Townhouse Clerkenwell

Eight years ago Fran Hickman worked with project architect Michaelis Boyd as a consultant on the conversion of this former industrial building into a four-bedroom house. The focal point of the renovated structure was a glass-walled courtyard grown with silver birch which supplies light to each room across three floors. Once the project was complete, the client moved abroad. On their return, the studio was re-hired to redecorate, furnish and finish the house in short order.

While working at speed, nothing was purchased new. Each piece of furniture was sourced from vintage markets or antiques dealers. To the cold steel and exposed brick the original interior were added teak cabinetry, grey marble tables and old workmen’s stools along with numerous pieces of mid-century modern furniture; everything sourced, supplied and installed within a month. The finished effect feels both edgily contemporary and reassuringly classic.