A London Bedsit Turned into a Bright California-Inspired Home

Canyon House

Text by Studio Hagen Hall

Studio Hagen Hall have transformed a North London townhouse-turned-bedsit into a bright and textural 1970’s California inspired home complete with recording studio for a young musical couple.

Recording artists Ben Garrett and Rae Morris fell in love with the bones, location and well-established garden of the townhouse and immediately sought the expertise of Studio Hagen Hall after discovering their work online. Iconic architecture has played a key role in the brief.

Canyon House

The clients drew on themes and designs from the Eames House and the work of modernist architect
John Lautner.

The brief envisioned Canyon House as a home with a feel-good 1970’s atmosphere and a space that would be flexible to suit both intimate and sociable occasions, with strong visual connections throughout.

Canyon House
Canyon House

Much work was needed to enliven the house. Poorly built, awkward partitioning covered two staircases that split the bedsit into three separate dwellings.

Work began with stripping and gutting the interiors, which allowed Studio Hagen Hall to flex their expertise as meticulous space planners and reimagine the physical and visual movement around the house.

To understand the experience of their future home, Studio Hagen Hall modelled Canyon House digitally so the clients could walk through using a VR headset to understand the design ideas and make alterations.

Canyon House

One of the core design interventions was re-configuring the original stair on the ground floor by creating a level change to unlock a large section of the lounge area.

This seemingly simple design idea allowed Studio Hagen Hall to create an elevated conversation platform and snug – fitted with bespoke velvet sofa with hidden storage – that could be connected and removed from the dining space by heavy linen curtains drawn from custom elm recesses.

Canyon House

On the lower ground floor, Studio Hagen Hall inserted a professional-grade recording studio and writing room, one of the most challenging spaces to design due to its need to be structurally separate from the rest of the house to achieve acoustic isolation.

The studio sits as its own room within the lower ground floor, fitted with custom-made acoustically insulated doors and windows, and with a separate ventilation system so recording can take place in the soundproof space with access to fresh air.

Canyon House

Studio Hagen Hall carefully selected a combination of materials and textures to create a modern
yet Modernist balance. The brass unlacquered hardware will patina beautifully alongside the original
vintage mid-century lighting and furniture.

The richly textured and warm-toned carpet and upholstery in the lounge creates a cosy, luxurious feel while the brown smoked mirror architraves and cork bathroom flooring and bath façade all nod to the 1970’s style.

The steel and glass balustrade maintains a modern open-plan feel and seamlessly connects upstairs and downstairs.

Consistency and continuity help create the sense of flow, with microcement used for the flooring, worktops, sinks and baths.

Canyon House

The bespoke elm kitchen looks and feels like a room within a room. The beauty in the craftsmanship comes through in the tactility of the cabinetry, fluted glass and brass hardware.

Canyon House

It was designed by Studio Hagen Hall and built by joiner Tim Gaudin, who will soon be launching their new bespoke kitchen company, Bysse, together. A built-in window seat gives the clients views out onto the established garden and back through the living area.

Canyon House
Canyon House
Canyon House

Quality is at the heart of Canyon House. From the spatial planning to the materials and finishes, the care and consideration taken with each design choice has resulted in an artistic, convivial townhouse of versatile spaces, natural light, and original styling.

Canyon House

Photos by Mariell Lind Hansen