Tuckey Design Studio has completed a transformative renovation of a three storey, early Victorian terrace house in Knightsbridge, London. The practice has reimagined the existing configuration to create a series of intimate moments and spaces to offer a serene urban retreat. Based in Hong Kong, Tuckey’s client was in search of a more personal alternative to hotel stays during his frequent trips to London.

The brief was to create a minimalist, monastery-like space that provided a relaxing escape from the freneticism of central London.  The work also needed to serve as a minimalist and refined backdrop to the client’s personal collection of object d'art.

The house was stripped back to its bare bones;  the tactile character of the rich timber floor joists below and roof trusses above encouraged Stilwell and Hirayama to revel in their imperfections rather than concealing them. A natural material palette was conceived from here; white walls serving as a backdrop to stone, timber, concrete and exposed brick.
 
There is a staircase positioned at each end of the room, one of which is concealed behind a wall and leads down to the lower ground floor.  A large, timber sash window draws natural light into the living room while an original chimney breast acts as a focal point;  exposed and painted in a limewash across all the three storeys to visually heighten the space and add a sense of continuity throughout.  Excess pitch pine rafters, removed during renovation, have been reinterpreted to form the body of a bespoke bench supported by new Douglas Fir legs, indicative of the house as a whole.