Small-Space Living in London: A Stylish Historic Renovation

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“It wasn’t a house and it had no details you’d feel bad about getting rid of, so we could sort of do what we wanted.” Textile designer Eleanor Pritchard—our Material Girl—is talking about the converted flour storage building with its own tiny courtyard in East London that she and her husband, Peter Pritchard, purchased 12 years ago. The plan: after years of living in a 1930s apartment with detailing that they found “quite prescriptive,” the two creatives—Peter is a lighting designer—wanted to start from the ground up. The couple enlisted just-launched architecture firm Al-Jawad Pike to take their 1880s structure back to its original footprint and build a two-story house on the compact site.

While preserving the original brick front walls, architects Jessam Al-Jawad and Dean Pike (both formerly of David Chipperfield) devised an inventive contemporary cube-like solution that makes the most of the space and washes the interior in natural light. It was completed in 2015, and the couple, now ready for a new creative project maybe outside of the city, have put their place on the market with The Modern House. We ourselves are ready to move in. Come see.

Photography courtesy of The Modern House.

the house, tucked behind the blue door, was originally the storeroom for the ba 17 — Above: The house, tucked behind the blue door, was originally the storeroom for the bakery next door, now converted into two apartments. It’s on Ezra Street, just off Columbia Road, home to a lively Sunday flower market and lots of cafes. (Shoreditch is also just steps away.) All of the structures on the historic block are composed of the classic yellowish brick known as London stock.

eleanor in her garden: &#8\2\20;what’s nice is that when we want to 18 — Above: Eleanor in her garden: “What’s nice is that when we want to join in, everything is right at our doorstep,” she says. “And when we’re done, we can retire to this insulated little haven.” Growing in her pots are several trees—quince, olive, and bay—plus “lots of ferns and a few succulents.”

eleanor painted a collection of vintage army ammunition cases gray and put them 19 — Above: Eleanor painted a collection of vintage army ammunition cases gray and put them to use as planters. The paving is gray engineering bricks.

steel framed glass doors lead into the front hall and the dining room. 20 — Above: Steel-framed glass doors lead into the front hall and the dining room.

“Nestled within a very confined space between buildings, the existing interior spaces lacked sunlight,” explain the architects. “Our idea was to create a new linear box spanning along the back of the house that accommodates the kitchen and dining area. The outer walls to this volume are lined in oak and framed by a new large glass roof that brings daylight into the heart of the home.”

eleanor and peter met as students at the university of birmingham: he was study 21 — Above: Eleanor and Peter met as students at the University of Birmingham: he was studying English literature and Russian and she was studying history. They both changed paths and re-trained: Eleanor has a degree in textile design from the Chelsea College of Arts and Peter focused on lighting design at The University College London Bartlett School.

Their flour storage structure was initially converted into a dwelling in the 1980s, a low-budget job that they lived in for a while but always planned to redo.

oak slatted walls introduce pattern and nuance to the space; they&#8\2\17;r 22 — Above: Oak slatted walls introduce pattern and nuance to the space; they’re lit by a glass roof. Vintage Ercol All-Purpose Chairs surround an Angle Table by Unto This Last, located on nearby Brick Lane.

The downstairs floor is polished asphalt: “It’s a material that Dean had seen used in the Turner Contemporary project while he was at Chipperfield, ” explains Eleanor. “It has the feel of a black terrazzo, and its advantage over concrete is that it can be poured in a relatively thin, impermeable layer. (The asphalt is mixed with your choice of color and size of stone—we went for quite small gray granite—poured at a hot temperature and then polished and sealed.) It runs throughout the ground floor, which creates a sense of openness.”

a slot shelf serves as an art display. drain pipes for the glazed roof are acce 23 — Above: A slot shelf serves as an art display. Drain pipes for the glazed roof are accessible from the door behind the table. “What was great about Jessam and Dean,” says Eleanor, “was the way they could see what could be done spatially. There are so many details they thought up that make the house a real pleasure to live in.”

the continuous skylight runs from the dining room to the adjacent kitchen. the 24 — Above: The continuous skylight runs from the dining room to the adjacent kitchen. The window above the sink overlooks the entry and living area. The interior is 658 square feet.

the kitchen has 4 millimeter thick stainless steel counters and an inset sink a 25 — Above: The kitchen has 4-millimeter-thick stainless-steel counters and an inset sink-and-a-half with incorporated drying area—all sourced from an industrial kitchen supplier.

Overhead, Ikea Grundtal storage rails have been put to good use. (For more inspiration, see Ultimate Budget Storage: 10 Kitchens with Ikea’s Grundtal Rail System. N.B.: Ikea recently replaced the Grundtal with a similar stainless-steel rail called Kungsfors.)

the kitchen cabinets are faced with the same oak used for the slatting. the mat 26 — Above: The kitchen cabinets are faced with the same oak used for the slatting. The matte-glazed tiles, sourced from Domus, are set off by dark gray grout. Fridge and freezer are concealed under the counter; the stove and cooktop are by Smeg, and there’s no dishwasher: “we’re old-school washer uppers,” says Eleanor.

the glass roof extends to the end of the kitchen. alongside open pantry shelves 27 — Above: The glass roof extends to the end of the kitchen. Alongside open pantry shelves, an inset wall cabinet holds glassware.

the white tiles and oak detailing reappear in the bathroom located between the 28 — Above: The white tiles and oak detailing reappear in the bathroom located between the kitchen and reception room. That’s a towel rail/radiator on the wall.

built in shelving runs along the sink and shower (the room also has a storage c 29 — Above: Built-in shelving runs along the sink and shower (the room also has a storage cupboard large enough to incorporate the washing machine).

The lighting throughout the house is by Peter, who is co-owner of Pritchard Themis, a lighting design company specializing in large architectural projects of all sorts: “In our house we have a mix of slim, inset dimmable LED systems that give a lovely warm wash to the oak paneling at night; small, inset dimmable spots for the paintings; and the linear LEDs in the bathroom above and below the mirror and in the shower (they have the feel of mid-century architect’s lamps).”