Everyone loves the idea of a retreat, a place to escape everyday life, says architect, designer and TV presenter George Clarke, the charismatic face of Channel 4's Amazing Spaces.
The secret is to discover your inner architect, designer and builder, he says. The subjects of his latest book More Amazing Spaces are inspirational places to call our own that feel far from the madding crowd. "They are projects that are affordable to execute and manage, that homeowners can get stuck into themselves."
Think of it as a big adventure, he says. Clarke’s ventures start at home where he built a non-conformist garden room in the back of his own home.
The playhouse-cum-home office he affectionately calls the warren features two connecting rooms accessed via rabbit-hole round doors that sit beside each other in a previously unused space that led to the garage, a dumping ground for boxes. In that dead space he constructed a room that is painted sunshine yellow and is one of two rooms where his kids Georgia (11), Emilio, (9) and Iona (7) have the freedom to draw on the walls. “It is their space,” he says. “They have ownership of it.”
Illuminated by the sky
A cool, see-through, circular door made from polycarbonate by William Hardie Design, his trusty right-hand man on the TV show, opens into a small courtyard and on into a second, redbrick-fronted room, painted a deep blue that is illuminated by a skylight.
Other spaces featured in the book include a secret basement belonging to a couple who discovered the subterranean cave after they had bought the property.
They turned it into a trio of rooms, a secret home casino for him, a yoga studio for her and a wine cellar where they could meet and ask each other how their day was. The fact that the structure existed saved them having to go to the expense of excavating the ground but they improved the space by installing a proper ventilation system and waterproofed the structure.
Family treehouse
One family built a treehouse where they used cheap plywood to fabricate a wall of storage that includes intricately-cut fold-out shelving, a pull-down bed and a dresser that uses sash window cord to extend the dresser into a dining table.
For any of these ideas to work you have to spend an awful lot of time at the design stage, Clarke says. “It is a case of experimenting and mocking them up, of trial and error to see what happens,” he says.
“You shouldn’t worry about getting it wrong. That’s half the fun.”
A motorbike fanatic that used to race bikes bought a tour bus and converted it into sleeping quarters for him and his friends, building prefabricated sleeping pods for up to 12 people. Now, instead of bedding down in the back of a Transit van with their bike for company, these moto maniacs sleep in relative comfort and pay him a small fee for the accommodation.
One man in France got on the property ladder by converting a lock-up garage into a small but chic abode with an open-plan living space and a central column that conceals the bathroom and a mezzanine bedroom with limited headroom.
By thinking laterally a couple of lads in Oxfordshire bought a narrow boat and converted it into a great and affordable two-bedroom home.
Clarke gets asked to look at many caravans and mobile homes. Each project is different and unique, especially when it comes to the detail. The smart kitchen set-up in one opens to reveal the pantry-style cupboards that help prevent items from dislodging in transit. Its sink and two-burner hob sit on a small counter with the microwave at head level on a shelf above.
Somewhere to enjoy a cup of tea
In a Winnebago the owner affixed a stool to what is in effect the kitchen table – a cupboard that is durable enough to take his weight because he wanted somewhere to sit down and enjoy his morning cup of tea.
The fact that these jobs are small in size, all less than 40sq m, means that while you may think they don’t need planning, it is always more prudent to talk to your local planning authority before commencing works and to get advice on how best to proceed. It is also a good idea to let the neighbours know your plans.
Clarke is currently busy restoring a castle in Co Tipperary – the precise location is top secret for now – that will be the subject of a 2015 TV show and he is actively looking for Irish stories for series five of the television show. Anyone interested in taking part should contact the show via the Channel 4 website.
George Clarke's Amazing Spaces returns to Channel 4 tonight at 8pm. George Clarke's book, More Amazing Spaces, published by Quadrille, is now on sale. For more inspiring spaces see the online gallery.
