They Made Their Own Sofa—and Just About Everything Else in Their Family’s Quirky London Flat
Mike and Jewlsy McMahon took on projects ranging from board-forming concrete counters to CNC-machining a dining room set with a built-in fruit bowl.
Mike and Jewlsy McMahon took on projects ranging from board-forming concrete counters to CNC-machining a dining room set with a built-in fruit bowl.
Tucked away on a quiet cul-de-sac just paces from London’s Kings Cross is a small, unassuming development set around a courtyard. The brick apartment building has two balconies overflowing with ferns and more jungle-like greenery, hinting at the urban oasis that is Mike and Jewlsy McMahon’s home, which they recently reimagined almost entirely themselves.
Mike and Jewlsy McMahon redesigned their London flat in phases, starting with a storage wall. Planted balconies mark their apartment from the street. "We have two jungle balconies with a little pond of fish," says Mike. "It’s nice having a green buffer. When you live in a dense city like London, it helps to soften the view."
Photograph by Peter Molloy
From the filled-in foliage to highly customized interiors, the apartment feels like a complete idea now, but came about in phases. "The first project began when our son, Milo, was six months old, and he’s now eight," says Jewlsy. "That was when life shifted from us being out in London all the time to being at home more." Adds Mike, "When we started, we never thought we’d get to the point where we were making our own sofa. It all happened incrementally."
Jewlsy bought the space in 2008 and the couple later met through her first flatmate. Mike moved in four years later, and they began the process of transforming the space. While Jewlsy doesn’t have formal design training, she has a keen eye, and bringing the apartment together was very much a joint effort between her and Mike, who’s an architect. (A year ago, they formed Mike McMahon Studios.)
Most of the decor that adorns the walls is by Mike and Jewlsy. The framed palm fronds above the credenza are inscribed with the original deeds to Jewlsy’s family home in Kerala, India, and are approximately 300 years old.
Photograph by Peter Molloy
The small stool in front of the storage wall was made using spare timber from the production of the dining table and chairs. The way the form is created from a single repeated element gives the stool its name: 'Riff'. "A riff is a repeated chord progression in music,">The stool in front of the storage wall is made of timber leftover from making the dining table and chairs. It gets its name, Riff, from the repeating form. "A riff is a repeated chord progression in music," explains Mike.
Photograph by Peter Molloy
See the full story on Dwell.com: They Made Their Own Sofa—and Just About Everything Else in Their Family’s Quirky London Flat
Related stories:
