photo: Michael J Lee

Giovanni Nardi

Photo by Ross Anania

Game area and billiard room of redesigned home basement. French door leads to exercise room.

Historic remodel of an original 1960's adobe by renown architect George Christensen.

Rick McCullagh

FAMILY HOME IN SURREY The architectural remodelling, fitting out and decoration of a lovely semi-detached Edwardian house in Weybridge, Surrey. We were approached by an ambitious couple who’d recently sold up and moved out of London in pursuit of a slower-paced life in Surrey. They had just bought this house and already had grand visions of transforming it into a spacious, classy family home. Architecturally, the existing house needed a complete rethink. It had lots of poky rooms with a small galley kitchen, all connected by a narrow corridor – the typical layout of a semi-detached property of its era; dated and unsuitable for modern life. MODERNIST INTERIOR ARCHITECTURE Our plan was to remove all of the internal walls – to relocate the central stairwell and to extend out at the back to create one giant open-plan living space! To maximise the impact of this on entering the house, we wanted to create an uninterrupted view from the front door, all the way to the end of the garden. Working closely with the architect, structural engineer, LPA and Building Control, we produced the technical drawings required for planning and tendering and managed both of these stages of the project. QUIRKY DESIGN FEATURES At our clients’ request, we incorporated a contemporary wall mounted wood burning stove in the dining area of the house, with external flue and dedicated log store. The staircase was an unusually simple design, with feature LED lighting, designed and built as a real labour of love (not forgetting the secret cloak room inside!) The hallway cupboards were designed with asymmetrical niches painted in different colours, backlit with LED strips as a central feature of the house. The side wall of the kitchen is broken up by three slot windows which create an architectural feel to the space.

This English Tudor architectural home combines classic styling, fixtures and fittings with modern convenience. The kitchen is quite large yet the client did not want it to feel that way. In order to keep some of the coziness she desired, we opted to put in a Wolf two hob electrical unit in the island where the cook spends most of her time. This allows her to do “quick cooking” in the mornings while keeping conversation going with her two young sons and maintains a galley layout within the larger footprint of the space. This hob also does double duty when entertaining, acting as a hot plate for service and an extra burner for prepping foods by the caterer. The Pro refrigerator was chosen to “lighten up” the heavier feel of the English Tudor design with some contemporary pizzazz. This unexpected bit of modernism along with a sleek Blanco faucet adds just the right touch of Wow! The second island is considered the entertaining island as it helps direct the traffic flow in and around the kitchen area as well as adds some visual definition of the kitchen and breakfast area. Again,keeping it cozy and functional in a large space. This island is home to a subzero integrated wine refrigerator and bar sink. The large armoire storage area across from this island hides a working “appliance pantry” that also features a pot filler to fill the coffee pot! We included casual seating for the two boys at the main island and additional bar seating at the entertainment island. This use of dual islands keeps the kitchen from feeling too large. The brick alcove encloses a 48 in wolf dual fuel range with antique walnut shelves on each side. The alcove is a focal point of the design however it blends in with the surrounding cabinetry to appear as it has been there for decades.

Isaac Turner

The heart of this converted school house is a glorious open-plan kitchen where bespoke colander lights in aubergine, tango and lime pair with a vivid vintage gramophone for a colour injection. Photography by Fisher Hart

Jason Roehner

Photography by Eduard Hueber / archphoto North and south exposures in this 3000 square foot loft in Tribeca allowed us to line the south facing wall with two guest bedrooms and a 900 sf master suite. The trapezoid shaped plan creates an exaggerated perspective as one looks through the main living space space to the kitchen. The ceilings and columns are stripped to bring the industrial space back to its most elemental state. The blackened steel canopy and blackened steel doors were designed to complement the raw wood and wrought iron columns of the stripped space. Salvaged materials such as reclaimed barn wood for the counters and reclaimed marble slabs in the master bathroom were used to enhance the industrial feel of the space.

Giovanni Nardi