We’ve been working on an interior design project in London’s Clerkenwell over the last year, redesigning a flat on Clerkenwell Road for a professional couple who already lived in the area.
They loved this part of Clerkenwell and had been looking for a property to buy in the same pockets of streets that they already lived in.
The works have just finished and the building site has transformed into a beautiful home.
Background to the Clerkenwell Interior Design Project
This flat was in need of refurbishment, and the clients were also keen to explore how the layout could be improved. In the compact properties that are more common in central London, and especially around Clerkenwell and Farringdon in the City of London, changes to the layout can make a huge difference. Even small tweaks to the design of the interior – how we move within a space, what we see and experience as we live in the home – can make a huge impact on the experience of living there.
Redesigning the Layout of this London Flat
The layout was redesigned to make the space work harder, using broken plan designing to make more of the open spaces and the natural light they enjoy, as well as the views over the City of London’s rooftops.
At the same time I believe it’s crucial that individual functions each retained their sense of personal scale, and that the mixed functionality feels natural and flows harmoniously.
Concept Design and Clerkenwell’s History
The design concept for the interior reflected the style of the clients, and also suggested the history of the Clerkenwell area, and the heritage of those who have lived here.
For centuries the Fleet River made the area a main part of the water supply network in London, and this map of 13th century London shows the river passing through ‘Clerks Well’ at the top. It’s fascinating to see that Smithfield’s Market used to be called ‘Smoothfield Cattle Market’, its location presumably chosen because of its amenable terrain.
The road layout from Clerkenwell to Smithfields is still the same today, showing St John Street and Turnmill Street. There would have been mills on the river of course, but with most of London’s rivers now buried, covered or repurposed, the connections are no longer obvious from the street.
The plentiful water supply drew brewers and distillers to the area, before crafts, printmakers and clockmakers made Clerkenwell their home. Throughout the 19th century they were joined by a large number of Italian immigrants, and the area become known as Little Italy.
These influences and the story of the area have been subtly woven into the design, through materials, textures, sources and details.
Construction work
As is usual for us, we handled all of the permissions for the project on behalf of the clients, including liaising with the RTM Management Company and securing the Licence to Alter for the works. In the layout of this flat, we opened up the hallway with a Crittal glass partition to bring natural light through into the hallway, and for a fabulous view when entering the flat.
We were able to gain permission for these changes, while also considering the requirements of Building Regulations, especially technical requirements relating to fire containment. Here we specified fire-rated glass to protect the means of escape from the flat, and ultimately to allow us to make this profound change to the layout and design of the flat.
Once underway, we worked closely with our contractors on the project, we completed the new interior whilst also rectifying existing problems.
Joinery design and installation
Fitted joinery is often a large part of these central London projects, and this one was no different. In conjunction with layout refinements, the design and installation of custom joinery can have a huge impact on the amount of storage space, its functionality, and also its appearance of course. It’s an opportunity to enhance the decorative scheme of the interior too, as our designs aren’t limited by off-the-shelf-furniture.
Our custom-designed joinery is unique for each project and the needs of each individual client, and it’s an important element of their new home. In this projects we incorporated lots of storage space, seamlessly hidden behind sleek doors with a contemporary handleless design.
This interior design project is now complete and our clients are loving their new home. I can’t wait to show you the finished project soon.
We also loved working in this part of London and getting to know it better over the last couple of years. Read more here about how we loved Clerkenwell and discovering more of this part of the City of London.
