NOTTING HILL APARTMENT
Grade 2 listed apartment refurbishment
Location
Notting Hill, London
Completion Date
June 2019
Size of Project
80* sqm
Scope of works
Design, Listed Building Consent, LTA and Delivery
(Interior, Architecture, joinery)
The strategy
Atelier EURA were appointed to improve the functionality of the apartment for which a few key areas within the interior of the existing apartment were modified. Our key moves were:
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Improving the access to a mezzanine level created on the top of the shower room by the previous owner.
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Creating a guests' loo in an area where there was a boiler cupboard
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Creating generous storage adjacent to the master bedroom to work as a dressing room
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Introducing much needed natural light to the dressing area of the master bedroom
Access to Mezzanine
In London, where space is premium, making the most of the space available is vital. Those who refurbished this apartment in 2011 knew it and created a mezzanine above the new shower room, Unfortunately, the location they chose for the ladder clashed with the access to both the bedroom and shower room and the large opening they left made the resulting mezzanine space fragmented and the access to storage very unsafe .
Our work focused on relocating the ladder away from the lobby and existing staircase by moving it across to the corridor between the kitchen and shower room. As well as building an infill floor providing better access to the enlarged storage.
New Guest loo
Over the years we have found that one of the top requests from clients looking to refurbish their home is an additional guests' loo. This is not always possible but in this case the apartment had a small boiler/utility room adjacent to the main bathroom , making the transformation relatively easy to implement.
Working closely with a joiner, we were able to create a bespoke solution that helped accommodate within a rather small footprinted, the wc, boiler and hoover cupboard.
Storage
The most recent refurbishment of the property had made an attempt to create storage in the dressing room area of the bedroom. Unfortunately,, the overall result felt temporary and was insufficient .
A new full height bespoke wardrobe was built to best serve the needs of our client.
Natural light
Many buildings in London were extended over time to meet the needs of their owners and very often, those historical extensions result in a long footprint where one may find a windowless/ dark section in the middle.
One may assume that the easiest way to address this would be to add a window. However, in listed buildings such as this one or in buildings where there are leases in place, it is often not permitted.
Instead, our proposal (approved by the conservation officers but blocked by the board of directors) was to add a slim vertical window at the end of the corridor that separates the living and sleeping areas . This window would have allowed the client to borrow light from the west facing living room, making the home office less reliant on electricity.
