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A narrow Camden townhouse that once housed a record shop has been renovated by London studio Russian For Fish as a family home organized around contrasting colors and a concealed garden view. Architect Pereen d’Avoine says the design keeps the building’s historic character legible while adapting it for modern living.
London design studio Russian For Fish has renovated a narrow Camden townhouse that previously operated as a record shop, turning it into a family home shaped by distinct colors, retained historic character and a surprising view toward a garden. In an interview with Livingetc, architect and studio co-director Pereen d’Avoine described how the design balances the building’s former use with the needs of contemporary living.
The house unfolds from a dark, richly colored entrance room behind the former shopfront into a brighter kitchen and a sequence of rooms with contrasting palettes. Livingetc describes an aquamarine kitchen adjoining a granite-toned informal room, followed by a citrine living room, a mint-colored dining room and a white bedroom. The arrangement gives each space a distinct identity within the narrow building.
D’Avoine told Livingetc that the design team wanted visitors to retain some of the uncertainty and discovery associated with entering a record shop. Frosted glazing in the shopfront bay provides privacy and blocks a direct view through the house. Turning from the entrance toward the kitchen reveals a longer sightline to the garden at the rear, a moment of visual contrast the studio says it deliberately preserved.
The renovation also combines old and new elements rather than relying on a single period style. D’Avoine said the interiors bring together bespoke details, reclaimed furniture and new pieces, alongside varied natural materials and textures. A projection screen concealed in the partition between two first-floor sitting rooms can be lowered for film viewing, according to her account, allowing the rooms to serve a modern purpose without leaving the screen permanently on display.
How Color Reorganizes the Narrow House
The project offers a specific example of how a narrow existing building can be adapted without making its history disappear. Its former shopfront remains part of the arrival experience, while the interior changes from a private, dark entrance to brighter rooms and a garden view. That sequence makes the building’s footprint and past use part of the design rather than obstacles to conceal.
For readers considering older homes, the reported approach also illustrates the difference between using color as decoration and using it to distinguish connected spaces. The rooms have separate palettes, but the studio describes a broader goal of making the home feel layered and personal, rather than uniformly styled. The source does not provide costs, construction details or measured results, so the project is best understood as a design example, not evidence that the same approach will suit every narrow house.
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From Camden Shopfront to Family Home
The building’s previous life as a record store is central to the design account published by Livingetc. D’Avoine said the studio wanted to preserve something of the experience of browsing Camden’s record shops: entering without knowing exactly what might be found. The dark entrance and the view that opens up only after turning toward the kitchen were intended to echo that sense of discovery.
Russian For Fish is a London architecture and design practice led by D’Avoine and co-director Nilesh Shah. The source describes the studio’s work as spanning architecture and interiors, with interests in color, material and how people experience spaces. It identifies this house as an example of the practice working with an existing building, but does not provide a full renovation timeline or a detailed account of the property’s earlier architectural history.
“We wanted the historic character of the building to remain legible, but without the interiors feeling constrained by it.”
— Pereen d’Avoine, architect and co-director of Russian For Fish, speaking to Livingetc
Project Details Not Provided
Livingetc’s report does not state when the renovation took place, who owns or commissioned the property, what the work cost, or how long construction lasted. It also does not set out which original architectural features were retained beyond the former shopfront experience and the aim of keeping the building’s historic character legible.
The descriptions of the rooms and the design’s effects come from the publication’s account and D’Avoine’s interview. No independent assessment, floor plan, building measurements or before-and-after performance data are included in the supplied material. The report therefore does not establish how much the renovation changed the structure or whether the same layout could be applied to other narrow homes.
No Further Project Milestone Listed
The source presents the finished townhouse as a design case study and does not identify a forthcoming construction phase, public opening or other project milestone. Russian For Fish’s specific next steps for the property are not reported. Readers can expect the project to remain available through Livingetc’s feature and its credited photography by Jake Seal; any additional details about the renovation would need to come from the studio, the property’s owners or later reporting.
Key Questions
What happened to the former Camden record shop?
Russian For Fish renovated it as a family townhouse, using contrasting room colors and retaining elements of the former shopfront experience, according to Livingetc.
How does the house preserve the feeling of a record shop?
Architect Pereen d’Avoine said the entrance is designed as a dark, intimate space with frosted shopfront glazing. The view opens toward the kitchen and garden only after turning into the house.
What colors appear in the renovated home?
Livingetc describes an aquamarine kitchen, granite-toned informal room, citrine living room and mint-colored dining room, followed by a white bedroom.
Who designed the townhouse?
The renovation was designed by Russian For Fish, a London architecture and design studio led by Pereen d’Avoine and Nilesh Shah.
When was the renovation completed, and what did it cost?
The supplied report does not give a completion date or renovation cost. It also does not provide a construction schedule or a detailed account of the work undertaken.
Source: rss
