Richard Atkins, MD of DesignSpace London, reveals how he and his team consistently used colours, materials and hardworking storage to bring his vision for a full-house remodel to life.
Q: What type of property was it in and who was the project for?
A: The property is a handsome period property close to Primrose Hill. The garden backs on to Primrose Hill with a gate that takes you directly into the park. The clients are a family with one teenage son who lives at home. They moved from another property on the same road and they have renovated many other properties together so have a clear idea of what they like and what works for them as a family.
Q: What was the brief from the client for this project?
A: The brief from the client was to use interesting colours and materials and for us to design storage solutions that work with how they intended to use each area of the property. This bathroom is a relatively large space and the client wanted a dressing room space as well as a bath and shower.
Q: How did you go about meeting the brief?
A: My main objective is to interpret what is important to each client individually rather than imparting a given style to every project. When I approach a new project with a client my main aim is to help them to create something that represents their style. We use our extensive experience to guide clients to find solutions that work both aesthetically and functionally.
Q: How did you go about creating cohesion between all the different rooms you were working on?
A: At least some of the colours or details are consistent throughout the project. We have generally used tones of green or pink for the cabinet doors punctuated with darker accents. We have used a dark island and sink worktop in the kitchen, and then used dark taps and dark handles for almost all of the cabinets – this gives a coordinated feel without having exactly the same colours everywhere.
Q: What were the challenges you faced when working across a whole house?
A: Working across a whole house meant that we had to create solutions for areas that had different functional requirements and budgets. This meant creating consistency across all areas but with various constraints. To make best use of the budget we made the wardrobes for some of the bedrooms from a modular system and then created others with bespoke doors. We used the same finish for the kitchen and utility room but made the utility room with plain doors and the kitchen with a shaker style frame which is a bit more involved.
Q: Are there any advantages to doing a full house as opposed to individual rooms?
A: Working to renovate a whole house gives the opportunity to consider the relationship between all spaces at once. It means that the design team are aware of the complete picture in terms of aesthetic and the knock-on effect of any decisions that are made.
Q: What is your favourite part of the finished project?
A: My favourite part of the project is the stone on the kitchen island – the patterns and colours are so interesting and perfectly complement the colour of the kitchen units.
Q: Are there any design elements you're particularly proud of?
A: I think the way that the bathroom and dressing room work – the shape of the room was quite difficult and I think that we have made good use of this area to incorporate all of the clients requirements to the space while keeping it visually interesting and very functional.
Q: Which parts of the new design does the client love?
A: The clients particularly like the entrance lobby area – this was previously a larger space without any storage space. We have utilised some of this area and added lots of storage for coats, shoes and boots. We used a punchy green colour for these doors with a wood grain and brass handles to make the area bright and vibrant.
