003 Camden Maisonette
London (UK)

Area: 120m²
Type: Full Interior Renovation
Status: Complete
Year: 2023-24

Camden Maisonette is part of a terrace located at the end of a mews in North London. Originally built just over 100 years ago, the building type is fairly conventional and as such the previous occupants used the space in a fairly typical manner - all the living spaces accessed from a more private circulation core. Since the client was not intending the occupy the house in the manner of a 'normal' nuclear family, as it was originally designed, we were able to approach the renovation with a more experimental attitude.

To enable the living areas to feel more open, without defaulting to the conventional 'open plan', the doorway to the lounge was significantly enlarged, allowing westerly light to flood the space. A diagonal from the extreme corners of the house was subsequently created, making the interior feel much more generous in size, and connecting the living areas to the south-facing terrace, without the whole area visible at once. Previously the main bathroom was located in the middle of the plan, but the client wanted natural light and ventilation. The bathroom was therefore moved to the front of the house, accessed via a walk in wardrobe that creates an en filade from the main bedroom, or a smaller door from the spare room.

Several existing bedrooms were sacrificied in the renovation; one bedroom to the rear of the maisonette became a small music studio, to house the client's extensive record collection and equipment required for recording late-night radio shows. The other bedroom at the very top of the house became a sauna, overlooking the greenery of the gardens behind.