Our brief was to transform an existing dark and underused ground floor and old conservatory into a simple, fluid and unified space. Having no children but two cats, our clients wanted some features especially for the cats, but for themselves they required only space, with almost no furniture or decoration.
A simple and clean space is more challenging to create than a busy heavily designed space, every detail is extremely important, as well as the choice of materials. A hidden-when-open door is the only potential barrier within the open ground floor. A double-sided fireplace opens to both the reception area and the kitchen, creating glimpses between them. A single dividing wall gives privacy to the shower room while its top surface provides a catwalk for their cats to enjoy. To create a sense of separation in the open plan we dropped the level of the kitchen and installed a polished concrete floor. A central island provides additional workspace and flexibility for the rest of the space via a hidden, slide out kitchen table.