Too cool for school?

We were delighted to be asked to photograph this amazing creation - a new pre-prep school in Chelsea, South West London, which opens in September this year. 

The building, which formerly housed the Chelsea Conservative Club,  has a grand Victorian facade which has largely remained untouched and looks ideally suited to house a school - not too cool thus far.... However, it's the transformation inside that is something to see!

The creation is the vision of Stuart Bamford, who is Head of nearby Chelsea Pre Prep. It takes inspiration from "the magical world of children's literature and artistic film makers" in an effort to challenge "the culture of 'box-ticking' education". 

The school has 6 large classrooms, a performance studio, an enchanted garden and an Imaginarium - a space which transforms once the automatic blinds come down and the numerous projectors switch on. Suddenly you find yourself surrounded by swimming fishes in an underwater aquarium, the next minute surfing alongside a beach in a tropical paradise!  

We have no doubt it will be a delight for the children (aged 2-5 years) who will attend, but from a photographer's point of view it was a dream to shoot. 

Project: Draper House, New Cross

We recently had the pleasure of doing a photo shoot at Draper House in New Cross, currently on the market for sale with Winkworth New Cross. Draper House is one of a row of new build homes constructed less than a decade ago, and yet they've been so sympathetically constructed that they fit in really well with the surrounding Victorian architecture.

Draper House has been furnished so beautifully it was hard for us to stop taking photos! Here's a collection of shots of this lovely home, starting with the well-designed external.

Ahhhh! This kitchen-reception is the definition of serenity.

And these bedrooms are so clean and comfortable:

This is a proper family home, and the owners have really made that work with a dedicated playroom and a super cute kid's bedroom:

We love the simplicity and cool colours of the bathrooms...

One of the nicest features of the house is its wide hallways and landings, making the property feel spacious:

And the garden is incredibly spacious with plenty of room for outdoor furniture...

One final fantastic feature: an accessible roof with amazing views! As the owner put it: Imagine being up there on New Year's Eve with a glass of champagne watching the fireworks over the city. Perfect!

Flower Power!

Whether you prefer neatly decorated spaces or more haphazard environments, plants are unparalleled for bringing both exuberance and relaxation to your home. Not only is green the most relaxing of colours (according to science! So who are we to doubt), plants also purify the air during the day and decorate the dwelling with baroque swirling shadows at night. This is why you should incorporate their sinuous curves into every square inch of your home.

Luckily for us, many of our clients have fully grasped the manner in which plants add to their lives (and sales!), and we get to photograph some lovely plant-filled spaces.

With the following property, the flower pots and garden vases aren't prominant or a focal point. However, they beautifully accompany the space by characterising the minimalist open plan kitchen and garden that would otherwise lack colour and vivacity. A bit of yellow, orange and green is good for the soul. 

With this very different property, neatness goes together with wabi-sabi, the Japanese approach which stems from keeping materials raw through reclaiming, recycling and improving what one already has. Here, plants adorn every corner of bathroom and living room. The atmosphere is smooth and serene and encourages you to spend more time in your home. 

And if you can't make live plants work in your home, but truly can't bear to live without indoor greenery, how about making use of wallpapers, prints and patterns like in this beautifully decorated home?

Fully Furnished - The Furniture Union Shoot

Okay, I'm not gonna lie. A lot of the time this blog is just a vehicle to show off some lovely new photographs. And why not? It's our trade after all and we're good at it (Not meaning to be boastful, of course!). Plus we hear that google likes something new and a little boost to SEO performance wouldn't go amiss!

We are fortunate to work with a variety of super clients all over London ranging from estate agents to developers to architects and interior designers. And we like our property photography to come in various guises. It keeps us on our toes and stokes the inner embers of inspiration. Okay, I'll stop there!

The Furniture Union, a company who specialise in furnishing and interior design products invited us to shoot this fantastic property in Paddington, not far from Hyde Park and Imperial College. We found a marvellous new-build house on a private road decked out in stylish and elegant furnishings - and TFU had installed the kitchen and bathrooms to a high spec too.

Take a look at the wonderful results - I'd quite happily have this as my London pad. Just sayin'!

If you like what they do, just get in touch www.thefurnitureunion.com

The Bagel Factory - Flats For Sale In Hackney Wick

The Bagel Factory is a new, 140 flat development in the heart of Hackney Wick from Aitch Group property developers. Meticulously designed by Hawkins Brown, BuckleyGrayYeoman, and HWO Architects, the style of the apartments and decor reflects the industrial heritage of the area, and also the large artist population which makes Hackney Wick such a vibrant place to be.

The Bagel Factory is also on the Help To Buy scheme, an increasingly popular option in a tough London property market.

Here is some of our work from a half day shoot at this beautifully presented show flat for the development.

The selection from the bedrooms is lovely - we particularly like the wall of floor to ceiling Crittall windows, perfect for a renovated industrial building.

The urban chic in the bathroom here is softened with some greenery. The parquet-effect wall tiles are a particularly effective touch.

Colour choice in the kitchen is perfect for the industrial heritage theme.

The renovated warehouse feel of the exposed brick wall is offset by plain, light walls elsewhere, with soothing greys in the flooring and more of those fantastic steel windows.

A secluded, private balcony finishes this show flat off nicely!

To register your interest in a new home at The Bagel Factory, please contact the Aitch Group on 020 8504 4500 or

info@aitchgroup.com