Houzz Tour: Playing Checkers in a Converted London Bakery

“When we first saw this flat, it was pretty dark and in bad condition, but we felt it had so much potential,” says architect Pereen d’Avoine of Russian For Fish. It was part of a former bakery that had undergone a cobbled-together conversion in the 1980s, and what it lacked in windows and natural light, it made up for in ample floor space.

Her partner, Matt, is also an architect, “and luckily we have similar taste when it comes to interiors,” says d’Avoine. “But we were on a really tight budget, so we decided to live in the flat for a while before starting work on it, so we could understand what we needed from the space.”

One year later the pair applied for planning permission to put in a new window, transforming a dark corner and helping them to make the most of their living area. Completed in 2012, the crisp, well-designed space now enjoys lots of natural light and is filled with restrained, midcentury-style furniture that complements the bold checkered floor.

Houzz at a Glance
Location: Bethnal Green district of London
Designer: Russian For Fish
Size: 2 bedrooms; 1 bathroom

“We had a really tight budget, so we didn’t want to rip out the solid wood floor, but it was stained a dark red color that totally sapped all the light in the room,” says d’Avoine. The solution: “Matt and I both love checks, and the bold pattern gives the flat a sense of width, which is helpful, as it’s quite long,” she says. “It also leads your eye naturally into the other spaces.” The statement floor is d’Avoine’s favorite part of the flat, although her contractors were not such big fans. “I think they hated it,” she says. “It’s all hand painted, and it took a whole week to finish.”

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“Matt and I have quite similar taste when it comes to furniture,” says d’Avoine. “As we had lived in the flat for a while, we had bought the odd piece before renovating, with the view that it would all come together in the end.”


The couple is drawn to midcentury pieces because of their unfussy, elegant shapes. “We have designed the whole flat around this simple aesthetic,” she says.

The apartment’s footprint is quite long, so they settled on a bright white color scheme to bounce light around the space and open it up. “That way we made the most of the natural light and could introduce color through accessories and furniture,” says d’Avoine. She bought the 1960s G Plan sofa 10 years ago and had it reupholstered for their new home.

The 1960s sideboard, an eBay find, is from the same period as the sofa. “We spent weeks trawling eBay looking for something suitable,” says d’Avoine. “We were really lucky to find this.”


Each piece of furniture, like these occasional chairs, works hard in the pared-back space. The chairs and the Anglepoise lamp are treasured finds from Crystal Palace Antiques & Modern, where the couple has spent many Sundays trawling its four floors looking for bargain finds. “We decided to leave the pendant light fixture bare,” says d’Avoine. “The ceiling is so high, and we liked the idea of having something very simple hanging here that didn’t break up the eye line.”


There was no window in this wall when they first moved in. “It was so dark here, we just didn’t use this space at all,” says d’Avoine. The new window has transformed this part of the flat.


“We have been able to relocate the kitchen here and move the dining area to the center of the space, so it flows much more naturally,” she says.

The kitchen cabinets are made from birch-faced plywood — one of d’Avoine’s favorite materials — which has been treated with white oil so the grain is still visible. The oil has the added benefit of preventing the wood from yellowing.

The Loop dining table by Hay and the open shelves introduce a Scandinavian feel to the couple’s simple, midcentury aesthetic, while the canteen-style dining chairs add a splash of bright red. “They are from Very Good & Proper and are incredibly comfortable, which was our main concern,” says d’Avoine.


“The dining area definitely has a slightly more contemporary feel,” says d’Avoine. “My friend Tom Housden made the pendant light and gave it to me. I studied architecture with him, and he now runs the Hand & Eye Studio.”


This generously sized room was originally the kitchen, but when the couple reconfigured the flat, they made this their bedroom. “We wanted to maintain the open-plan feel throughout, so we have added folding doors to the bedroom, which we keep open most of the time,” says d’Avoine. The door on the far wall leads through to a spacious dressing room and an en suite bathroom. “The picture above the bed is an old hand-painted Bollywood film poster,” says d’Avoine. “I’m half Indian, and I lived in India for a while, so it has meaning, plus it really pops against the while color scheme.”


The mezzanine space at the top of the staircase is original to the flat, but d’Avoine and Matt extended it. The area is now used as a guest bedroom. The doorway below is another entrance to the en suite bathroom. “It’s a very circular flat,” says d’Avoine. “We really love the way the whole space flows.”

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