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STARBURST HOUSE

18th January 2019

So hello. It’s been a while – since September last year to be precise. I took a blog break that became an extended blog break, and then I wasn’t sure when or indeed if I was coming back here. I’d been working on some other ideas – hopefully a new venture this year. I decided to spend less time at my desk. But I kept bookmarking ideas for blog posts. And occasionally an email would arrive with a great product range and I’d immediately think, ‘I have to blog about this…’ So I’ve been saving ideas waiting for the time when I wanted to sit down and write – and if I decided not to, well, that was fine too.

And then yesterday I was browsing Dezeen and I spotted this house. Random, but interesting, and it reminded me that I used to enjoy blogging about random and interesting things. Not planned posts as such. Just things I liked. Wasn’t that why I started Copperline in the first place? So, the best way to start writing anything again is just to start.

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WARLEY CLOSE

9th August 2018

You probably know me well enough by now to realise that I can’t resist interiors that have been designed around textures. Exposed brick, combinations of timber, metal finishes, concrete… throw texture into the mix and I’m sold. This warehouse conversion on Warley Close in London’s E10 is on the market with The Modern House and offers a striking example of how to use textures – both existing and new – as the foundation for an interior. This former industrial space has been redesigned and adapted for the current owners – a photographer/filmmaker and a musician – to create a flexible home that combines live and work spaces. Arranged over three levels, the scale alone is striking as there’s over 2,200 sq/ft of space here.

Spaces

WEST ANNANDALE STREET

5th June 2017

I’ve seen a number of shop conversions over the years, from a compact split-level studio space in Edinburgh’s Stockbridge area to a fantastic industrial-style loft space by Holyrood Park, and each has demonstrated ingenious ways of dealing with the spatial challenges of working within a former commercial space. How do you create a functional and desirable living space when you have limited light at street and below-street level?

This two bedroom property on West Annandale Street in Edinburgh – which has been marketed by Smart Property with photography by Dave Morris – caught my eye as, when faced with these same challenges, the owners, architect Tim Bayman and Lizzie Elliott, have created a dynamic interior that works both as a home for their family and as a work space for Tim.

Spaces

INNER CITY WAREHOUSE

22nd August 2016

Usually, when I’m looking at houses online, I’m drawn to an interior by one photo. There’s usually that one image that will catch my eye, just as the photo above did. I have a major soft spot for warehouse conversions and this one in Sydney is also a great example of indoor-outdoor flow of space – just look at that external terrace – and feels authentic with its exposed brick and chunky timber trusses. And even that one photo suggests that this home is owned by someone with a confident aesthetic and an eye for eclectic styling.

But then, this warehouse has a surprise waiting – namely, a giant sculptural white pod that’s been inserted into the main volume of the first floor living space. Architects Allen Jack+Cottier refer to this design as a ‘Mancave‘ and it was created as a private suite for the owner.

Spaces

HOUSE FOR A PAINTER

28th July 2016

Years ago, I visited an incredible property called Sea Loft in the Fife coastal town of Kinghorn. Sea Loft was the home and studio of artists Robert Callender and Elizabeth Ogilvie, who created the space by converting a previously derelict cinema. The volume and the natural light thundering into the all-white studio was incredible, and no less so in the couple’s living area with its sea views. It was a wonderful example of a living space and studio that worked together, cohesive in design and approach, to create an unforgettable home.

And this London house, House for a Painter, although very different in location, shares that same unique quality and the wonderful sense of light and volume. Whereas Sea Loft was about views outside to the landscape, this house offers long views between the studio and living zones, an “internal landscape,” as architect Dingle Price refers to it, where one area flows into the next.

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HAWKHURST

18th July 2016

It isn’t every day that you come across a property that has been converted from a 19th century greenhouse, but then this house in the Kent village of Hawkhurst is far from your everyday property. As I was looking through the listings with The Modern House, this image above caught my eye. This photo reminded of the Victorian greenhouses that I’ve long admired within the walled garden of Cambo Estate in Fife – greenhouses that had become so decrepit in time that they were replaced this year with Alitex greenhouses that look very, very like the originals.

But even when decrepit, the originals had such character, particularly when viewed against the old brickwork of the walled garden, and – stating the obvious really – the light once inside was just beautiful. So imagine having a greenhouse like this as part of your home.

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