Architecture Wednesday: The Old Ballroom

Now this is how you do a ballroom, you know …

This home was once a ballroom in a former Edwardian hotel on Loughborough Road in south-west London before being renovated into an expansive three-bedroom, three-bathroom 1880 square foot apartment.

Originally conceived as a grand hotel for the urban expansion of Lambeth, the building is nestled among grand Victorian and Edwardian villas that were built to accommodate merchants and clerks leaving the smog of the city. It was also a salsa club and an acrobat arena before it was converted into apartments in 2008 all while retaining its original decorative scheme and grandeur.

Situated on the first floor—what we call the second floor in America—the apartment has an amplified sense of volume with soaring ceilings and a number of mezzanine levels, as well as a stuccoed dome that provides a focal point; the dome was recently repainted and wired with atmospheric up-lighting.

The open plan kitchen features a charming outdoor terrace paved with chequerboard flags and catches the south-facing sun. It has plenty of room for a table and chairs as well as pots full of herbs and flowers for the horticulturally inclined.

The main reception area opens up to a double-height space finished in a pastel palette while light floods into the space via expansive sash windows, which have recently undergone a full restoration to improve energy efficiency. A working fireplace provides a central point for the sitting room while the main floor includes an office, a full bathroom and adjoining bedroom currently used as a nursery.

Upstairs, on the left mezzanine, is the primary bedroom suite, with intricate decorative period plasterwork stretching out overhead and along the upper part of the walls. The room also has dual-aspect windows looking over the front and side of the street as well as an en suite bathroom with a large tub edged in Moroccan tiles, a vanity and water closet.

On the opposite side of the upper story is a second bedroom suite, with windows to the front, built-in storage space and a separate en suite.

As always, click to emBIGGERate …

The Spaces

Architecture Wednesday: Alaska Buildings Warehouse Loft

On the top floor of the Alaska Buildings, a former industrial warehouse in Bermondsey, south-east London, you’ll find this lofty two-bedroom apartment that has been impeccably reimagined but retains its sense of history.

Set behind secure gates the Alaska Buildings make an arresting first impression as they are two former factories—one built in 1869, the other in 1932—that closed in the 1960s and then converted into apartments in the 1990s.

Entry is to the main lobby, with 24-hour concierge service and a large stone bar area for residents to gather for the annual summer, Halloween, and Christmas parties organized by management, Opposite the concierge desk is the post and parcel room, as well as a storage room for tenants.

This apartment is on the top floor, accessible via staircase. The apartment’s front door opens to a central hall. To the left is an impressive, open-plan reception room with kitchen, dining and sitting area. A soaring vaulted ceiling with exposed timbers lends an ecclesiastical quality, while steel framing reflects the building’s industrial origin. Two arched, south-easterly warehouse windows draw in abundant natural light and are complemented by additional skylights.

The kitchen runs along one side of the space, with black metal doors and reeded glass that echo the industrial theme and contrast well with the white countertops. A large central island provides space for casual dining though there is space for a proper dining area. Stairs ascend to a mezzanine where a custom-made bookcase conceals a large storage area accessed via a secret door. 

At the back of the apartment is the generous principal bedroom with an adjacent dressing area fitted with built-in cabinetry and a refined en suite bathroom finished with mosaic tiles and brass fittings with bathtub and shower. A second double bedroom lies just off the front door and has a concealed desk nook and a shared bathroom with walk-in shower.

The apartment includes a secure and allocated underground parking space and is available for £1,000,000 AKA $1.35 M USD.

As always click to emBIGGERate …

The Modern House

Architecture Wednesday: School Barn Farm

Hidden in a peaceful pocket of Warwickshire, School Farm Barn is an elegant and contemporary home with five bedrooms and an expansive open-plan living space. Its striking profile rises amid a half-acre garden with vegetable beds, pastoral views and a wonderful natural swimming pool.

Once used to store grains, School Farm Barn was converted in 2021 but still using hardworking and hardwearing materials with photovoltaic panels, efficient battery storage capacity, two air-source heat pumps, and underfloor heating added during its construction.

A quiet countryside road winds up to the house with the home's silhouette peering over mature hedges. Behind electric-gates is a large driveway with plenty of space to park cars, including a garage with an EV charging point and a two-car carport.

From the front the home’s roofline extends upward to form an elegant pitch and directly below is the large front door, slightly set back and framed by glazed panels. Entry is to the social core of the house, an airy, versatile open-plan living space with up to twenty-nine-foot-high ceilings. To the left is the dining area and a beautiful bespoke kitchen with discreetly integrated appliances. Part of the countertop doubles as an informal breakfast bar, and beyond are floor-to-ceiling sliding doors to the south-facing terrace. Adjacent to the kitchen is a large pantry, with additional fridge/freezer capacity, a wine fridge, additional units and plenty of shelf space for dried goods. Grounded with oak floors the other half of the space features a living space with a large contemporary Stovax log burner and large windows of varying shapes and sizes that allow plenty of light. 

The rest of the ground floor has been wonderfully apportioned. There is a boot room, separated from the corridor by a glass door, with garden access, ceiling-high cupboards, and an apple-green paneled wall; a large utility room, a half bath, and a large, serene bedroom with en suite shower room. The principal suite also begins on the ground floor. Here, a dressing room with an entire wall of built-in wardrobes and a sublime en suite bathroom with a freestanding bathtub and shower; from the dressing room stairs rise up to the private sleeping loft which overlooks the dressing room below.

At the front of the house, stairs ascend from the living room to the first floor where a long hallway ends in a cozy space built into the window frame. This floor also includes a private office and the three remaining bedrooms; one of the bedrooms has a walk-in wardrobe and a bathroom, while the other two have en suite shower rooms.

The half-acre garden that surrounds School Farm Barn is an immersive space, one that is a core part of the home’s overall experience. A large terraced area abuts the house, providing space for outdoor dining and seating, and a view of the natural swimming pool, a clean-water swimming area added under current ownership, surrounded by water lilies and carefully selected water plants.

Despite its blissfully rural setting, the house is a short distance from central Birmingham and Birmingham International airport and station; the latter runs rail services to London in as little as 65 minutes.

And it can all be yours for £2,150,000 or 2,865,000 USD.

As always click to emBIGGERate …

The Modern House