Nic House

Elevated Urban Living

A sophisticated refurbishment and loft extension designed around a single radical premise: inverted living. To capture maximum daylight and uninterrupted urban views, the traditional layout has been flipped — the private sleeping quarters now occupy the second floor, while the social heart of the home rises to the new third-floor loft, where kitchen and living area share a single elevated volume open to the sky.

ENGINEERING OPENNESS & FIRE SAFETY

The expansive, partition-free top floor is made possible by a quiet revolution behind the architecture: an integrated fire-engineering strategy that removes the need for traditional compartment walls without compromising compliance. A high-pressure i-Mist water suppression system delivers discreet, high-performance protection from above, while a bespoke mechanically openable rooflight doubles as a smoke-extract device — a piece of architecture that serves the eye on calm days and the lungs of the building in emergencies. The result is a generous, daylight-flooded volume in which engineering disappears into atmosphere.

“The fire strategy is invisible by design — engineering quietly enabling architecture rather than constraining it.”

TRANSPARENT CONNECTIVITY

Vertical circulation is defined by a structural glass balustrade system, secured with architectural steel stand-offs that hold each panel in mid-air with the precision of a watch movement. The clear glazing maintains a sense of weightlessness, allowing light from the upper levels to filter deep into the stairwell and creating a continuous visual dialogue between the entrance below and the social spaces above. The same glazing wraps the integrated breakfast bar — an oak frame floating above the void — turning a safety element into the home’s most quietly theatrical detail.

DESIGN & MATERIALITY

The interior is a measured dialogue between industrial heritage and contemporary restraint. London stock brick, exposed and conserved as a textured backdrop, meets handleless cabinetry, oak inserts and matte-lacquered joinery; punctuating accents of red — Eames-style stools at the breakfast bar, polished chrome pendants overhead — keep the palette alive without disturbing its discipline.
– Brick & Steel Composition — A full-height London stock brick wall provides a warm, textured ground for sleek grey cabinetry, paired oversized chrome pendants and a stainless extractor canopy.
– Monolithic Media Wall — A bespoke, full-height composition in dark walnut and lacquered panels combines display niches, concealed storage and integrated AV — a sculptural anchor to the living space.
– Floating Oak Vanity — A solid oak counter cantilevers from a charcoal stone wall, supporting a soft white basin — a calm, monastic pause within the home’s more graphic palette.
– Rooftop Terrace — High-performance bi-fold doors dissolve the living space onto a private terrace of warm timber decking, integrated planters and a clipped topiary frame against the city skyline.