GARDEN MAISONETTE

ISLINGTON, NORTH LONDON, UK

The brief for this very tired 1 bed maisonette with tiny rooms over the lower and raised ground floors, was to create a spacious open plan kitchen/dining/living room with a designer look and feel and ample storage, for a young professional couple.

Petra achieved this by opening up and joining together two adjacent rooms and a narrow hallway on the ground floor. A central wall and the wall to the hall were removed and replaced with a steel frame. Lots of storage space was created in the kitchen alcoves and under the central kitchen island. All appliances and the boiler were built in so as to provide a clean and sleek look and feel. A floor to ceiling shelf unit in the previous hallway now provides ample space for the many books the couple has.

In the bedroom, floor to ceiling wardrobes were built in and around a defunct, opened up fireplace, where shelves now provide ample storage within the shallower middle part to put away all sweaters, shoes, handbags, accessories and other, leaving the room serene and clutter free.

On the lower ground floor with the entrance to the flat and access to the garden, the hallway was fully tiled and a former narrow but deep hall cupboard was integrated with the bathroom and to be used for the WC. so as to provide more privacy in a separate cubicle for the WC and by bringing it away from the window. The new luxury bathroom was to include a bathtub and large shower as well as storage cabinets, which have been positioned above and below the new vanity unit with an integrated basin.

Part of the former, rather large bathroom, was taken out for a utility area housing a washing machine, dryer, hoover, ironing board, etc. This is now accessible from the hallway and hidden behind a floor to ceiling sliding door.