King's Library

This private residential commission centred on the creation of a significant library, a room designed to serve as both a working study and a statement interior. Bespoke joinery and furniture for the space, approaching the brief with the same care that a great library demands: an environment where craftsmanship, material quality and considered proportion matter above all else.

Shell units, reading furniture and fitted joinery were all produced in the studio's London factory, with timber selections and detailing chosen to give the room depth and permanence. The result is a library that feels rooted and authoritative, a space built to last and to be used.

A private library is a particular kind of room to specify. Books are heavy, shelf depths and heights are dictated by the collection rather than the architect, and the room is read at close range from a reading chair more often than from across the floor. Detailing has to hold up at hand-distance — the joint between shelf and upright, the way a ladder runs, the depth of the panel mouldings.

Timber selection was the centre of the brief: stock matched across the full wall of shelving so the grain reads as one piece rather than as panels joined in sequence. Material was selected from the studio’s reserve, set out and approved before any cuts were made. Finishing was carried out in-house, with the final coats applied after the shelving was installed and the room was dust-tight, to keep the finish even across the full elevation.