Living Etc 2015-10

– the world is getting madder and madder, so home is
more and more of a haven. And I like spaces that are
very kid-friendly. Between my new partner and I, we
have seven children. We’re currently building a new
house on the site of an old garage in west London.
There’s going to be a big den, so they don’t take over the
living room the whole time, with a fireman’s pole and a
netted trampoline (among real trees) on the flat roof.
How about open-plan living?
I love being able to cook, talk and eat in the same
space, because I want anyone to be able to come
around any time, sit down, have a glass of wine and
talk. Lose the formal dining room – no one uses them
– and put where you cook, eat, do homework and
entertain in one space, the best room in the house.
Basements are for playrooms and utility rooms.
How do you maximise the sense of light?
Skylights over staircases. Or if redoing a staircase, I’d
opt for open tread, set away from the walls, so planes of
light can run down the house. High-level glazed panels
allow light into any dark spaces where you also want
privacy; doors should go up to the ceiling so light can
run through from one room to the next; and curved
walls help too – light disappears into boxy corners, but
it follows a curve around and bounces off it.
Is having a tactile element important?
I like walking around barefoot and I love wood floors
with texture scraped out of them so you can feel the
little ridges in the timber underneath your toes. An
enveloping colour, such as petrol blue, works well
against concrete and old metals. I love bronze or
brass handles. Anywhere I can surprise someone with
leather on handrails is fantastic, because it lends
warmth and feels good to hold. There’s a myth that
having something custom-made is expensive – we
work with lots of small suppliers with artisan skills,
which will disappear if we don’t support them – and it
always ends up cheaper because you get something
beautifully made that fits the space properly.
Best decorating technique?
I love white plaster on walls – it’s beautiful, warm but
cheap. It’s actually just a skim of whitened plaster
that you simply leave and don’t seal or paint over. It
immediately gets rid of the £25K decorating bill.
Which are your go-to brands?
We have a few – furniture from Cassina, Moroso and
Pedrali, Dinesen flooring and Serge Mouille lighting.
And any design no-nos?
I don’t like overdoing things, throwing too many
materials at a job, or the way cheap hotels use so
much plastic. Even as the world grows, we don’t need
to resort to using cheap, nasty, tacky materials.
You’ve recently upped the ante of faded grandeur
at The Groucho Club, to rave reviews…
Spatially, it was a mess. We’ve moved the entrance
and added a library and an outdoor terrace. The key
was to rationalise how the space worked. There were
lots of funny, blocked spaces nobody wanted to go to,
including a snooker room no one used. The key was to
make it feel different without losing the spirit.
How do you create the lived-in feel?
I’ve always loved scouring vintage furniture markets in
places such as Lille. Old pieces are a great way to
soften a new space. We’re currently working on a
hotel in Williamsburg, New York, where we’re leaving
original finishes such as the seams of pipework, so it
doesn’t feel too polished. Leather, wood and bronze
age so well the more you live with them.
Find out more at michaelisboyd.com
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6 Alex turned a crumbling
cottage into a sleek beach
holiday home in Praa Sands,
near Penzance 7 Letting the
light flow at a private residence
in Kensington by Michaelis
Boyd 8 The firm brought
industrial chic to Pizza East in
Shoreditch 9 Frida 752 dining
chair, approx £490, Odo
Fioravanti for Pedrali
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OCTOBER 2015
lifestyleetc.co.uk