{"id":2441,"date":"2025-09-14T10:33:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T02:33:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/2025\/09\/14\/kitchen-of-the-week-plain-english-goes-contemporary-in-a-converted-london-schoolhouse\/"},"modified":"2025-09-14T10:33:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-14T02:33:08","slug":"kitchen-of-the-week-plain-english-goes-contemporary-in-a-converted-london-schoolhouse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homeofmaterials.com\/th\/kitchen-of-the-week-plain-english-goes-contemporary-in-a-converted-london-schoolhouse\/","title":{"rendered":"\u0e2b\u0e49\u0e2d\u0e07\u0e04\u0e23\u0e31\u0e27\u0e1b\u0e23\u0e30\u0e08\u0e33\u0e2a\u0e31\u0e1b\u0e14\u0e32\u0e2b\u0e4c: \u0e20\u0e32\u0e29\u0e32\u0e2d\u0e31\u0e07\u0e01\u0e24\u0e29\u0e40\u0e23\u0e35\u0e22\u0e1a\u0e07\u0e48\u0e32\u0e22\u0e17\u0e35\u0e48\u0e01\u0e25\u0e32\u0e22\u0e40\u0e1b\u0e47\u0e19\u0e23\u0e48\u0e27\u0e21\u0e2a\u0e21\u0e31\u0e22\u0e43\u0e19\u0e42\u0e23\u0e07\u0e40\u0e23\u0e35\u0e22\u0e19\u0e40\u0e01\u0e48\u0e32\u0e17\u0e35\u0e48\u0e14\u0e31\u0e14\u0e41\u0e1b\u0e25\u0e07\u0e43\u0e19\u0e25\u0e2d\u0e19\u0e14\u0e2d\u0e19"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Built in 1859, the schoolhouse in London\u2019s Marylebone neighborhood had in recent years been home to a surprising mix of fashion showrooms and an evangelical library. The owners themselves, a husband and wife in their sixties, kept offices here, and as they worked, they envisioned an entirely new use for the structure: their own post-retirement, airy-modern living quarters.<\/p>\n

With plans to remove recent partitions and make the most of the original features\u2014Victorian cast-iron girders, steel stairs, and nearly 14-foot ceilings\u2014they hired Seth Stein Architects to do the revitalizing. \u201cThe design strategy,\u201d says Stein, \u201cwas to express the bones and expose and celebrate the range of materials,\u201d while \u201ccarefully integrating\u201d all mod cons. Structural work included transforming the ground floor into open living quarters, taking advantage of the lofty ceiling heights by inserting mezzanines, and recasting the playground as a courtyard garden.<\/p>\n

For the kitchen off the entry, Plain English, known for its elegant translations of classic British design, was recruited to step somewhat out of character and devise a setup that\u2019s clean-lined and at home in this highly unusual former classroom. Join us for a look at the decidedly 21st century results.<\/p>\n

Photography courtesy of Plain English.<\/p>\n


Above: The approximately 55-square-foot kitchen has an L-shaped main workspace that runs under the  laundry room mezzanine, introduced by the architect \u201cto create utility and provide a cozier, more intimate and purposeful space for cooking,\u201d says Emma Milne, who led the Plain English design team. <\/p>\n

The painted wood cabinets are Plain English\u2019s Osea design, a Remodelista favorite: scroll to the end to see it in a range of guises. Note the appliance placement: a Sub Zero fridge and freezer and Wolf ovens and microwave are inset on the inside wall, so they\u2019re in the center of the action but barely within view. Work zones enable several people to share the space: The counter and sink in the back, with the Barber Wilsons chrome tap, is for dishwashing and cleanup; the sink in the front\u2014with Barber Wilsons\u2019 traditional brass faucets\u2014is for food prep and serving.<\/p>\n

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Above: Milne extended out the Carrara-marbled-topped counter and topped it with steel restaurant-style open shelves, a detail the owners\u2019 wanted to replicate from their vacation house. The marble ledge running behind the sink \u201ckeeps things from rolling off the back,\u201d says Milne, and shallow steel shelving in the front displays the wife\u2019s own ceramics. <\/p>\n

The kitchen is flanked by two satellites: a cloakroom and elevator to the right of the stair, and, on the opposite side, an open panty. The wide-plank flooring is original, newly lightened with a soap and lye finish. The black metal long-armed sconces are a Seth Stein Architects design.<\/p>\n


Above: \u201cThe kitchen\u2019s contemporary edge is helped along by a gloss finish on the cabinets, simple metal hardware, and the thick worktops,\u201d says Milne. The Carrara counters are detailed with with bullnose edging and rounded corners\u2014easy for gliding past. The white paint used throughout is from Plain English\u2019s own paint collection: they dubbed this one Boiled Dishcloth.
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Above: The Plain English team designed a wall-hung, blackened-steel cupboard \u201cin the manner of a school locker\u201d\u2014and floated it off the ground: \u201cThis area is narrow, so to keep the cabinet from sitting heavily in the space, we raised it,\u201d says Milne. Throughout she stuck to a materials palette of painted wood, blackened and stainless steel, marble, and brass.,

Above: V-groove-paneled cabinets in the back conceal a spillover refrigerator and freezer and food storage area. It connects with the kitchen\u2019s back counter.
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Above: Across the room, the \u201cdrinks area\u201d has blackened steel cabinets, a Carrara marble counter, and bar sink. The steel-framed textured glass screen adds \u201ca vertical element,\u201d explains Milne, \u201cand means the tap and sink can be closed off when entertaining.\u201d <\/p>\n

A dining table now stands on the floor between the two sections of the kitchen. The casement windows overlook the back garden: the sills, newly lowered to the floor, were originally positioned above eye level, so that students wouldn\u2019t be distracted.<\/p>\n


Above: The faucet is Quooker\u2019s Nordic Fusion Square Tap, a combination mixer and hot water tap in brushed chrome (the Dutch brand invented the instant hot water tap). Here, the counter is square edged for a more formal look and the Plain English cabinet  pulls are untreated brass. (Sourcing similar hardware? See 10 Easy Pieces: Silver Finish Edge Pulls.)
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Above: Seth Stein Architects\u2019 ground floor plan details the passage through the former playground to the living quarters. The kitchen looks onto the back terrace. The lofty living room is newly lined with a wall of glazing framed by the playground\u2019s restored arcade of iron columns. \u201cAll new work is clearly expressed as contemporary,\u201d says Stein. <\/p>\n

See Plain English\u2019s Osea cabinets in the Remodelista Architect & Designer Directory and several favorite posts:<\/p>\n