LaDBROKE ROAD
A big house that unifies London architecture with New York interior style
This traditional Victorian terrace house on a wider than average London street came with a theatrical lineage. A door from the theatre next door led into the main ground floor space which was formerly the bar. When the house came to the market and it was snapped up by an investor, it presented an opportunity for a complete redevelopment. Retaining the existing façade, the interior was completely stripped back to its shell and core and rebuilt with bespoke flooring, staircases, wall finishes, lighting, sanitaryware and furniture. Rooms were opened up to create greater lateral space and the lower ground floor was extended into what was formerly a dark courtyard garden, to create a swimming pool and spa area. A house that beautifully married London with New York, the restored decorative period exterior belied the luxury Manhattan loft look inside.
When New Yorkers think of London and in particular Notting Hill, it’s the candy coloured townhouses in the quiet streets between Notting Hill Gate and Portobello Road that most resonate. The end of a terrace whose Anglican church dates back to 1871, the house had formerly been used as part of the Mercury Theatre which opened in 1933. Stepping between buildings, once upon a time the upper ground floor of this house had been used as the interval bar. As a nod to its history, the doors remain today but they are the only original feature.
As masters of reinvention, Cubic took the outer shell of the house and rebuilt the space from the inside. Over five floors Cubic has driven a handcrafted raw steel staircase through the centre of the building which is framed on each floor. The same elements of raw wood, glass, steel, polished concrete and plaster have been echoed on every floor.
The lower ground floor, once a dark basement room and courtyard garden that rarely saw daylight has been incorporated into the house as the most private of residential spas with a lap pool and gym, treatment room and shower room. A cinema room has also been added to the front of the house and the whole floor can be accessed individually via a staircase to the street above.
The ground floor, once a traditional entrance hall and kitchen has been opened up into one huge lateral space with a floor to ceiling kitchen designed and made by Cubic from the same raw steel that is prevalent elsewhere in the house, married with rich smoked oak wood. A balcony has been included at this level, looking onto a green wall on the side of the building.
Upstairs a formal lounge spans the length of the house front to back and is offset by two symmetrical open sided fire places at either end of the room which were made bespoke for Cubic. One of a kind smoked wood floorboards filled with aluminium resin contrast with the hand polished plaster on the walls and a huge rear windows afford a view of the neighbouring houses.
The master bedroom suit is a magnificent example of the bespoke workmanship that Cubic applies to its projects. A recessed ensuite bathroom with custom designed steel bath and concrete hand wash basins can be closed off like a glass fronted wardrobe. Polished plaster has been used to adorn a four metre span of wardrobes and purpose designed French doors allow light to pour in, altering the effect of the plaster as the light changes.
The significant architectural and interior changes that have been made to this house mean it is a complete surprise on first entry. Looking every bit the Victoria townhouse from outside, inside this house is a masterclass in industrial chic and clever space planning.