DINING ROOM

Clean-lined contemporary designs rub shoulders with ornate family heirlooms in this striking monochrome space

Ornate family heirlooms and clean-lined contemporary design in a striking space.

CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE PROJECT?

This is the dining room of our family house, a late-victorian property in north London. We don’t like open-plan spaces, so we interfered little with the layout to enable each room to have its own use and identity, colours and character. As well as the original mouldings, which we restored, the main features are the fireplace and the southeast-facing windows, which look on to a magnificent ash tree in the garden.

THE ROOM HAS A REAL SENSE OF SERENITY – HOW DID YOU ACHIEVE IT?

Balance is key to creating calm; here, it is achieved by the symmetrical arrangement, the interplay of textures and the monochrome palette of the materials. The pale hue of the pendants, which draw the eye to the ceiling, matches the limed-oak table and contrasts with the dark cabinets and fire surround. The combination of contemporary and antique elements also contributes to the tranquil feel.

HOW DO YOU USE THIS SPACE?

The long, central table is the focus of family life. We use it for dining, drawing and sculpting. We also enjoy setting up the room for celebrations such as Christmas, Hallowe’en, Chinese New Year, Easter and the Chinese Moon festival. My wife, Teresa, is Latina and I’m Chinese, and we love to mark our different traditions. The table’s strong geometric form plays well against the ornate chairs, which were a gift from Teresa’s parents.

WHAT INSPIRED THE LARGE TWIN CABINETS?

I commission craftsmen to make furniture that is well constructed and can be passed down through generations. These are my take on museum vitrines – glass cabinets for displaying works of art. Functional and handsome with bold proportions, they are made from stained English oak with full-height glass doors. They house our china and porcelain collections, some inherited and some we’ve scoured markets for.

WHY DID YOU OPT FOR MARBLE FLOORING?

I always choose noble, natural materials that improve with age, and I love the pureness of marble. This unusual dark grey stone was reclaimed, and it was an investment, but it is worth paying for good, thick slabs as they will last: they can be re-cut and polished time and again. The flooring tones well with the marble fireplace, which is also reclaimed.

Architecture by Hand: Inspired by Nature by Spencer Fung is published by Clearview Books, £35.