How Two Designers Turned an Industrial Workshop Into a Family Home

This is an excerpt from the book Home for Now by Earl of East, published by gestalten in 2026. The text is by Paul Firmin, and the photos are by Sarah Victoria Bates.

From Workshop to Home

When Shai Akram and Andrew Haythornthwaite first stepped inside their Stoke Newington property, it was far from the haven it would become. A former flour shop in Victorian times, later a hackney carriage station and ceramic studio, the building still had oil-stained floors and makeshift walls, but it was brimming with possibility. Instead of saving for a mortgage, the couple invested the money they would have spent into making their rental something entirely unique. "It felt like a barn—a space you could stretch out in," Shai recalls. They set about partitioning the large, industrial shell into three separate spaces for working, living, and sleeping, all while keeping that feeling of openness intact. The structure evolved again when their first child arrived and family life was folded into their live/work experiment.

There are few doors in the home; most rooms are closed off by curtains or partial partitions that rise but never quite meet the ceiling. Two mezzanines built like tree houses nod to the couple’s playful approach to design. One was made for the children—complete with a colorful climbing wall and aerial silk—and the other built to be accessed by a pulley ladder. 

The Architecture of Improvisation

Every inch of the home has been shaped by a shared eye for design and a respect for the temporary nature of their space. As renters, Shai and Andrew have a rule: every change they make must be reversible. The room dividers are built from full sheets of carefully selected plywood and held in place without nails, a narrow shadow gap tracing the space where wood meets floor. The contrast of rustic wood with white walls and beams creates something stylish and unique. "We treated everyday materials as if they were precious," says Andrew.

The couple designed and built much of their furniture themselves, including their daughter’s bed, shelves, and modular kitchen units—all of which can be easily demounted and moved when the time comes. Ikea Ivar shelving systems sit alongside handmade joinery, prototypes, and keepsakes from their travels, reflecting a philosophy of creative adaptability. 

Adaptable Living

After more than a decade, the space mirrors the family’s evolution. It’s a place of shared rituals: mornings that start with the crackle of the stove, evenings that close with "sleepy music." Their clutter is contained but always within reach, with samples, sketches, and small sculptures filling open shelves. And throughout, the scent of wood suffuses the spaces with a familiar and comforting warmth. "It’s like living in a cabin—but in the middle of London," Shai says.

Their daughter, now 10 years old, longs for "a door to slam"—a sign of their changing needs. And change is indeed on the horizon; their landlord plans to redevelop the entire building next year. Shai feels ready: "I want warmth, a garden. But this place taught us how to adapt and make a life fit within its walls." 

Their final winter here will be spent as always: with the merging of work and family life, the smell of wood, and the comforting squeak of the metal window shutter that opens onto the lane. What began with pizza, champagne, and a demolition party has become a lesson in how design—when approached with imagination and care—can make a rented space feel so personal.

Read Dwell’s Q&A with Home for Now authors and Earl of East founders Niko Dafkos and Paul Firmin.

Buy the book

Related Reading:

How a Creator Found a Flat in London’s Tight Housing Market—and Made It Her Own

Their L.A. Home Is a DIY Design Test Lab

Project Credits:

Interior Design: Shai Akram and Andrew Haythornthwaite, Studio Alt Shift / @studioaltshift