An Exercise in Restraint – Paddington House by Fiona Lynch Office

An exercise in restraint and celebration of natural materials, Fiona Lynch Office seamlessly blends the final puzzle piece within Paddington House, a Victorian-era terrace. With Fiona Lynch Office having completed all other works within this four-level period home over several years, the recent completion of the ensuite results in a refined retreat with striking personality.

Designed as a private refuge for a professional couple, the ensuite builds on the palette within the rest of the residence, utilising muted and timeless materials deftly contrasted with bolder accents. The planning posed its own challenges, including a relatively small footprint and distinct absence of natural light. Working to address this, focused and directional lighting is carefully and practically inserted, used in tandem with reflective surfaces to create a play of light resulting in a perceptively larger feeling of space. Arresting fusions of texture with restrained, yet deliberate use of colour sees Fiona Lynch Office subtly push boundaries of a traditional bathroom.

Arresting fusions of texture with restrained, yet deliberate use of colour sees Fiona Lynch Office subtly push boundaries of a traditional bathroom.

A hierarchy of moments within the space sees planning shielding both shower and toilet from view, creating recessive and generous areas concealed by doors for both privacy and practicality. Strongly sculptural yet welcoming, the freestanding bath is elevated to take centre stage, cocooning the user within the main zone and encouraging the eye to rest on the interplay of crisp angles with soft curves. Counteracting this is the deceptively simple floating vanity, featuring distinctively figured marble matching floor and walls, highlighting hints of rust to echo the nearby towel rail. The delicately detailed vanity uses matte black tapware as punctuation to the design, drawing attention to the finely crafted integrated stone basin allowing a diverse interplay  of visual interest.

Colour is considered for maximum interest and depth drawing on an overarching approach of fluidity in tone and neutral tints across mediums. Natural stone veining influenced colour selection for the custom-coloured towel rail, elevating an essential item to a sculptural feature in the room. Melding absolute functionality, the overhead mirrored cabinetry continues this approach through thoughtful design, allowing both occupants to shave simultaneously while providing playfulness in rich colour application to portions of angled storage. The ability to manipulate the angle of the mirrors takes full advantage of the carefully selected artwork over the bath, offering multiple viewing options and reflections to allow a full appreciation of the space.

Natural stone veining influenced colour selection for the custom-coloured towel rail elevating an essential item to a sculptural feature in the room.

Conceived as an expression of both maturity and intimacy, Fiona Lynch Office has skillfully woven the existing design narrative while firmly establishing the space as its own entity. Paddington House ensuite reduces material selections down to their key elements, clearly representing an enrichment of the original brief and forming the finishing piece within the terrace.