The design for this unique house in Brackenbury Village was the outcome of a lively collaboration between its current owners and Patrick Lewis architects. The inside spaces of the traditional London townhouse have been completely reimagined, using stepped levels and soaring double-height ceilings to remake its period proportions with exemplary vision.
Six large-scale artworks that engage with the building’s rich past are permanently installed in the house, intersecting its bright and flexible spaces. The house forms part of an elegant cluster of period shops and houses at the southern end of Brackenbury Road. Patrick Lewis’ design process began with an investigation into the building’s history which revealed that it was home to a family of printers-turned-drapers for a period of over thirty years in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The current owners also feel a deep sense of connection with textile art and fabric, and so took inspiration from this to formulate an interior plan that is truly contemporary.
A series of models (pictured) made as part of the architectural process demonstrate the fluid nature of the spaces. Ribbons of fabric emerge from a ‘sewing box’ clad in bands of oak and larch in the double-height bedroom. Made by Deepa Panchamia and Anna Glover, these delicate artworks are directed into the centre of the house via a bespoke staircase with steel handrails that morphs into a loom-like frame. In the living room, a hand stitched textile by Jennifer Hollidge runs through the handrail. This house was conceived as a complete artistic concept. The renovations have been executed with incredible attention to detail and there are bespoke elements in every room.
Photography : The modern house, Patrick Lewis Architects
