Bexley Village Townhouse

The brief

We were brought in before the client moved in, which is the best possible moment to start. A new build arrives with no history to fight and no character either: no architectural detail, nothing yet that belongs to the owner rather than the developer. The kitchen and bathrooms were already installed and perfectly good, too good to justify replacing. The potential was all there. The question was how to release it, and make the house say something, without tearing anything out.

The design

When the bones cannot change, the finishing layers do the work. Fitted shelving with integrated lighting gave the living space the architecture the builder never provided: depth, shadow, and somewhere for books, art and objects to live, so the room finally has a focus.

In the kitchen, a bold orange splashback runs behind the units that stayed. Orange is a timeless colour for this client, the thread that has followed him through every home he has owned, so it anchors the scheme rather than decorating it, and it turns a developer’s kitchen into his kitchen.

Everything else followed his lifestyle and the artwork and prints he already owned. The result is timeless eclectic, with a slightly cheeky, whimsical note that suits him and makes visitors smile.

Every detail, considered

With nothing structural to change, every decision had to earn its place: shelving designed to the room rather than bought off a shelf, lighting built into it so the objects are lit rather than the ceiling, and a palette drawn from pieces he already owned, so the house looks collected rather than decorated. To see how far this approach can go, look at the house next door in Bexley Village Townhouse Two, where the same starting point was taken in a completely different direction.

The result

A new build that now reads as somebody’s home rather than a show house: warm, personal and a little bit playful, and a fun space for the owner and for the family and friends who come to stay.

Services: The Finishing Layers.