Space ship

Architect Simon Allford's flat is as classy as a cabin on an A-deck of a luxury ocean liner. Lined with rich walnut wood, it has spectacular views over a sea of rooftops, and outside terraces, port and starboard.

"It took ages to find," recalls Allford. "I was looking around Marylebone because I liked the idea of being close to the High Street. It had to be in a purpose-built block to avoid the acoustic problems of so many conversions, and I wanted some useful outside space for a table and chairs."

After a year of waiting, a flat came on the market on the top floor of a Victorian red-brick mansion block. "It cost more than I wanted to pay, but it was the right sort of thing and in the right place."

With his budget blown, Allford put makeover plans on hold for a year. "The place had just been refurbished by the previous owner, but was absolutely not my taste. However, living there gave me time to get a feel for the space and views and to see how the sun moved around the building."

His redesign plans started to evolve at the same time as he was working on the innovative prefab housing scheme, Raines Court, in Stoke Newington, commissioned by Peabody Trust.

Allford is a partner at AHMM, known for its award- winning refurbishments of the Monsoon headquarters in Maida Vale, the Shoreditch Tea Building studio and office complex, and a mixture of one-off homes and housing projects. "I'm particularly interested in outside areas because they function as an extra room and extend your sense of space right out to the city," he says.

The core of Allford's flat is almost identical to those at Raines Court. At one end of the rectangular space is the horseshoe-shaped kitchen, with simple white units on one side and, on the other, a raised island counter with overhead storage, all built in walnut, to separate the kitchen from the dining area. Close by are doors to the second outside terrace. The sitting area occupies the far end of the rectangle.

The sense of arriving in a classy cabin begins at the entrance to Allford's flat. In the hall a small mezzanine level has been added for a guest bed, reached by an open-tread ladder. Elsewhere, the space is lined with builtin cupboards and shelving. Extra-tall doors lead to the bedroom/study, with more built-in storage and a leather-covered desk by Andrew Stafford. The main bathroom is lined from top to toe in walnut.

Across the hallway is Allford's bedroom and bathroom. Again, walnut is used lavishly. He replaced the window in his bedroom with a doorway that opens onto one of the outside decks. This used to be where the sloping roof tucked in behind the parapet, but Allford levelled it off with timber decking.

From the cosy and compact sleeping and bathing area, the living room explodes into an open space, with big windows and a high ceiling that reaches to the apex of the roof. The walnut, used in doors, windows, the kitchen and even skirting, provides warmth and texture in this otherwise white space.

"Walnut is luxurious but it is also highly practical because it is extremely low-maintenance," says Allford. "If I want to change the colour scheme, I just paint the walls."

Further warmth is added in the retro touch of a cork-tiled floor and the room is furnished with an impressive collection of furniture design classics. The completed building works and joinery cost £75,000.

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris: 020 7251 5261

Builder and joinery: Fiske Interiors (01895 232329)

Further reading: Manual, a book on the work of AHMM, by Iain Borden (Birkhauser, £38).

Peabody Trust has recently launched eight one-bedroom live/work units at Raines Court, Stoke Newington. There are six remaining, each costing £200,000. For more information, call Peabody Trust (020 7021 4654).