INDUSTRIAL VIBE #19

THE PrOPErTy

A ground-floor apartment within a mid-century converted warehouse in south London. It comprises a living area, kitchen, garden room, wine room, boot room, master bedroom suite with walk-in wardrobe, guest bedroom suite and three WCs.

GARDEN ROOM

The flat only has a small patio, but the indoor/ outdoor space (above), which used to be a bedroom makes up for that.There’s a delightful sense of flow, from the open-plan kitchen and living space in the front of the flat, via the garden room that Mark created in place of an unwanted bedroom, through to the sleeping quarters, all adorned with an outstanding selection of art.

LIVING AREA

Uninspiring at first viewing, the apartment was stripped back to its bones before Mark – drawing on the expertise he’d accumulated in helping to design his restaurants – reworked the footprint to create a series of fluid zones, linked and juxtaposed by the eye-catching art that lines the walls.

Mark has made great use of reclaimed scaffold boards, both to create the bookcase, a wine rack, and also to line the ceiling in the garden room beyond. The artwork in the bookcase is actually the front of a pull-out drinks cabinet. Mark bought the cabinet from the Paul Smith shop in Mayfair and replaced 'a horrible Chinese painting' in the front, with this artwork.

The furniture, too, has a sense of history – the sofa, for example, was Mark's ex-brother-in-law’s and is a Seventies design from Sweden. A strict all-white decorating palette is punctuated by artwork and the colourful shades of Mark’s extensive Stilnovo lighting collection.

An arrangement of objects is complemented by yet anotherStilnovo light fixture.

KITCHEN

In the kitchen, another vintage piece – a wooden fridge dating back to the 1800s that was refurbished by a company called Technical Services – adds a standout element to the scheme. Mark isn't keen on the generic, stainless-steel finishes of most modern extractor hoods, so he had the cover made to fit in with the industrial look around the flat.

MASTER BEDROOM

The triptych hanging above the bed makesa striking statement against the whitewashed bare-brick wall.

Behind the dividing wall is Mark’s walk-in wardrobe.

The mirror artwork is by Gary Webb. When Mark moved it here, it took a whole day to put the pieces back together.

MASTER EN SUITE

Mark has his bath freestanding in the room, but the shower is located in the space beyond.

To learn more about Mark Hix’s restaurants, private dining events and the HIX Townhouse in Lyme Regis, visit hixrestaurants.co.uk.

To see the roster of emerging artists exhibiting at the HIX ART gallery in Shoreditch, or to get details about the HIX Award for students and recent graduates working across all art forms, check out hixart.co.uk

Photography ⁄ James Merrell