Houzz Tour: An East London School Transformed into a Contemporary Home
Thoughtful reconfiguration and savvy design choices transformed this dated flat into a creative city sanctuary with an industrial edge
It’s not everyday a designer gets the chance to work on a converted school building, so when the opportunity came up, interior designer Laura Lakin jumped at it. Welcoming the unusual features that come with converted buildings – high ceilings, exposed ductwork and raw brickwork – Laura set about changing the layout and updating the aesthetic to create a contemporary, Scandinavian-with-an-industrial-edge penthouse apartment in which two creative professionals could live, work and host friends.
The living space is open-plan and serves as kitchen, dining area, entertaining space and office. The clients wanted something very clean on the walls to allow their constantly evolving art collection to stand out. An overhead projector plays onto the blank wall opposite – perfect for relaxed evenings spent watching a good film.
‘The school had been converted into apartments in the 1990s, and hadn’t really been touched since,’ says Lakin. ‘There were laminate floors throughout, glass bricks dividing rooms and the use of space was far from ideal.’ To make the layout work better, Lakin reconfigured it entirely. As it’s fairly compact in size, she added internal windows to allow light to flow between rooms, increasing the sense of space throughout.
Blind fabric, Romo. Sofa, Graham & Green. Desk legs and rug, Ikea. Desk chairs, Adventures in Furniture.
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‘The school had been converted into apartments in the 1990s, and hadn’t really been touched since,’ says Lakin. ‘There were laminate floors throughout, glass bricks dividing rooms and the use of space was far from ideal.’ To make the layout work better, Lakin reconfigured it entirely. As it’s fairly compact in size, she added internal windows to allow light to flow between rooms, increasing the sense of space throughout.
Blind fabric, Romo. Sofa, Graham & Green. Desk legs and rug, Ikea. Desk chairs, Adventures in Furniture.
Check out 9 style lessons to steal from the Nordics
As the flat was designed for young professionals, Lakin went for a high bar table rather than an ordinary dining table. ‘It’s a bit younger and goes with the loft feel,’ she explains. ‘The idea is that when guests come over, it can be pulled into the centre of the room to accommodate eight people.’
Table, Maisons du Monde. Pendant lights, Secto Octo at John Lewis.
Table, Maisons du Monde. Pendant lights, Secto Octo at John Lewis.
The master bedroom is accessed from the front hallway; a narrow corridor with built-in wardrobes leads into a calming sleep space. Lakin kept the lines clean and the look minimal to allow the artwork to speak. The piece above the bed is by Dutch photographer Kylli Sparre.
‘With the high ceiling, it made sense to have a four-poster bed,’ says Lakin, ‘but I wanted it to be contemporary, and so went for a minimal white design.’ For lighting, the designer kept it simple and clean, with low-hanging, exposed bulbs.
Bed, Get Laid Beds. Artwork, by Kylli Sparre.
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‘With the high ceiling, it made sense to have a four-poster bed,’ says Lakin, ‘but I wanted it to be contemporary, and so went for a minimal white design.’ For lighting, the designer kept it simple and clean, with low-hanging, exposed bulbs.
Bed, Get Laid Beds. Artwork, by Kylli Sparre.
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A mesh pendant hanging at the end of the bed adds drama without blocking the light or encroaching on the space. ‘I wanted this light to be see-through because of the art wall behind it, but still be a statement piece,’ Lakin explains. The blind fabric is a little bolder in this room and introduces some colour into the space.
Blind fabric, Romo.
Blind fabric, Romo.
Lakin used an internal steel window between the bedroom and otherwise windowless en suite. The door is thick and sturdy, adding to the industrial edge. Inside the shower room, black and white marble tiles echo the splashback in the kitchen and adds a note of luxury.
The en suite contains a shower and basin, plus a sliding pocket door that leads onto a small room (which can also be accessed from the entrance hall) containing a toilet and wash-hand basin.
Tiles, Fired Earth.
The en suite contains a shower and basin, plus a sliding pocket door that leads onto a small room (which can also be accessed from the entrance hall) containing a toilet and wash-hand basin.
Tiles, Fired Earth.
The basin unit in the en suite was made bespoke by Lakin. ‘I wanted to create symmetry in terms of design,’ she says. She repeated the shower tiles here and installed wall lights either side of the mirror for efficient lighting.
Taps, Dornbracht. Tiles, Fired Earth.
Taps, Dornbracht. Tiles, Fired Earth.
A small wash-hand basin in the cloakroom part of the en suite means the pocket door can be completely shut between here and the shower room when guests are over. Lakin designed the unit bespoke in square black tiles.
Cloud Over Rum artwork by Kieran Austin. Sink and tap, Bathstore.
Cloud Over Rum artwork by Kieran Austin. Sink and tap, Bathstore.
A second bedroom sits on the other side of the living area, with a large internal window (out of shot at the foot of the bed, and seen earlier above the sofa) connecting the two rooms. The statement light is made from bamboo with fabric attached. ‘I couldn’t have a big pendant in the living room because of the projector, so I wanted something in this bedroom that you could see from the living room,’ Lakin explains.
The designer went for curtains in this room. ‘I would have put curtains everywhere,’ she says, ‘but this is the only place where they worked. I think they give a more romantic, elegant feel to the room.’ Rather than keep the original brickwork raw, she decided to paint it white. ‘Some think it’s quite a controversial move,’ she says, ‘but they were in very bad condition, and I wanted the artwork to be able to take centre stage.’ An exposed pipe teams with the original steel-framed windows to give the room its industrial edge.
Z1 pendant light, Bodie and Fou. Bed, Ikea.
The designer went for curtains in this room. ‘I would have put curtains everywhere,’ she says, ‘but this is the only place where they worked. I think they give a more romantic, elegant feel to the room.’ Rather than keep the original brickwork raw, she decided to paint it white. ‘Some think it’s quite a controversial move,’ she says, ‘but they were in very bad condition, and I wanted the artwork to be able to take centre stage.’ An exposed pipe teams with the original steel-framed windows to give the room its industrial edge.
Z1 pendant light, Bodie and Fou. Bed, Ikea.
In the floor plan you can see how the spaces interconnect. The hallway used to be slightly bigger and led into a dining room, with a bedroom where the seating area now is. The living room was where the second bedroom now is, and the kitchen was in the top right corner, where there is now a second bathroom (not pictured).
TELL US…
What do you think of this contemporary flat in east London? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
TELL US…
What do you think of this contemporary flat in east London? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here Two young and creative professionals
Location Hackney, east London
Size 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms
Designer Laura Lakin of Laura Lakin Design
The entrance to this flat is through a little hallway to the left of the kitchen. Designer Laura Lakin painted it black, so guests walk through a dark space before coming into the much lighter living area. ‘I wanted to play with the duality of light and dark,’ she says. ‘The living space is very light, but the kitchen carries on the black theme from the hall.’
The black kitchen adds drama to the space, and the materials used – a black granite worktop and a veined black marble splashback – give it a luxurious edge.
Oven and hob, Siemens. Sink, Franke. Wall light, Holloways of Ludlow.