Camden Workshop offers flexible family space in a transformed north London warehouse
Camden Workshop, a transformed industrial space in north London, was designed by architects McLaren Excell to combine residential space and a creative studio for its owners

In a way, Camden Workshop is a familiar London story – a former industrial warehouse, in a popular part of the capital, reinvented into a tailor-made family home. The capital's rich urban fabric and ever-growing need for housing have led many creative owners and architects to explore repurposing non-residential structures and plots into dwellings – the results can be both characterful and design-led, honouring place and heritage, old and new.
What's less common in this case study of the genre is that it incorporates not only its original structure's rawness and aesthetic identity but an element of its function as well – as it contains, within the residence, a creative studio for the homeowners' craft and artistic endeavours and interests.
Camden Workshop: a London warehouse reimagined
The property was once a warehouse, which was more recently used as an artist's studio. The current owners purchased it and worked with architecture studio McLaren Excell to reimagine the space, and its generous volume and potential, as a domestic base with a flexible ground level that could serve as a multifunctional space to be adapted as needed in future.
Studio co-founders Rob Excell and Luke McLaren worked with the existing structure, adding a new metal extension and façade to the rear, facing the large garden, while largely maintaining the original front façade. They also carved ample living space and flowing circulation within the four-bedroom, four-bathroom home – whose private areas are located on the upper level.
The ground floor, on the other hand, is rich in potential, adjusted to cater to anything from weaving, with an original loom and yarn rack on site, to photography, art, therapy, fermenting, candle making, joinery and more. Creative production can thrive here, but the roomy, flowing interior can also become a perfect host for entertaining or even larger workshops.
'This project celebrates all that is great about design, it’s a real representation of the journey and experience that we have with the client. Incorporating natural materials and with a directive to recycle and be ever mindful of materiality and sustainability, something we’re passionate about as a studio, it was great to be able to introduce an abundant number of materials in their raw state,' says Excell.
'The unassuming former warehouse exterior of this property betrays nothing of what’s behind the front door and there’s something exciting about that. Creating a home but also a space that is multifunctional in its most extreme sense is a challenge, but as a designer of buildings and interiors with longevity and integrity as guiding principles, it’s great to think what these craft-oriented spaces could produce and inspire from those that use them.'
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
At some 608 sq m, the house includes 3.2m ceiling heights and glazed doors measuring 4m wide on the ground floor – a gesture that supports flexibility but also ensures a sense of space and subtle drama throughout.
Additionally, the ground area's exposed finishes celebrate the materials used – namely concrete, glass and brick – as well as the property's origins. They are complemented with recycled timbers upstairs.
Bespoke elements, such as the proportionately generous 3.5m metre solid travertine island in the kitchen and the Douglas fir cabinets on the first floor, highlight the craft-based design approach.
The custom features have been matched with the owners' collection of art and objects, as well as sourced new and vintage furniture, styled by Lucy Currell of Studio Iro.
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
Extreme Cashmere reimagines retail with its new Amsterdam store: ‘You want to take your shoes off and stay’
Wallpaper* takes a tour of Extreme Cashmere’s new Amsterdam store, a space which reflects the label’s famed hospitality and unconventional approach to knitwear
By Jack Moss
-
Titanium watches are strong, light and enduring: here are some of the best
Brands including Bremont, Christopher Ward and Grand Seiko are exploring the possibilities of titanium watches
By Chris Hall
-
Warp Records announces its first event in over a decade at the Barbican
‘A Warp Happening,' landing 14 June, is guaranteed to be an epic day out
By Tianna Williams
-
A new London house delights in robust brutalist detailing and diffused light
London's House in a Walled Garden by Henley Halebrown was designed to dovetail in its historic context
By Jonathan Bell
-
A Sussex beach house boldly reimagines its seaside typology
A bold and uncompromising Sussex beach house reconfigures the vernacular to maximise coastal views but maintain privacy
By Jonathan Bell
-
This 19th-century Hampstead house has a raw concrete staircase at its heart
This Hampstead house, designed by Pinzauer and titled Maresfield Gardens, is a London home blending new design and traditional details
By Tianna Williams
-
An octogenarian’s north London home is bold with utilitarian authenticity
Woodbury residence is a north London home by Of Architecture, inspired by 20th-century design and rooted in functionality
By Tianna Williams
-
What is DeafSpace and how can it enhance architecture for everyone?
DeafSpace learnings can help create profoundly sense-centric architecture; why shouldn't groundbreaking designs also be inclusive?
By Teshome Douglas-Campbell
-
The dream of the flat-pack home continues with this elegant modular cabin design from Koto
The Niwa modular cabin series by UK-based Koto architects offers a range of elegant retreats, designed for easy installation and a variety of uses
By Jonathan Bell
-
Are Derwent London's new lounges the future of workspace?
Property developer Derwent London’s new lounges – created for tenants of its offices – work harder to promote community and connection for their users
By Emily Wright
-
Showing off its gargoyles and curves, The Gradel Quadrangles opens in Oxford
The Gradel Quadrangles, designed by David Kohn Architects, brings a touch of playfulness to Oxford through a modern interpretation of historical architecture
By Shawn Adams