Architect
Cool and contemporary with playful colour pops and oodles of natural light: Andy’s London pad is a breath of fresh air
How have you put your stamp on the property? It’s a 1920s cottage, so it didn’t come with much character, but it did have perfectly proportioned rooms. We basically gutted the building and rebuilt it reusing whatever structure we could. The kitchen/dining room was extended out, so there has been some small structural improvements. We’ve given the house a new personality reflecting the way we live and want to evolve as a family. We also have a large sauna and river stream pool keeping us active at home.
What are your non-negotiables when buying a home? I usually look for good spatial proportions – Georgian or Edwardian properties usually have these, as does our own house from the ’20s. The living areas must face south!
How important is character to you? Houses with character and history are great places to visit and spend a holiday in. At home, I like to have an environment which is clear, contemporary and flexible, and which reflects our lives at present. It’s important that the house feels active and dynamic.
How would you describe your personal interiors style? I would describe it as clean and restrained, focusing on forming elegant spaces with the aid of both natural and artificial light.
Which interiors brands are your favourites? I tend to want change from project to project and client to client, so I go to Viaduct who I find are the most helpful and knowledgable.
And what’s your favourite piece of furniture? My BLOCKs piece, which is from my own product range. It’s a low table made from resin, which is extremely hard to work with, so it represents a lot of experimentation on my part! What makes it special is its lightness of form: it makes the piece appear to be hovering, which contradicts its physical heaviness.
Tell me about your art collection in the house. My wife is an art advisor, so we should have a great collection shouldn’t we? But we only have a few pieces that we both agreed to purchase. This will grow into our other property in France, which has a lot more wall space!
How have you created flow between the inside and outside spaces? We added a 5m extension and excavated slightly to give us a 3.5m glazed wall. This gives the room more connection with the sky. Plus I have extended the brick flooring out into the garden, which joins the two spaces together visually.
Which room are you particularly proud of? Our open ground floor space works well as a multi-purpose living, cooking and entertaining space, connecting seamlessly with the external area and pool in the summer – and it converts to a cosy environment in the winter.
Any exciting projects coming up? We are currently working on residential projects in London and a new house in Kent. I also have restaurant projects in Toronto and Miami, plus a new menswear shop on Park Avenue, New York.
