Houzz Tour: A Stylish Courtyard Apartment in an East London Warehouse
Explore a ground floor courtyard apartment transformed by a clever conversion and factory-inspired interior décor
Kate Burt
19 February 2015
Houzz UK. I'm a journalist and editor, previously for the Independent, Guardian and various magazines. I'm now excited to part of the editorial team at Houzz UK & Ireland, bringing the best of British and Irish design, interiors and architecture to Houzz.com.
Houzz UK. I'm a journalist and editor, previously for the Independent, Guardian and... More
‘We love this industrial space: it’s so clean and BIG,’ says Harvey B-Brown of the east London Victorian warehouse flat he and his husband, Steven, moved into together from their respective former homes – ‘a chic town house in Hampstead’ (Harvey) and (Steven) a flat above the gastropub he had opened.
Nosing around the interior, you might be forgiven for thinking the mix of décor styles – from metal pieces with a factory feel to curly, rococo finishes – grew from a coming together of stuff from two households, neither architecturally like this urban pad. But, says Harvey, ‘we treated this place as a fresh start, and almost everything here is new to us.’ Less surprisingly, given his career in design and film direction, Harvey has taken a creative approach to the interior in this raw-edged, open-plan space. ‘It’s almost like a film studio,’ he says, ‘and we have created small sets in the open spaces.’
The apartment is on the ground floor of a three-storey building sensitively converted by Gideon Purser of Chris Dyson Architects. ‘When we started work,’ says Gideon, ‘the building had been used as offices, but it was originally a warehouse, early to mid-Victorian, though we’ve never been able to discover what was stored there. It was quite untouched inside, so there was lots of character.’
This industrial interior very much shaped the design direction. Gideon and his team worked almost entirely with oak, concrete and brick. ‘Just three materials in the palette,’ he says. ‘We kept our work to a light touch and let the original, old materials sing rather than compete.’
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Film director Harvey B-Brown and his husband, Steven Riseley
Location Shoreditch, London
Size 2 bedrooms (one with a walk-in wardrobe), 3 bathrooms
Architect Gideon Purser at Chris Dyson Architects
Photos by Peter Landers
Nosing around the interior, you might be forgiven for thinking the mix of décor styles – from metal pieces with a factory feel to curly, rococo finishes – grew from a coming together of stuff from two households, neither architecturally like this urban pad. But, says Harvey, ‘we treated this place as a fresh start, and almost everything here is new to us.’ Less surprisingly, given his career in design and film direction, Harvey has taken a creative approach to the interior in this raw-edged, open-plan space. ‘It’s almost like a film studio,’ he says, ‘and we have created small sets in the open spaces.’
The apartment is on the ground floor of a three-storey building sensitively converted by Gideon Purser of Chris Dyson Architects. ‘When we started work,’ says Gideon, ‘the building had been used as offices, but it was originally a warehouse, early to mid-Victorian, though we’ve never been able to discover what was stored there. It was quite untouched inside, so there was lots of character.’
This industrial interior very much shaped the design direction. Gideon and his team worked almost entirely with oak, concrete and brick. ‘Just three materials in the palette,’ he says. ‘We kept our work to a light touch and let the original, old materials sing rather than compete.’
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here Film director Harvey B-Brown and his husband, Steven Riseley
Location Shoreditch, London
Size 2 bedrooms (one with a walk-in wardrobe), 3 bathrooms
Architect Gideon Purser at Chris Dyson Architects
Photos by Peter Landers
There’s a bright welcome to the flat: the hallway is dominated by a bright yellow bust Harvey and Steven bought on a whim in Tel Aviv. ‘We both agreed it was “ugly beautiful”,’ says Harvey. It’s standing on an old ceramic pillar found in nearby Spitalfields Market. Harvey is well-known for his music videos and the mirror was a gift from Boy George.
The floors are polished concrete throughout. Chilly? Not with the underfloor heating Gideon installed. ‘They’re very warm,’ he says.
The floors are polished concrete throughout. Chilly? Not with the underfloor heating Gideon installed. ‘They’re very warm,’ he says.
One detail that isn’t original to the building is the enticing courtyard garden, which, with its lush living wall, acts as a huge, green artwork for the open-plan living area. Creating it was also the only chance of making the space habitable, since the other three walls are party walls and this was the only potential light source.
The courtyard has several details that really extend the size of the living area, as well as creating a calming urban outdoor retreat. When the doors are open, the green living wall ‘functions as a lung’, says Gideon. In addition, one wall of the courtyard is entirely mirrored – very thick glass attached with battening – and this gives the illusion of more garden. ‘When it went in, the amount of daylight also increased hugely,’ Gideon adds.
‘The living wall is self-watering and is a joy,’ says Harvey. ‘We grow a lot of herbs in the wall, which is always great for cooking and giving that amazing smell when we’re dining alfresco.’
Furniture set, Oceans. Living wall, Treebox.
Boston dining table, Timothy Oulton. Pendant lights, Decode.
The courtyard has several details that really extend the size of the living area, as well as creating a calming urban outdoor retreat. When the doors are open, the green living wall ‘functions as a lung’, says Gideon. In addition, one wall of the courtyard is entirely mirrored – very thick glass attached with battening – and this gives the illusion of more garden. ‘When it went in, the amount of daylight also increased hugely,’ Gideon adds.
‘The living wall is self-watering and is a joy,’ says Harvey. ‘We grow a lot of herbs in the wall, which is always great for cooking and giving that amazing smell when we’re dining alfresco.’
Furniture set, Oceans. Living wall, Treebox.
Boston dining table, Timothy Oulton. Pendant lights, Decode.
Gideon explains how this gorgeously green feature came about. ‘The original warehouses had a small set of loos where the courtyard now is. When the building was converted [into an office space] in the 1980s, the loos were removed, leaving a semi-derelict, dark space covered with a polycarbonate roof. We removed it, exposing the area to the sky, and this formed the outside space.’
Gideon’s team removed an entire wall and put in a large steel beam – which you can see here – as support. ‘This allowed us to open up the room to the kitchen-diner as well as to the courtyard,’ he explains.
And if you’re wondering about the figurines decorating the beam, they were a gift from Harvey’s brother, who was working for a design brand with a bulldog as a logo. ‘We just loved the logo,’ he says, ‘so he bought us a whole set!’
And if you’re wondering about the figurines decorating the beam, they were a gift from Harvey’s brother, who was working for a design brand with a bulldog as a logo. ‘We just loved the logo,’ he says, ‘so he bought us a whole set!’
Harvey describes his and Steven’s style as ‘eclectic’. ‘I tend to be a minimalist, but with maximal tendencies, while Steve is a brutalist but with sentimental tendencies,’ he explains. ‘But we’ve found a middle ground: we both love order. Our work as freelancers is so chaotic that we really need a sense of calm in our home life.’
The couple chose the vast green leather sofa, which dominates the living space, because they wanted somewhere big enough for entertaining lots of people. ‘We loved the acid olive,’ Harvey says. ‘The style and colour remind us of a traditional gentlemen’s club, but with a twist.’
Custom sofa, Ligne Roset. Fashion artwork, Sharon Pinsker. Cute Cut coffee tables, Roche Bobois.
The couple chose the vast green leather sofa, which dominates the living space, because they wanted somewhere big enough for entertaining lots of people. ‘We loved the acid olive,’ Harvey says. ‘The style and colour remind us of a traditional gentlemen’s club, but with a twist.’
Custom sofa, Ligne Roset. Fashion artwork, Sharon Pinsker. Cute Cut coffee tables, Roche Bobois.
The kitchen worktops are all Silestone, a quartz composite that looks similar to concrete. ‘Concrete isn’t great for a kitchen, as it’s sensitive to stains and acid,’ says Gideon, ‘but we wanted the worktops to visually match the concrete floor.’
The giant Wizard of Oz photograph on the far wall is not quite what it seems, either. ‘Dorothy is a photograph of drag queen Vanity Fair, by photographer Magnus Hastings,’ says Harvey. ‘All the builders were saying how “fit” she looks… We didn’t have the heart to tell them she’s a man.’
Vase, Jonathan Adler. Fridge, Samsung.
The giant Wizard of Oz photograph on the far wall is not quite what it seems, either. ‘Dorothy is a photograph of drag queen Vanity Fair, by photographer Magnus Hastings,’ says Harvey. ‘All the builders were saying how “fit” she looks… We didn’t have the heart to tell them she’s a man.’
Vase, Jonathan Adler. Fridge, Samsung.
The wall here looks like a giant mirror, but is, in fact, glass. It creates a separated study area, but one still connected to the main living area, from where it borrows light. The ornate desk was an eBay find.
‘I wanted to write my feature film in our new home,’ says Harvey, ‘and was looking for a big desk that had an aura. This desk screams “sit here and write something IMPORTANT” and that’s exactly what I’ve done.’
Louis Ghost chair by Kartell, available at Made in Design. Vintage chandelier, Follies of Folkstone. Pendant lights, Decode.
‘I wanted to write my feature film in our new home,’ says Harvey, ‘and was looking for a big desk that had an aura. This desk screams “sit here and write something IMPORTANT” and that’s exactly what I’ve done.’
Louis Ghost chair by Kartell, available at Made in Design. Vintage chandelier, Follies of Folkstone. Pendant lights, Decode.
Another trick to bring more light into the flat is the rooflight above the kitchen area. It is, in fact, a section of the upstairs neighbours’ terrace. ‘There’s a clause in their contract that states they aren’t allowed to put any furniture over it,’ says Gideon. The large, oak-lined internal window, which doubles as a little seat, also lets light flood into the hallway behind it.
In order to upgrade the insulation, Gideon had the building insulated from the outside and then rendered – it meant they were able to leave the brickwork inside visible. The bricks are the original warehouse walls and the unpainted ones, in the kitchen, have been treated with a clear matt sealer to make them easier to wipe clean.
Harvey and Steven’s grand piano is a 1901 Bechstein that has been re-veneered in American walnut and sycamore wood. Steven is learning to play, and Harvey is using it to write his musical feature film. ‘We also know lots of musicians,’ says Harvey. ‘As the piano is such a large piece of furniture, we decided to buy something that looks beautiful and sounds fantastic.’
With the original brickwork to consider, Gideon didn’t want to start cutting into walls to rewire the place. The solution was to surface-mount the wiring, encasing it in galvanised metal conduits. ‘There was already a lot of that here,’ he says, ‘and it was in keeping with the building.’
The metal drawers were a find at Kempton Park market, while the wardrobe just visible in the hallway, which is used for guest coats, was a market find from Paris. ‘I’ve always wanted one since being a child,’ says Harvey. ‘It’s a doorway to Narnia!’ Steven wired in hidden LED lighting, which gives off a soft, romantic glow after dark.
Discover the secrets of successful second-hand furniture shopping
The metal drawers were a find at Kempton Park market, while the wardrobe just visible in the hallway, which is used for guest coats, was a market find from Paris. ‘I’ve always wanted one since being a child,’ says Harvey. ‘It’s a doorway to Narnia!’ Steven wired in hidden LED lighting, which gives off a soft, romantic glow after dark.
Discover the secrets of successful second-hand furniture shopping
‘This is the most comfortable bed on the planet,’ says Harvey. ‘The headboard is designed like pilot seats in a fighter plane. Because the bed is so huge and low, it tends to collect a pocket of warm air from the underfloor heating, so it’s always cosy in winter!’
Tomcat bed, Timothy Oulton.
Tomcat bed, Timothy Oulton.
The couple also have a walk-in wardrobe to keep the bedroom clear of clutter.
The apartment as it looks from the outside. ‘The street has more warehouses on it, all quite well preserved,’ says Gideon. ‘This was the largest in the row.’
TELL US…
What do you think of this warehouse flat? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
TELL US…
What do you think of this warehouse flat? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
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This is so not my style which tends toward shabby chic (minus the unpainted/falling apart look). However, it is fabulous! I am love with it. Almost all of what they did is perfect. I especially like the smart way they handled brick, which I love, but always wondered how to keep it clean.
Oh, and the Dorothy is a hoot! (Dorothy, what amazing biceps you have!)