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Architect Living in Renovated Public Restroom


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Deep underground in London’s south east side, architect Laura Clark did something that most people would never even think about doing. She renovated a public bathroom and made the 600 square foot space her own home.

The public loo, as they are referred to across the pond, was long abandoned and Clarke took it as a personal challenge to renovate the space and make it her home. She referred to it as “micro regeneration.” The story in the Telegraph shares a bit about the history of the space and exactly how she went about her renovation.

You can see the beautiful kitchen and sitting room in the photo gallery in the post. I love her use of open shelving in the kitchen – something I prefer. Why keep all your pretty dishes and, in my case, great bar ware behind closed doors? The rest of her kitchen is streamlined and modern. Check out the slideshow here. You can also see her amazing use of outdoor space, something you don’t expect from a public toilet.

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photo credit: fabbio via photopin cc

Britain has been fascinated by small spaces for some time and Clark’s home was featured on a current British television show called George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces. The show focuses on small spaces created with affordable budgets in some of the most unconventional places. If you’re lucky enough to be in a area that airs the show please do watch it. I will, unfortunately, have to wait until it is available in a US market.

Another British show that I did have the pleasure of watching was the Little Paris Kitchen staring chef and personality Rachel Khoo. The show focuses on the exclusive restaurant she runs out of her tiny flat in Paris. While the show is about cooking, it is amazing to watch the masterpieces she is able to create within a teeny tiny kitchen and limited tools. We use a lot of her techniques, ideas, and recipes in our tiny kitchen.

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What kind of creative ideas do you have for building tiny spaces? Would you build one in a long forgotten public restroom? Would you open a business in a tiny flat?

Sources:

  1. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/9461916/From-public-loo-to-private-home.html
  2. http://www.lamparchitects.co.uk/www.lamparchitects.co.uk/_..html#grid

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Laura LaVoie

Contributor and Tiny House Owner at 120SquareFeet.com
Laura M. LaVoie is a professional writer living in the mountains of North Carolina in a 120 Square Foot house with her partner and their hairless cat, Piglet. Laura graduated from Western Michigan University with a degree in Anthropology. She has been published in magazines and anthologies on the subjects of mythology and culture. She spent nearly 15 years in the temporary staffing industry before deciding to become a full time writer. Laura works closely with the Zulu Orphan Alliance volunteering her time and the skills she's learned building her own small house to build a shelter for orphans and other vulnerable children living near Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Laura also enjoys simple living, brewing and drinking craft beer, and popular culture.
{ 5 comments… add one }
  • alice h
    November 13, 2012, 9:24 am

    Open shelves in the kitchen make me nervous here in earthquake country. An alternative might be very simple, plain lucite doors you can latch firmly closed. Maybe even make the entire shelf out of lucite or something similar, with some curved edges.

    • November 13, 2012, 9:26 am

      Certainly building choices need to be made for your area. My home is pretty far from earthquake country so the open shelves are not a problem. I believe the same might be true for Clark below the streets of London.

  • November 13, 2012, 2:47 pm

    I live in Southern California, and open shelving has never been a problem for me. It takes a pretty big earthquake to knock things off the shelves!

    It’s a very pretty home. I loved the gold leaf wall behind the bathtub and the closet with it’s wall of shoes!

  • NGD
    November 13, 2012, 8:33 pm

    What an amazing place to live.

    Personally I would have to get rid of those tiles, I just couldnt stand being reminded of the origins of this little home.

    As to the shelving, I currently have open shelving and would never do it again. It is a pain to keep clean, you have to take everything off, clean the shelf, clean each item and put it back. Hence I never do it often enough which makes it an even bigger pain. Glass fronted cupboards next time.

    Love that she has created a garden room as well in this environment.

    🙂

  • Roseann
    January 6, 2013, 12:14 pm

    I think this is utterly brilliant. It’s so great to see people breathing new life into spaces that have otherwise been forgotten and neglected. I also really like the design of the place, very modern with some homey touches. Doesn’t remind me at all of a public bathroom.

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