The contemporary craftsmanship of a space-saving home in Shepherds Bush, west London
The top-floor apartment was conceived by Teatum + Teatum, a local architect-cum-developing firm founded by brothers James and Tom Teatum in 2011. The practice has an archive full of innovative projects that maximise space in the city through experimental spatial design and creative problem solving. This home, for example, is not your typical Victorian conversion. As their own clients, the architects gave themselves the brief to create housing upon an existing site with limited construction. It’s one of two dwellings, in fact, that the siblings built across a pair of existing rooftops as a way to utilise an overlooked void space.
The original two buildings, which housed numerous bedsits developed between 1960 and 1980, meet on a bend, which is reflected in the apartment’s unusual floorplan. The tricky site could have resulted in an awkward living space, yet the home is elegant and refined, with flexibility at its heart. Sliding doors between the cleverly configured kitchen, living space and south-facing terrace – which has glorious rooftop views – mean residents can opt for an open flow between the three if they so wish. The two bedrooms, meanwhile, which both have en-suite bathrooms, feel somewhat more cellular and are tucked away on the north-facing side of the apartment.
Aesthetically, the pleasing palette is defined by white-washed engineered-oak floors and pale wood, which is used both decoratively and functionally throughout. In the living area, for instance, slick ash joinery runs along one wall, acting as a storage system, shelving and seating, while a birch-ply wall – a subtle change in tone to define the different areas – makes a beautiful backdrop for dining on the other. Timber is used throughout to further cement the home’s fluid sense of space: in both bedrooms and bathrooms, in the kitchen and even in the sculptural stairway, which leads residents from the entrance on the building’s second floor to the single-level apartment.
It would be a disservice not to mention the quality of light here. Light can add character to our homes, particularly when the sun projects graphic shadows on the walls and floors that move appealingly throughout the day. Such is the case here, which was certainly the intention of the architects. During the day, there’s little need for artificial lighting here – hence the absence of bulbs in the ceiling. When evening falls, inhabitants can make do with a lamp or two, but the floor-to-ceiling glazing and smartly positioned skylights do the job from morning through to afternoon.
RELATED ON THE MODERN HOUSE
Listing of the Week: a Norfolk beauty that ushers the natural world in
A family home in Hackney, lovingly tended inside and out
Zen and the art of mindset maintenance in a former warehouse in east London
A duo’s dramatic warehouse conversion hidden in west London
Inside two carbon-negative zero-waste homes in Walthamstow
Skye’s the limit at this home in a serene settlement in the Scottish Highlands
An apartment with star quality in a converted recording studio in west London
A mid-century marvel in Stafford that stands the test of time
A hotel with staying power overlooking the Atlantic in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland
A mid-century gem among the treetops on the Dulwich Estate in Crystal Palace