Tapestry Court
The brief was to re-plan the interior of a 2 storey apartment on the Thames, London. It sits on the finishing line of the Oxford / Cambridge boat race, at a bend in the river with a clear view from Chiswick to Barnes Bridges. Opposite lies Dukes Meadows. At night one can see for 180° without any city lights.
The plan was reorganised into bands running parallel with the river. Kitchen, dining and living areas are in the first band. Bedrooms and a new common bathroom are located in the second band. Services are in the third band. Closest to the entrance is the laundry. A new ensuite is now accessed from the main bedroom. A key aim was to create discrete views through and across the interior and maintain a sense of the bigger whole.
Thin sawn English oak is used for both flooring and skirtins, and run across the base of internal doors. The oak has a band sawn finish and a white pigmented stain to emphasise its grain under raking light. Oak is also run diagonally up both walls of the stair to the sunroom above. The board setting out on one wall exactly mirrors that on the wall opposite. This creates something of a trompe l’oeil effect with the balustrade.
