Japan meets Scandinavia in London Bridge

How to convert a cool pad into a baby-friendly home

Our client, a single professional woman, was looking for a change of scene and bought a flat in a converted factory in South-East London.

The flat is part of the Alaska Building, a 1930s industrial building minutes from London Bridge.

A month after she moved in, she found out she was expecting a baby. Her priorities changed, but she wouldn’t give up her beloved mini-loft. She appointed us instead and briefed us to add more storage and make the apartment warm and cosy.

We started by re-plastering all the walls and leaving them bare, showing the dusty pink hue and the trowel’s marks. Then, we painted everything that was once grey in a warm shade of chocolate brown. This gave the original industrial features a soft makeover.

We allocated a large part of the budget to built-in joinery, which we designed to suit the space and her needs.

We chose plywood for its natural, simple look and also because it was one of the few materials available when the works started during lockdown.

A long bench under the Crittall window hides the radiators, provided storage, and doubles as a sitting bench.

“I use it for table linens, and when I has a housewarming, everyone was able to sit there and enjoy a cocktail”, she says.

On the mezzanine level, we have installed a set of concertina doors. They provide a calm sleeping environment for the baby, acting as a blackout, privacy screen, and sound barrier.

A cluster of paper lanterns hangs from the ceiling. They’re a simple, but striking decoration.

They show the full height of the double space and screen the mezzanine bedroom when the doors are open.

The client and her son will have to move to a bigger place at one point, but for now the redesigned flat is a perfect nest for them both.