In its place of riffing on renowned buildings and basic patterns, architect Mat Barnes employed a bevy of pop society references to notify the new remodel of his suburban London home. The CAN founder looked to amusement parks, movies, and museums for inspiration as he totally gutted the dilapidated Edwardian and remodeled it into a colourful, whimsical spouse and children home. “It’s a assortment of random suggestions, relatively than a singular strategy,” he clarifies.
Nevertheless Mat taken care of the common brick façade, his eccentric back extension presents a hypermodern distinction to the building’s heritage with a mountain-shaped parapet made of foamed aluminum. Enchanted by the construction of Disneyland’s Matterhorn Bobsleds experience, Mat conceived of this cartoonish roof aspect to set the tone for the playful undertaking.
Enormous glass sliding doors guide from the back garden into the quirky addition, where by royal blue trusses and Douglas fir plywood ceilings meet up with checkerboard tile and a burnt orange sofa. Two sq. skylights usher in sunshine from earlier mentioned, supplying excess illumination to the sitting space that doubles as a playroom for Mat’s younger small children.
As a nod to a derelict apartment scene in the film Trainspotting, a partially demolished wall demarcates the first exterior boundary and serves as an entry to the kitchen. It is here that a number of themes arise. A continuation of the topography motif can be viewed in cavelike textured concrete and a steel enamel dining desk that resembles rippling h2o, though encaustic marker tiles and structural columns painted crimson and white to mimic ranging rods introduce the principle of surveying the landscape.
To produce a graphic procedure of cabinetry and counter tops, Mat employed a reconstituted plastic crafted from recycled chopping boards and milk bottle tops. A lasting reminder of the material’s sustainability, as properly as Mat’s very own cooking mantra, is spelled out on the steps: “Waste Not Want Not,” it reads. “It’s a phrase that my grandmother often used to say in the kitchen area, like nonstop, so it’s personalized,” he reveals.
The vivid, open house is juxtaposed with a moody, monochromatic living room up coming door. Cloaked in indigo, the cozy den is supposed for evenings watching television and soothing. Its elaborate plaster wall embellishments and ornate hearth, having said that, are an homage to Sir John Soane’s Museum. “It’s this insane aged house formerly owned by an 1800s architect. He collected masses of architectural fragments from throughout the earth and they are all crammed into this awesome position,” Mat describes. “This home is a piss-consider on that.”
Up the pistachio green– and cheddar cheese–hued staircase, the decor results in being far more mellow. White partitions display screen select artworks, organic wooden flooring are uncovered, and original beams are protected in pastels. “When you go to bed or when you’re waking up on a lazy Sunday morning, you want it to be tranquil,” causes Mat.
The only exception is the rest room, which feels like an extension of the daring decreased amount. A dazzling, fiery ceiling mingles with extra checkerboard tile and a tub with exposed steel framework. The zippy lavatory is the only sensible companion to the bubbly funhouse that is Mat’s property.