HMO conversions · Albert Street, ST4

HMO conversion — Albert Street, ST4

Studio-style rooms with fitted kitchenettes and a slatted feature wall

Location: Albert Street, ST4

A finished studio-style letting room at Albert Street, with a fitted kitchenette, slatted feature wall and wall lights

5
Lettable rooms

The brief

A five-bedroom conversion finished to a studio standard, with each room taking a fitted kitchenette so tenants have their own cooking facilities rather than sharing one kitchen between five.

The challenge

Fitting a kitchen run, a double bed, storage and a seating position into a single room without it reading as cramped.

The result

Studio-style rooms with a fitted kitchenette along one wall, a slatted feature wall with concealed lighting behind the bed, and a wall-mounted television.

What we actually did

One room doing four jobs

A studio room has to work as a bedroom, a kitchen, a place to eat and a place to sit — inside a footprint originally designed as one bedroom.

The kitchenette runs along a single wall so the rest of the floor stays clear. Wall-mounted television rather than a stand. Bedside storage built in rather than freestanding. Every decision here is about keeping floor area free, because floor area is what makes a room feel lettable.

Lighting

No ceiling pendant. Concealed strip lighting set into the slatted panelling, wall lights either side of the bed, and downlights over the kitchen run.

Three separate lighting circuits in one room sounds excessive until you’ve seen what a single bare pendant does to a space this size. It’s one of the cheapest changes available and one of the most visible.

The slatted wall

Slatted timber panelling with the lighting recessed into it. It gives the room a focal point that isn’t the kitchen, and the acoustic backing helps with sound transfer between rooms.