Space-saving design: the transformation of a compact city flat into a live-work home with a secret office

Working from home is the London dream for many commuters — especially when they're facing a journey to the office on a crowded Tube on a cold and wet Monday morning.

However, it's also a necessity for a rising number of budding entrepreneurs with big dreams but tiny budgets that don't yet quite stretch to office space.

For interior designer and resident Londoner Joséphine Lecoufle-Vinet, requests to maximise space and create multi-functioning rooms in city homes are becoming more common.

This is exactly what was required by young professional couple Lizzie Rivera, 32, and Joe McGuire, 34, who wanted to transform their one-bedroom open-plan flat in Islington into a live-work home.

THE BRIEF

The space needed to work hard by providing not only an area for Lizzie to manage her ethical lifestyle website, BICBIM, during the day but also somewhere she could enjoy after 'shutting up shop' for the evening.

"We had lived in the flat for a year before starting work, so we had a really good feel for what we needed from the renovation," says Lizzie.

"Work space was essential, but we also love entertaining so we wanted to maximise the kitchen and dining area as well as be able to lounge on the sofa and not have clutter everywhere or feel hemmed in."

THE DESIGNS

Lecoufle-Vinet's designs started with upcycling the kitchen by painting the outdated wood-effect laminate doors grey, in zero-emissions paint from the Benjamin Moore Natura range, and replacing the silver handles with copper ones.

Terracotta floor tiles were replaced with tiles in monochrome geometric pattern from Walls and Floors to "make a feature out of a very small space, but stick with the colour scheme for the area".

"The key when trying to create lot of different areas in one space is to use colours and textures to define a zone," says Lecoufle-Vinet.

Using dark colours in the L-shaped corner kitchen also means that it fades into the background in the evening when the main lights are off, helping to create a more relaxed atmosphere.

In order to create a zone for dining, this part of the room was painted a slightly different colour to the rest of the flat — a fresh shade of Whisker, by eco-friendly brand Earthborn.

A banquette makes use of the window seat that covers pipes and runs the full length of the room.

A table with thin steel legs, upcycled by Crisis members in one of their Skylight centres, was sourced to open up the space.

"It’s a question of balance, your eyes are down if you have too much leg below," advises Lecoufle-Vinet.

The designer maximised storage by making full use of the high ceilings. She says: "People tend to forget the space above their heads."

THE BUILD

The designs were brought to life by master builder Chris Wheeler, a friend of the couple who was initially drafted in for some advice, but ended up taking on the whole project and introducing some new ideas.

With his experience and keen eye for clever design ideas, the banquette area was quickly transformed to create hidden shoe storage.

Wheeler also suggested keeping the shelving open, instead of closing it off with cupboard doors, and turning it into a feature display.

Using copper piping, he handcrafted beautiful shelving brackets that match the copper cabinet door handles in the kitchen.

A six-metre long bookshelf, to make the most of unused ceiling space, has LED lighting running the whole way along, which gives the room a soft glow when turned on in the evening.

HIDDEN HOME OFFICE

The showpiece, though, has to be the home office, which is just 30cm deep and folds out from behind panelled mirrored doors.

When closed the mirrors reflect light and space, making the room appear bigger. Once opened, a spacious work area with ample storage unfolds.

To save on costs, Wheeler used an Ikea base and doors and clad the office in sustainably sourced oak, the material of choice to link all the separate areas together.

Wheeler even designed it so that the home office can be taken away easily if the couple ever move home.

"The finished design has exceeded all our expectations," says Lizzie. "Storage really is sexy — as my editor always tells me."

Interior designer stylist and design consultant: Joséphine Lecoufle-Vinet, listed on design portal Houzz, services start from £500.
Master builder: Chris Wheeler.