Townhouse Library

Library and study in a listed Georgian townhouse, London. 2013

This listed Georgian terraced house was modified and extended upwards to include a roof terrace by Rick Mather in the 1970’s, when it was his home. When our actor client bought the house the front door opened directly into a room with the result that it was neither a good room, nor a good entrance hall. We refurbished the spaces and used a large piece of furniture, a settle, to define a hallway and study without entirely dividing the space. A yellow glass fanlight casts a coloured glow across the spaces, and a concealed folding door may be used to provide privacy to the study and library.

The settle is constructed from clear lacquered MDF, with bronze trim and door pulls, and has homes for coats, shoes, files and places for storage, sitting and working. The desk has a dark blue linoleum writing surface and the drawer boxes are bright orange. In the library the shelves are a dark red stained MDF and the carcasses are poplar, with a blue green stain.

In the hallway we designed a new marble floor incorporating rosso levante based on the pattern of the floor at the Chapel of St Peter and St Paul, Greenwich, and the study and library have a rough-sawn oak floor. A new gas fire and surround was installed.

At the top of the house we refurbished the roof terrace using cedar for flooring, guarding, seating and steps, and galvanised steel for built-in planters.