Finsbury Flat
Complete renovation of a 1970’s two double bedroom ex-council flat in Finsbury Park, north London-UK.
Overview
The clients are a professional English couple in their late 30’s. She is a female fashion buyer and he is a male graphic designer.
The couple decided to invest in space instead of character, opting to buy an ex-council flat, providing them with a greater floor area for their budget. On the other hand they expected to compensate the lack of character by using avant garde style and striking objects.
The flat was built in the 70’s, and it is of a solid but never altered structure.
The boiler system, all the plumbing and electrics will have to be changed prior to any refurbishment, the flat also requires a new bathroom, a new kitchen, new flooring and new tiling in all rooms.
Although the flat hasn’t got a cute Victorian charm, it has a south-facing balcony and wide living room windows that make the place bright and airy.
Mood-Board, the clients were looking for a rustic, fun scheme, with retro and industrial influences.
Brief
The space needed to be changeable to accommodate their needs, as they use the flat in an array of ways.
They require separate working spaces.
They also have friends and family for dinner that often stay overnight, so there is a need for extra sleeping areas.
They want to ensure that any work in the property will increased its value.
They expect the property to reflect their sense of style, and have their own work on the walls.
The clients have a collection of objects in the form of artworks, fashion accessories and furniture that they have collected over the years. These are to be the centre pieces of the design.
They have a very strong sense of style and and an amazing collection, but lack the knowledge of how to arrange them in an logical and functional manner.
For the kitchen we used recycled vintage tiles and updated many items of the owners own furniture, like the fridge, table and chairs.
Proposal
We intend to maximise the natural light by removing walls in the social area.
Flexibility is key, so sliding panels were used throughout to separate spaces.
The spare bedroom will be used as an separate closet for the fashion buyer, but also provide a spare double bed for guests. The graphic designer has got an office area in the living room that can be closed by sliding doors.
Repositioning the toilet and swapping the hot water tank for a new combi-boiler system, gives us the flexibility of opening the kitchen area.
The fireplace was uncovered and its original brickwork was restored and grey washed. Big barn style light fittings were used all over the flat.
The removal of the internal walls lets the natural light flow freely across the flat.
For the kitchen we used recycled vintage tiles and updated many items of the owners own furniture, like the fridge, table and chairs.
Orla Kiely fabrics and wallpaper were used in cushions and feature walls, the owners egg chair was reupholstered in orange leather.
Orla Kiely duvet set and colourful red lamps, keeping with the playful theme in the bedroom
Get The Look
Retro industrial living room
The ever popular retro-industrial look that we used on the Finsbury Flat project, one of our favorites.
After so many clients asking where we source every-single-item from the design, we decided to put them out there to make our clients life easy.
