Mother's Ruin no more: daring London couple convert a rat-infested Whitechapel gin distillery into a stylish family home

The mangy building needed two brave and creative Londoners to turn it into a unique property that's just been longlisted for the RIBA House of the Year award.

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Raise a glass to Rupert Scott, his wife Leo Wood and their daughters, Evie, five, and Frankie, two, in their converted gin distillery in Whitechapel, now a sunny and super-stylish two-storey home.

What they bought in 2014 was a mangy brick building used as a social club. The gin was long gone, along with any charm the distillery might have had.

The plan of the building was a triangle with its front point lopped off, widest at the back. It had a corrugated roof, a mezzanine, a concrete floor and a side alley full of fridges.

Big windows had been bricked up and a couple of nasty small ones had been bunged in and barred.

“It was dark and dank, with rats,” says Rupert, 42, founder and director of Hackney-based Open Practice Architecture.

“Forbidding and frightening,” Leo adds. On the plus side, there was a small, high-walled front yard.

The couple were living in Rupert’s 1805 cottage in a leafy enclave nearby and had been on the lookout for a renovation project since marrying in 2012.

Leo 35, a former theatre producer who now runs co-working spaces for start-ups, has a talent for interior design.

WHAT IT COST

  • Commercial warehouse, 1,760sq ft, in 2014: £310,000
  • Money spent (excluding fees, with the couple doing much of the sourcing: £410,000
  • Value of the home now (with 1,490sq ft inside space): £1.25 million

They started looking outside London, but when Rupert saw the picture of the old distillery in an estate agent’s window, he realised he had walked past the place.

He and Leo liked its “hidden” quality, tucked behind its tall wall, but because their cottage had a garden, they were determined to include one in whatever project they might take on. In the end they created four outdoor spaces at this enviable home, which last week was longlisted for the Royal Institute of British Architects House of the Year.

Rupert knew that buying commercial space without planning permission to convert was a gamble, but he figured he could always sell it again.

The moment they got the distillery in late summer 2014, he began designing. This was a genuine blank canvas because only the brick walls and concrete floor would stay.

Luckily the building wasn’t in a conservation area or listed. “It had been on the market for ages and the planners were glad someone was taking it on. It was so grim and densely overlooked that developers didn’t want it.”

Brighten up: the couple dropped an internal roof terrace to let light in
David Butler

The couple themselves wanted light, that outdoor element, “and natural materials — concrete, brick, timber, steel”, Leo says. Rupert decided to reinstate the elegant lost windows and turn the alley into a secluded side garden.

In the darkest corner at the back of the property he saw he could drop an internal roof terrace at second floor level, which would also bring light into the house. He’d site a bespoke steel and timber staircase next to it, creating a sunny core. And since the upper floor was to be set back at the front, it made space for another terrace, for big pots with low-maintenance plants.

“Because this site was so difficult, I went to pre-planning with almost fully worked-up designs,” he says. That was another risk, because it might have been wasted effort. Fortunately, the planner was enthusiastic and “very helpful”. They liked his retention of brick walls, reinstatement of windows and care of the historic exterior, along with a modern inside. It was a huge upgrade, and planning went through without any design changes required.

The couple scrabbled the cash together: Leo sold her own small flat and they put a buy-to-let mortgage on their cottage. Works started in spring 2016 and finished a year later. “Gutting it took just two weeks,” Leo says. All that was left were the walls and the concrete floor — a useful base for underfloor heating and insulation, beneath a pretty polished concrete surface.

Now with its huge kitchen-living room, spanned by an impressive 25ft steel beam, the ground floor is both dramatic and surprisingly cosy. Concrete wall panels are dappled with light. Crittall windows throw beautiful sun squares across the floors, and the white Corian and steel kitchen is elegant. Throughout the building, deep exposed joists add a pale golden glow.

Best of both: the main living spaces are both cosy and elegant
David Butler

A cosy family room-cum-playroom at the back also acts as a spare room, with velvet sofa bed and a clever flap to hide the TV. This back area, which includes a bathroom, has big sliding doors to divide it from the main living area. Upstairs, Rupert and Leo’s room looks out to the pot terrace while the girls’ room has built-in beds with lots of pull-out storage beneath.

In the family bathroom off the stairwell, a cut-out unglazed opening draws in plenty of light from the courtyard garden on the other side of the open-tread stairs, but sensibly has shutters. Because of Rupert’s smart design, you don’t at first realise that otherwise the bathroom would have no external windows. None are allowed this side of the building, because of overlooking.

Every bit of this house is now bright, exquisitely finished, easy on the eye and — crucial in a home with two scampering tots — easy on the ear. Its ingredients of concrete and steel are countered by wood and brick, softening sound beautifully. It’s a winner.

STARTING WITH A SHELL: PROJECT TIPS

Rupert’s top tip: allow 20 per cent for contingencies, not 10.

Keep it as simple as possible by using only one main contractor — that way you will have just one contract, and one person to talk to.

Leo’s top tip: leave some design decisions until you’ve lived in your new home for a while. We initially planned storage that we didn’t actually need once we lived here.

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