Our third commission for Amazing Spaces, the brief was to create a studio for George and his family in a small London garden. At the rear of the garden was a narrow stretch leading to a flat roofed garage and surrounded by wooden fence panels.

In the usual Amazing Spaces style, additional challenges were gradually set, an opening roof, a view, a butterfly house, a planetarium and cinema! This inspired a range of solutions and an opportunity for us to try out ideas.

For the main studio we designed a sliding polycarbonate roof and huge Perspex ceiling light boxes, flooding the narrow space with light. To create a view, we commissioned a photograph of Brighton beach which ran the full length of one side of the studio and on the fence behind. For the remaining walls, we painted geometric patterns, which opened to reveal storage and a customised desk for George and each of his children.  A low bench running the entire length of the space provided further storage as well as wheelable stools. The banquette concealed a bar and fold out ping pong table.

The Butterfly House was created from a lattice of oak strips and Perspex. The garage, planetarium and cinema were upholstered in a dark blue felt, with matching foam seating blocks that could be configured in multiple playful arrangements.