Space Craft
The new riverfront apartment in No 2 Upper Riverside isn’t filled with flashy treatments. Instead, the design studio State of Craft have chosen to pare back its treatment, to let the space breathe.
Keep your eyes on the floor. That’s rarely a good piece of advice when considering any new home, but it’s worth bearing in mind when visiting the new State of Craft apartment on Greenwich Peninsula.
This property is in No 2 Upper Riverside, the beautiful, prism-like, 15-storey building on the waterfront at Greenwich Peninsula. It has been overseen by State of Craft, an upscale design studio based in London and Ottawa, which has created high-quality interiors for projects by such well-known architects as Renzo Piano and David Chipperfield; they worked on the Shard’s apartments.
Glance towards your shoes when you enter the home on the seventh floor of No 2 Upper Riverside, and you’ll find wood beneath your feet. This isn’t especially surprising; timber flooring has been a popular choice among interior designers for the last few decades.
However, State of Craft haven’t limited this wood to the living quarters. It runs, unbroken, from the front door into the bedrooms, the kitchen and the bathroom, too.
“Nine times out of 10, the designers will change the floor, at least in the bathroom,” says Jane Lawrence, design consultant for Greenwich Peninsula, who oversees the development’s interiors. “But State of Craft have chosen not to.”
“"Glance towards your shoes when you enter the home on the seventh floor of No. 2 Upper Riverside, and you’ll find wood beneath your feet."”
Simple, stringent waterproofing techniques ensure that the wood can extend into any space likely to get sprayed with a showerhead, and ensure that this unbroken flooring gives the apartment a broader, larger, more flexible feel. “They’ve chosen a very simple, pared-back palette of colours,” explains Lawrence. “It's very minimal, contemporary and refined.”
The design practice has included flourishes of marble, terrazzo and granite, set off by newly produced, classic pieces of mid-century-style furniture. Yet otherwise State of Craft’s show apartment is remarkably restrained. Lawrence says this uncluttered contemporary approach suits the space incredibly well. “No 2 Upper Riverside is filled with interesting apartments, because they’re not your standard, rectilinear shape,” she explains. “They’re more of a prism, offering dual-aspect views. They benefit from being kept quite open. The shape adds a level of dynamism.”
“"No. 2 Upper Riverside is filled with interesting apartments, because they’re not your standard, rectilinear shape. They’re more of a prism, offering dual-aspect views. They benefit from being kept quite open. The shape adds a level of dynamism." – Jane Lawrence, design consultant for Greenwich Peninsula.”
There are those in the design community who still believe more is more, and will throw almost anything into a project if it’s trendy and eye-catching. An apartment wouldn’t be finished until it had a couple of vintage lampshades and a stone Buddha. Such an approach appeals to some buyers. Yet Lawrence believes No 2's restrained take is likely to appeal to a more considered end of the market. “It’s quite a gentle aesthetic,” she says. “It will appeal to people who don’t like clutter, who appreciate quality materials, as well as the little details. I think it’s people in their thirties and upward, but a more discerning younger person would get it, too. This sense of space seems to reflect its open riverside setting.” That sense of space is perfect for anyone who, in 2019, is seeking something of a décor detox. It is light, bright, thrillingly contemporary, and, in this particular perfectly formed London apartment, it very much comes from the floorboards up.
For more information, visit Upper Riverside
