PROFILE
MY GRAND IDEA –
Architect Ben Minifie incorporated multifunctional spaces, a sunken bath and a sense of fun into one family home
146 SEPTEMBER 2021 /
built, which is connected to the house with matching western red cedar cladding. — How are these spaces multifunctional? The snug has an oriel window that doubles as a seat, plus a bespoke sofa that pops up into a guest bed, while sliding blackout shutters transform it into a movie room. The garden studio, which is used as a home office by day, turns into a party space complete with bar and DJ booth by night.
MAGAZINE.COM
— How does the narrow bathroom work? Fitting a tub into such a tiny space was a real challenge, so I designed one myself using porcelain slabs set into the floor by 800mm. The resulting sunken bath is the same width as the room and has an overhead shower, rooflight and jungle-themed porcelain tiles. — Did you add any eco-friendly features? The new spaces had to be energy efficient, so I added lots more insulation and brought the refurbished ones up to standard. — How long did it take? A year. The family stayed put for most of that time, which was a juggling act and meant the team worked on separate sections of the house at different times. — What does it feel like now? It suits the family perfectly as it focuses on private spaces rather than open-plan living. Whenever I visit it’s great to see them using the new rooms in a host of different ways, just as intended. Minifie Architects, minifiearchitects.co.uk
ABOVE LEFT A studio and outdoor dining area slot neatly into the back garden ABOVE RIGHT The sunken bath has halo-effect lighting around the ceiling to emphasise its height BELOW LEFT Shutters slide over the oriel window in the snug to create a blackout space for sleeping or watching movies. The project cost £425,000
WORDS ALICE WESTGATE PHOTOGRAPHY WILL SCOTT
Who lives here? My brother-in-law Gary Westlake and his wife Kate, who are both 50. In 2004 they bought an end-of-terrace house in London’s Blackheath Vale. — How did you get involved? They added a kitchen extension some years ago, but when their kids Archie, 18, and Bea, 13, became teenagers they needed more room. So Gary and Kate asked me to reconfigure the house to include a series of multifunctional spaces. — Tell us about your design I added a side return for a large kitchen and dining area, then extended out by 1.2m over a driveway at the other side of the property to make a narrow bathroom. The family bathroom at the back of the house became a snug. Upstairs I created a bigger bedroom for Archie and borrowed some of the loft to turn Bea’s box room into a two-storey bedroom with dormer window. Finally, the garden was landscaped and a studio
