Reclaimed Wood Issue 10 — Modern Eclectics

A “Modern Victorian” Loft in London by Mark Lewis

Margot Guralnick March 6, 2017

It’s the kind of project every designer dreams of: a vast, raw space—in this case, a well-located London loft stripped down to its brick and mortar—and the freedom to “do what you do best.”

What Mark Lewis does best could be defined as channeling the past and improving upon it. Here, he was asked to not only transform an empty shell into a glamorous two-bedroom apartment but to furnish it down to the pots and pans. “And to add soul,” he says.

Lewis’s client is the owner of a tech company who bought the property with an eye to creating a high-style, fully furnished rental. Lewis, in turn, took inspiration from the century-old building itself and reimagined the setup as a modern Victorian loft.

Photography by Rory Gardiner, courtesy of Mark Lewis Interior Design.

the expansive kitchen stretches along one wall for nearly \20 feet. lewis tells 9 — Above: The expansive kitchen stretches along one wall for nearly 20 feet. Lewis tells us that whenever possible, he avoids having kitchen cabinets turn a corner: “If you keep the joinery simple and in a row, it doesn’t have the air of a fitted kitchen.”

The cabinets are made of salvaged pine roof boards, one of several key elements in Lewis’s arsenal that he’s begun offering on his site. The floor is original and was unearthed under layers of weatherproofing material. “We had to remove and clean each plank and then reassemble it all,” says Lewis. “We used motorized brush tools to remove the dirt. But I don’t sand because it strips the top layer and you can lose a lot of character.”

&#8\2\20;every detail considered,&#8\2\2\1; is lewis&#8\2\17;s mott 10 — “Every detail considered,” is Lewis’s motto. Against the preserved weathered brick, he introduced a double-basin sink from Baileys and solid brass Tradition Mixer Faucet by Aston Matthews. The Cast Bronze Draining Rack and Cast Bronze Soap Draining Rack are from his new reproduction hardware collection.

the salvaged pine cabinets have cast bronze gareth pull handles and are topped 11 — Above: The salvaged pine cabinets have cast-bronze Gareth Pull Handles and are topped with 40-millimeter (2.4-inch)-thick honed Carrara marble. The Fréderic Périgot for Rossignol trashcan is a Remodelista favorite—see The Last Trash Bin You’ll Ever Buy (it’s available in the US from ABC Carpet & Home as the Frisbee Trash Bin).

Inexpensive custom industrial lights run along the perimeter of the loft: “We didn’t want to damage the fabric of the building, so I came up with surface-mounted designs,” says Lewis. “In the kitchen, we used galvanized conduit with aged bronze wall lights that fit well in a factory environment.”

one of the nicest elements in the loft is the tiled pantry, which doubles as a 12 — Above: One of the nicest elements in the loft is the tiled pantry, which doubles as a wine cellar. There are marble-finished shelves for produce and wooden shelves for dry goods.

Hidden luxury: A refrigeration unit commonly used in wine cellars is tucked in a black box high on the wall just beyond the coffee shelf (where it goes through to a utility room in back), so in warm weather, the space stays cool.

&#8\2\20;walking around the apartment when it was stripped out, you had thi 13 — Above: “Walking around the apartment when it was stripped out, you had this amazing sense of space and light,” says Lewis. “I didn’t want to lose that, so almost all of the walls we introduced are partial and topped with glazing.”

The original steel beams are newly painted and finished with inserts of old wood (behind which hide some wiring). The filler-joist constructed ceiling was sand-blasted and then left as is.

designer mark lewis sits on an antique bench in the office area outside the bed 14 — Above: Designer Mark Lewis sits on an antique bench in the office area outside the bedrooms. He made the sconces here using adjustable bronze knuckles and filament bulbs on dimmers: “They create a halo of light around the loft.

Of the rescued floor, Lewis says: “Because it had so much traffic in its factory days, the undulations are quite dramatic: The knots are mountainous! We finished it with wax and it’s great; the amount of soul in that floor is off the charts.”

a floating shelf of steel and salvaged floor joists serves as a partition. lewi 15 — Above: A floating shelf of steel and salvaged floor joists serves as a partition. Lewis further defined the living area of the loft with homey tongue-and-groove paneling painted a blue called Prague from Eicó, which says it offers “the lowest VOC percentage of any paint in the UK market”.

Interested? Go to Remodeling 101: All You Need to Know About VOCs in Paint.

the bedroom is a symphony of blue and white. the custom headboard is upholstere 16 — Above: The bedroom is a symphony of blue and white. The custom headboard is upholstered in Divina 3 893, a wool from Kvadrat, and flanked by simple built-in bedside tables. The wallpaper is Sunburst Green, a wavy lined Italian-inspired pattern from Robert Kime.

Lewis notes that he “softened” the sconces in the bedroom by adding swan necks—and he sized the pine paneling so the lights could be positioned in the middle of the seven-inch wide boards.

clerestory windows allow the light to travel all over the loft. mark designed 17 — Above: Clerestory windows allow the light to travel all over the loft. Mark designed the door frames with square edges “in order to give a utilitarian feel with no need for an architrave.” He sourced the reconditioned metal radiators from Salvage Doctor.

a walled up elevator shaft was a surprise discovery. unearthed during construc 18 — Above: A walled-up elevator shaft was a surprise discovery. Unearthed during construction, it was transformed into a closet with built-in drawers and its original battered wood doors.

the bathroom, like the pantry, is lined in metro white subway tile, which, lew 19 — Above: The bathroom, like the pantry, is lined in Metro White subway tile, which, Lewis says, is another detail he was able to economize on: “There are a lot of subway tile options out there; these cost next to nothing and they work well.” He uses off-white grout—”white gets dirt; gray looks too graphic.”

An antique mahogany-framed mirror hangs above a concrete shelf. The sink and faucets are both from Aston Matthews (Lewis says the sink is a special order).

the rolltop bathtub is an astonian epoca from aston matthews; made of cast iron 20 — Above: The rolltop bathtub is an Astonian Epoca from Aston Matthews; made of cast iron, it’s painted with Farrow & Ball Railings.

The floor is patterned with nine-inch-square Reclaimed Quarry Tiles, which Lewis offers on his site; “they’re outdoor tiles used in factories and school courtyards.”