John Pawson designed his private home in i Notting Hill, London, from 1992 to 1994. From outside, the Victorian townhouse appears completely unaltered, but the interior has been transformed in accordance with classic Pawsonian principles. The home appears as a clear example of the designer’s minimalist approach to architecture and interior design.
Private residence – London, Notting Hill, United Kingdom
Architect: John Pawson
Photographer: credits John Pawson
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Douglas Classic
Thickness: 35 mm. Width: 450 mm. Full lengths: 15 m
Finish: Unknown
John Pawson’s minimalist design reflects who and what he is. So does his townhouse in London, where wood and the colour white dominate the home that is the setting of the family’s daily life. Pawson House London is an example of architectural simplicity that inspires our sensuous appreciation of space.
While Pawson was working on the townhouse, he was introduced to a sample of Dinesen Douglas wood. This first encounter with Dinesen helped him complete his vision with the choice of Douglas as one of the key materials for Pawson House London.
Pawson House London became a turning point for John Pawson, who had discovered a new type of wood that suited him especially well. For Dinesen, this was the company’s first request to deliver floors for a private project – and in entirely new dimensions.
The 450-millimetre-wide, straight, 15-metre-long Douglas planks now adorn Pawson House London. The planks are laid crosswise throughout the house, from the front of the house to the garden in back. The flooring laid the foundation for the rest of the interior.
At the time, using Douglas in these exceptional dimensions was in itself impressive. Pawson’s genius is also evident in his decision to raise the wood up in a seamless transition from floor to object. He designed a unique furniture collection that became an indispensable part of Pawson House London: a dining table, a bench and a stool draw the gaze up from the planks underfoot and provide an intimate, sensuous experience of wood as part of everyday life.
The white walls throughout Pawson House London serve as a blank canvas that complements the golden notes of the wood in particular. The interplay of the wood and the white surfaces creates an expression that challenges the concept of minimalism. The result is simple but not stark. The presence of nature shaped by the designer’s hand is what makes Pawson’s spatial designs so intuitively appealing and stimulating.
