Shelford Green:
Impeccable Insertion

This retrofitting of a top floor walk-up apartment started from revamping only the study and grew in scope to include almost the entire home. From oddly shaped rooms and uneven old walls, to existing furniture of disparate finishes, the fourth floor dwelling presented several challenges.

The study is an irregular pentagon, with two pairs of parallel facing walls and a fifth that was off-kilter. The views out were made the focus, with the tabletops lined up along the windows. A large wall of storage was turned into a point of visual interest, by playing with the depth, placement, edge thickness and materials of the shelves. These intelligently accommodate the different sizes of books, alongside art pieces and display artefacts, and break the monotony of ordinary shelving. The counter of the media console continues to the wall of shelves to divide open storage above from closed cabinets below, and on the other side becomes a cable management device for the long work-surface.

In the living area, the media console extends into an odd corner, which is faced with panels to help hide an uneven wall. Display shelves go across this junction, creating a lovely display area, balanced by a long narrow shelf above the television. Within the smartly detailed console are neatly hidden power sockets and cable management.

Over in the dining area, a pair of banquet benches sit elegantly in a corner. Sexy curves are revealed in their side profile, in an attempt to lighten up a typically heavy and boxy type of seating. Lighting is built into the top edge, with storage underneath the cushioned upholstery.

Finally, in one of the bedrooms, custom carpentry was built to help bring together an existing bed and chest of drawers in mismatched finishes. The neutral tones of medium wood tones and greys create a mutable backdrop for a teenager.

Linear detailing repeated across all additions makes for a visual flow from room to room, without impinging on the unique needs on each individual space.