

Modern, stylish and yet in the context of the location and its history – these were the main criteria for designing the interior of the new holiday cottage. We wanted to create a space that was modern and yet had a traditional language that would complement the historic nature of the Chapel and appeal to a wide range of guests. This was reflected in our choice of furniture and finishes. All materials and design had been considered in the context of the character and appearance of the existing building and the Teesdale vernacular. Traditional materials were proposed to ensure the scheme respects the character of the landscape and the existing buildings.

As the heart of any home the kitchen and dining space was intended to be open and bright, taking advantage of the Gothic windows and the beautiful views of the surround landscape. The aim was to keep a traditional feel by retaining the roof trusses with a natural finish. The kitchen units were styled to keep a homely rural feel, which is framed by the feature wall tiles. By using traditional tiles to cover the full height of the back wall complemented the generous ceiling height and feeling of space.

Modern and comfortable holiday cottage

Being located in the very heart of the Upper Teesdale, the Chapel is a perfect location for unforgettable holidays spent walking, cycling, climbing, fishing or just relaxing with a book and a glass of wine in front of the log burner. Set high on the rolling hills, the Chapel offers peace and quiet, yet Middleton-in-Teesdale with shops, restaurants and pubs is just a few minutes drive away.

If you want, you can rent this chapel for the weekend at AirBnB

Built around 1861, the property and was fully renovated in 1998. The works took two years and now the tower provides extensive accommodation. The attention to detail is simply breath taking, from the ground floor entrance hall to the original door. The reception room in the belfry has 40ft ceilings and there is a roof terrace with some of the most far reaching views of any property in London. It also benefits from an internal lift, rear terrace and parking for two cars. All in all the property offers approximately 3337 square feet of wonderful space.

Other features include 3ft thick walls, a fire alarm and security system as well as a working original church clock. Being 300ft above sea level, provides extraordinary views from the mid to upper levels.

Gipsy Hill train station which connects to London Bridge is a few minutes’ walk away and there are many bus routes also close by as are the excellent shopping, restaurant and leisure facilities of Crystal Palace all on the door step.

This loft in a tower is now for sale for about 2 million GBP

Also, it’s not only filled with really interesting, eclectic furniture, but it also retains many original church features (stained-glass windows, peaked windows, choir balcony) as well as some quirky additions.

This home retains the church’s original stained glass windows and full-height ceilings, but brand new parquet floors with under floor heating was installed. The kitchen has New York and Corian Concrete work surfaces.

Tha builders had installed bespoke storage, Lutron lighting, Air-conditioning, electronic Velux windows and even a gym.

A balcony overlooks the main space, which includes a living and dining area as well as a kitchen.

This church is now for sale for a whopping 10 million British pounds (that’s 14,8 US dollars)

The Lime Works, on the outskirts of Faversham, is a conversion of two water towers, which have been made into an art deco-inspired contemporary home. The building, which is grade II-listed, was built in the early 1930s and was a functioning water softening plant until 1942. The current owners acquired the property in 2005, converting it into the house you see now.

According to the agent, the owners have ‘sympathetically converted, restored and refurbished the building’, with the emphasis on ‘attention to detail and specification’. There’s no denying that the end product is a design you can’t ignore.

Plenty of space and plenty of luxury too. The accommodation is arranged over four floors, with the ground floor offering floor to ceiling windows for plenty of light, while a series of spiral staircases lead to the leisure facilities on the first floor and the bedrooms (six in total) and bathrooms (six of those) on the second floor. The master bedroom suite occupies the entire fourth floor while two roof terraces, one of which has a heated pool, offer plenty of entertaining opportunities.

Outside space (beyond the electric wrought iron gates and gravel driveway) is a large parking area, double underground garage, lawns and eight acres of grounds. There’s also a large storage area at the side of the house.

As for the luxury, pool and design aside, the house also has a dining room with with triple height void, hand crafted concrete beds and baths, gym suite, including sauna and plunge pool, an integral cinema room and motion sensor lighting. Wow.

Works are apparently ‘still ongoing at the property’ with the purpose of bringing the house to 90% completion which will allow the buyer to design and specify the final 10% by way of arrangement with the current construction company or with the buyer appointing their own designer and contractors. In short, you can do your own finish.

Hope that last bit of work is included in the price, we expect it is, especially with an asking price of £3,750,000.

It’s currently for sale, you can find it at the Savills website.

Originally designed to protect the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour, the brief was to convert the fort into a luxury retreat and function venue. The project was approached with a deliberate intention of ensuring any proposals would not only stand alone as examples of architectural merit and efficient space management, but more importantly co-exist with the strong, utilitarian aesthetic without confusing the historic origins of the building. A successful scheme would form a distinctive and constructive imprint on the life of a building which has been continuously modified and added to for more than a century.

The property consists of three distinct levels: the basement-like munitions store, the spacious gun deck and external courtyard, and the rooftop lighthouse and former gun emplacements.

The unique floor plan and inflexibility of the original structure required an innovative strategy in forming a coherent layout, with the limited number of external windows and the need for a simple means of circulation causing further concern. The exposed nature of the internal structure proved both a blessing and a hindrance, with eight of the fifteen gun locations forming the focus for each of the new bedrooms; however, creative approaches were needed to address the distribution of modern mechanical and electrical services throughout a solid nineteenth-century building. Understanding that face-fixed cables and pipework would cause an unsightly disruption to the historic context, considerable efforts were made to contain services within a newly created floor void wherever possible.

A strong sense of functionality pervades the interior of the Fort. Exposed structural elements visibly disclose the simple yet strong construction processes of the period; rows of vaulted red-brick arches curve away from the viewer, contrasting with the iron panels and riveted beams that radiate from the centre of the building, transferring the colossal weight of the concrete roof through a perimeter of columns to the floor.

Stylistically, all this history is capable of speaking for itself; by adhering to the practical attitudes of the original creators, and consciously avoiding the easy mistake of placing desirable yet distracting features, the purpose of the proposals was always to direct attention towards the authentic and original rather than away from it. This deliberate use of unpretentious design was a crucial factor when considering artificial lighting; concealed LED uplighters would direct the eye towards the natural textures present, producing a twofold result of both illuminating a surface as if a work of art, and lighting a space practically without harsh glare or anachronistic light fittings. Additional benefits to this approach are minimal maintenance and energy consumption issues, and this was considered an essential methodology when specifying a range of features throughout the project. Colour schemes would be neutral and understated and, ideally, furniture would have a timeless, practical appeal that wouldn’t compete for attention with the historic aesthetic.

The original central passage to the gun deck, having been previously subdivided into separate uses, was reinstated, creating a natural path that leads the visitor round a gently curving brick-lined corridor providing access to all eight bedrooms, and affording quiet pockets of relaxation and contemplation with views of the courtyard. Frosted glass doors to male and female WCs allow borrowed light to fall upon areas otherwise difficult to illuminate, providing a diffuse natural glow to offset the electric lighting.

New designs for the rooftop areas were developed in a more contemporary style; once preservation of the existing features was assured, a more radical interpretation could be utilised for the accompanying structures. Concrete enclosures surrounding two former gun emplacements were re-contextualised as a fire pit and hot pool, simultaneously reflecting and contrasting each other in location and purpose.

The crumbling lighthouse and rangefinder station – itself a 20th century addition – serves as the highest point on the fort and is highly visible even from the Southsea seafront 1km away, and so plans to enhance this feature were fundamental in forming a rational approach to developing the rooftop. The additional function space, intended to be subservient to the existing form, eventually took on a character of its own, growing and evolving as the cost of years of exposure and neglect on the existing building was painstakingly revealed during renovation.

Upon completion, the lighthouse now serves as a signal both metaphorical and physical; it is the first concession to modern design visible on approach, and the renovated beacon with its navigation light has been returned to the roof, allowing the fort the dignity of retaining a small fragment of its functional origins. Seemingly precariously balanced on such an unforgiving and unrefined bulk, the faceted glazing of the lighthouse offers broken glimpses of both the clouds above and the comfort within, and provides an understated yet self-assured example of the successful regeneration of such an uncompromising and imposing structure.

The markets, bar and restaurants at Columbia Road, Brick Lane, Spitalfields and Broadway Market are all a short distance away. All of the Olympic sites and the West End / Oxford Street are accessible from the excellent local connections (20 minute bus journey / 15 in a cab to Oxford Street).

The flat is essentially one large room, with a three quarter height kitchen divider separating the living space from the bedroom, and from the bedroom, a door leading to a separate bathroom with bath and shower. The space has enormous windows on three sides – fitted with blackout roller blinds for when needed.

It is fully furnished with design originals including a super comfy sofa and a dining table that seats eight easily. The large loading doors at the end of the space can be opened to let the outside in. There is also an informal space on the New York style fire escape leading up to the entrance where one can take the sun and have a coffee on a nice day. Great mood lighting.

Available for rent at Airbnb, if you fancy

Sitting in the exposed expanse of the Cambridgeshire fens, the Stealth Barn is a bold, simple form, reminiscent of the barn it accompanies. Built as a guest house, studio or meeting place, depending on time of year and workloads: the Stealth Barn is also a retreat, a place of inspiration and enjoyment.

Placed perpendicular to the existing barn, it stands to create and define a slightly more sheltered and casual garden which melts into the fens, a hint at the memory of a former farm yard. Stealth Barn is a sharp black mass – a shadow of the adjacent barn or a silhouette on the horizon. It is a robust exterior wrapped with a restricted palette, devoid of fussy detail, and formed to withstand its exposed position.

The interior inverts this toughness through the use o warmer OSB wrapping fully around the space to form angles reminiscent of the adjacent barns divided with straw bales. It creates an immersive interior landscape.

The Stealth Barn was shortlisted for the Architect’s Journal Small Projects 2012.

Photography by Damian Russell, Tim Crocker and Jeremy Phillips