Highgate Home | House of Grey

Over the past decade, House of Grey have been refining our thinking and design practices as a design studio, whilst creating restorative interior spaces and healthful environments for our clients.

Our recently completed Highgate residential project fuses our signature aesthetic and philosophy with Salutogenic Design principles to create a home-retreat for the owners, who wished to actively pursue health and invest in their own contentment. Salutogenic Design’s simple aim is to build structures that make people healthier, a principle that originated in the construction of many of the world’s leading modern hospitals.

Over the years, our fundamental aim as a design studio has become the need to leave a positive design legacy when renovating and restoring modern and historic spaces. Each material and resource we specify is researched so we can understand its impact on human and ecological health when in production, in use and once it has been discarded.

By integrating environmentally sustainable materials and principles into our renovation projects, it is possible to significantly reduce our environmental impact and energy consumption, limiting natural resource depletion and pollution, minimising the amount of toxins used – which is of benefit to both the occupants and the Earth’s ecosystems.

As part of our creative practice, we commissioned and collaborated with artists and makers such as Sebastian Cox, who ‘make for a better future in a forward-thinking, zero-waste, carbon-counting workshop and studio in London’ and Somerset based Atelier Cabinet Makers.

The desire to create bespoke features has seeded itself from being unable to find pieces for the home that resonated with us both aesthetically and ethically – we simply could not source beautiful contemporary pieces that are created through sustainable manufacturing processes, using 100% natural materials.

House of Grey commissioned and co-designed the master bed, bedside tables, wardrobe and vanity unit with Sebastian Cox. We chose materials such as ebonised oak and blackened ash which improve air quality by moderating humidity, to improve breathing. We chose English cedar wood for the wardrobe interior to prevent moths – utilising nature’s wisdom to eliminate common problems. Thought-through details such as these culminate in an ongoing contentment in a space that improves human health with day-to-day use.

Every element is considered for its inherent values and how it positively contributes to the impact of the interior scheme from the perspective of both human and ecological health.

The master bed has been upholstered using a combination of rubberised hair – this material comprises of animal hair (typically a mix of hog, cattle, horse short hairs) with natural latex and layered with a 100% wool wadding. Our choice of bedding and mattress from NaturalMat is harvested according to Fair Trade principles and made from 100% biodegradable resources, so it can return to the Earth as nature intended.

We utilised Tadelakt for the bathroom walls as it is completely natural, lime-based and sealed with a soap solution – providing a smooth, breathable finish and a beautiful yet practical, clean and healthy living environment. As a material, Tadelakt plaster is the perfect incarnation of the House of Grey’s pioneering philosophy: Circular Salutogenic Design.

Tadelakt is still made using ancient processes passed on and taught by the Moroccan masters.

The minimum amount of energy is used during its production, it releases 80% less CO2 that cement-based finishes and any CO2 that is generated gets re-absorbed by the lime – which means it doesn’t escape and harm the atmosphere. Tadelakt is also biodegradable, so once it's disposed of in the future it will gradually sink back into the earth, or it can be broken down, recycled and used in new mortars.

The bath and sink are made of carefully selected sands and unfired clays mixed with pigments and minerals blended to become a high-quality natural plaster which is able to breathe, providing a healthy alternative to mass-produced bathroom ranges.

In the WC we used Clayworks two tone (Moon Tonal and Buff) on the walls with brass inlay. Clayworks was born from the founders’ love of nature and belief in natural, sustainable building practices. This material is 100% natural, absorbs toxins, zero VOC emission, low embodied carbon, 100% compostable and recyclable.