One designer’s remarkable home in Stoke Newington, north London, hand-crafted from his garden workshop
The home in question sits on the sought-after Evering Road, conveniently close to Rectory Road station, midway between the lush landscapes of Stoke Newington Common and Hackney Downs. A traditional Victorian façade conceals a highly considered contemporary interior and rear extension that are true to Daniel’s design DNA, constructed from the same raw material palette that avid followers of The Modern House may well recognise from its predecessor.
Daniel’s eye for materials is evident in the downstairs living areas. Sandy London stock bricks that define the building’s original structure are left bare as a homage to its heritage. The designer has selected a palette that both complements and contrasts with the home’s bones: striking black bricks and amber-hued quarry tiles that streamline the inside with the out, running underfoot in the kitchen, dining zones and the meticulously crafted private garden terrace.
But nothing is as breathtaking as the woodwork – and Daniel is responsible for everything you can see. All the joinery – from the oak louvres to the exposed beams, the kitchen countertops to the wooden furniture and everything in between – has been made and turned by hand by the designer in his garden workshop.
“Oak is my favourite material to work with. While it’s quite challenging at times, it has strong structural integrity, finishes beautifully and contrasts to the lighter native Douglas fir,” Daniel told us during our visit. “I always try to be as sustainable as possible – I never throw a piece of wood away. The end-grain butcher’s block, for instance, is the centrepiece in the kitchen and was made with all the left-over timber that was used for the kitchen cabinets.”
One of Daniel’s favourite rooms in the house is the main bedroom – its floor, in particular, holds a special place in his heart. “The geometric parquet flooring is made from smoked oak. I hand-cut over 3,000 pieces individually, which took weeks to complete,” he explained. The cornicing was a similarly intricate affair. “I removed layers of old paint to reveal original ornate roses. It had been painted over so many times it had become a caricature of itself.”
Daniel’s recent residential projects have seen him return to his roots: he trained in architecture at the Royal College of Art, but a stint working on commercial design projects followed. His craftsmanship comeback coincided rather neatly with the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. As a result, he had more time than usual to hone his wonderful woodworking skills, which he used to create the furniture that sits in tune with the interiors and architecture here. It’s the relationship between those three components that Daniel is interested in exploring further in the future. We’re eagerly waiting to see what’s next.
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