To dwell and establish connections with a place is a basic human necessity often combined, amongst other things, with light and is performed in association with the elements that generate it, be they natural or artificial. And in the renovation of this purpose-built first floor flat in a quiet residential street in Kennington, the use of light in its varied forms is adopted to modulate the space and create a brand new dwelling, adapted to modern living standards. From the intentionally darkened entrance lobby at the lower ground floor – as seen in Mackintosh’s Hill House – one is led to a brighter upper level where the insertion of wide pivot doors creates a flexible open plan centred around an unfinished plaster box-like pod. Kitchen and living room are connected and use a stair balustrade that doubles as a bench seat; this allows the landing to become an extension of the kitchen/dining area - rather than being merely circulation space – with a new external view towards the landscaped terrace at the rear. The attic space is converted: a modernist black box, clad in natural slate tiles and with a wide sliding window, is inserted in the rear roof slope to accommodate a bedroom and a bathroom. A new relationship can eventually be established with all new and existing exterior openings, now visible from the former landing space: traditional timber sash windows are re-introduced to replace unsightly UPVC frames, and skylights are put in to direct one’s view outwards and upwards. photo: Gianluca Maver

Simple Ensuite details. Photo by Rhiannon Slatter.
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This light and airy kitchen was painted in a Farrow and Ball green, with raised and fielded panels throughout . All the cupboards have adjustable shelves and all the drawers have a painted Farrow and Ball cock beaded face frame surround and are internally made of European oak set on hidden under mounted soft close runners. The island has a thick solid European oak worktop, while the rest of the worktops throughout the kitchen are green limestone with bull nosed edging and have a shaped upstand with a fine line inset detail just below the top. The main oven range is a Wolf with an extractor above it individually designed by Tim Wood with the motor set in the attic in a sound insulated box. Beside the large Sub-zero fridge/freezer there is a Gaggenau oven and Gaggenau steam oven. The two sinks are classic ceramic under mounted with a Maxmatic 5000 waste disposal in one of them, with Barber Wilsons nickel plated taps above. Designed, hand built and photographed by Tim Wood

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