Natural and Healthful Living are Central in the Highgate Project by House of Grey
Natural and Healthful Living are Central in the Highgate Project by House of Grey
House of Grey Designs Highgate Home’s Interior to Provide Health and Contentment
Project:
Highgate
Design:
House of Grey
Location:
London, England
Photography:
Piet-Albert Goethals
Words:
Michael Sinclair
The London based design studio House of Grey has developed a particular aesthetic and approach where salutogenic design and cradle-to-cradle materials prevail, creating their very own “whole-person-whole-world” philosophy. The spaces and interiors designed by House of Grey are all based on their “symbiotic principle of using materials that benefit human health throughout their use and actively feed the earth upon disposal.” With a purpose of creating restorative spaces and healthful environments, their designs are always immersed with a calm and minimal aesthetic. This signature style and philosophy is fused with salutogenic design in House of Grey’s Highgate project, entailing the furnishing of a London home. The owners wanted to invest in their health and contentment and for this to be reflected in their home. “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,” the studio notes.
As always, the designers integrated environmentally sustainable materials in this project, yet they weren’t able to find the right pieces at first. “They just didn’t resonate 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,” the studio notes. Hence why, for the furnishing of the Highgate home, House of Grey collaborated with several designers and artists that match the values and philosophy of the studio, such as Sebastian Cox and Atelier Cabinet Makers. Used materials are ebonized oak and blackened ash to improve air quality and breathing by limiting the use of harmful off gassing materials and sealants, English cedar wood was used to line the draws of the wardrobe to prevent moths, and many more resourceful materials, “utilizing nature’s wisdom to eliminate common problems”. Such well thought-out and innovative details make for spaces that radiate an ongoing contentment and improve human health. “Every element is considered or 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 studio adds. Other used materials include Tadelakt plaster, clay, marble and brass.
The overall color palette in the Highgate home consists of natural tones from stone, clay, chalk, earth and limestone such as white, brown, cream and green. This, in combination with the material textures and look, makes for a soft and subtle interior design serving as the very own health haven of the owners. “In such positive surroundings we can truly live in the moment, bringing a sense of contentment that supports our personal evolution, where we want and need less, elevating ourselves to a state of health and happiness. This is nothing new, this is the innate way of living as a human and the future of modern living,” says founder Louisa Grey.
“In such positive surroundings we can truly live in the moment, bringing a sense of contentment that supports our personal evolution, where we want and need less, elevating ourselves to a state of health and happiness”
