Project Description
SOUTH LONDON, UK
SMALL CITY GARDEN FLAT
A small, totally derelict flat with bad damp problems was to be converted into a smart, urban flat suitable for letting to a young professional couple, with ample space for storage and with entertaining space for several friends.
The kitchen was renovated such that it now includes a spacious dining table for entertaining. All appliances have been built in to give it the desired designer look. The area in the bay window was set up with ample sockets below and above the work surface to provide an office/work area. Ample storage throughout the kitchen also allows for office type storage. The washing machine and boiler have been skilfully hidden in the small utility room/corridor leading into the bathroom and garden.
In the small hall leading into the kitchen, cupboards were custom built under the stairs to provide a wardrobe for coats and shoes plus ample extra storage. The gas and electricity meters were also housed there in the lowest section under the stairs. The doors were covered in mirrors so as to provide a lot more brightness to the dark hall and give the illusion of space. They were inset slightly so that a strip of down lights could be fitted over the doors to provide ample lighting. The door closest to the kitchen was measured and built such that when open functions as the door to the kitchen, with a mirror also to the inside the door.
The totally derelict garden (as featured on the BBC’s “Don’t get done, get Dom”) was covered in decking with built in seating to 3 sides, and as such turned into a low maintenance urban garden that now provides ample seating, mood lighting and outdoor entertaining space, that has practically no need for gardening or garden furniture, other than a table.
A decked area was therefore created that would not only provide all of the above but also includes some storage space under it so that some gardening tools, paint pots, a pram or bicycle, could find a home too. With the addition of a few big planters and low maintenance plants this still gives the feeling of a ‘garden’ without the need for ‘gardening’.
