Internal reconfiguration of a main door tenement flat in a conservation area.
The vision
When Eilidh and Roddy came to us about their project, they’d done their research. Armed with a series of evocative images that spoke of warmth and material tactility, they knew what they wanted to achieve.
Their existing ground floor flat, part of a subdivided Georgian villa in Pollokshields, had its kitchen located in a single storey projection into the garden to the rear. It felt uncomfortable, disconnected from the rest of the property in a surprisingly dark room. The dining room – a well proportioned space with a classic high ceiling and ornate cornicing – was little more than a thoroughfare to the kitchen, and the convoluted route to the hall via the lobby exacerbated this further.
The plan was to create a space suited to living, with the kitchen being the heart and soul of the home.
The conclusion
We proposed the kitchen was pulled towards the centre of the flat, into the former dining room, with a door leading straight to the hall – making the room the convivial centre of the home. This change in access meant we could form a larder in the old entrance lobby at one end of the kitchen.
The ceiling within the garden projection was removed to expose the roof ties, and a new roof light introduced. Window sills were dropped, and a new frameless set of windows formed to improve connection to the garden – creating a bright day room. Adjacent to the back door, we proposed a utility box to house washing machines, the boiler, coats, boots and other usual clutter associated with family life. This made for an open, natural divide between the day room and the kitchen.
Materially, we wanted to use a simple palette that resonated with the original images Roddy and Eilidh came to us with. They had found a beautiful salvaged beech floor, which we suggested was accessorised with Bert and May tiles. The concrete kitchen worktop was formed by Billy Teasdale, and complimented the dark blue painted frontages.
But it wasn’t just the materials adding visual warmth that made the space a home – it’s the fact that it’s now designed for living, specific to Eilidh and Roddy’s lifestyle.
The results
