James Shaw’s latest creation is his home in east London
Designer James Shaw had been looking for a place to build a home in London for some time when he stumbled upon an overgrown lot near his east London home in 2017. Five years later, the 60 square meter lot has become a home for him and his partner. Designed in collaboration with architect friend Nicholas Ashby, the house is set over two floors (with the living area occupying the basement and a downstairs bedroom) accessed from a courtyard overlooking a quiet street. “The design of the house was a response to the irregular lot,” explains Shaw.
James Shaw on his DIY project
Shaw and a friend are working on the facade. Its textured cement plaster is based on a detail discovered in the Leach Pottery workshop in Cornwall
(Image credit: Lewis Ronald)
Although mostly underground, the house is designed for light. “When I moved in there were no stairs, no floor. It was basically a concrete shell,” Shaw recalls. “And that was really nice because it allowed me to see the light moving and plan it from there.” Part of the basement has double height ceilings with windows on two sides, while the lower ceiling area has circular openings equipped to give brightness to the room. A deck with a small plunge pool dug into the concrete augments the space with an indoor-outdoor vibe. Shaw and Ashby chose to leave the architectural elements open, with concrete walls and ceilings and brick columns coexisting with softer elements like expressive wood veneer over the kitchen and bedroom walls and colorful mosaic tiling in the hallway and bathroom. Shaw personally built and assembled every element of the home.
The spiral staircase’s blue extruded plastic handrail, created on site by Shaw; a plaster model of Michelangelo’s ear David, by D. Brucciani & Co; and a neon sculpture by Jochen Holz
(Image credit: Lewis Ronald)
To ease the process of furnishing his new home, Shaw staged a show with Seeds Gallery to be presented during the 2022 London Design Festival. Titled “Two Kettles, No Sofa,” it was about moving in with a partner and the decorative chaos it often brings. Among the new pieces he created was a pear-shaped walnut table whose three wooden legs sank into shapeless lumps of green plastic (“I looked at the floor plans of the house and laid out things to see what shape would actually make sense,” he explains). Also from the exhibition are the bed, whose archetypal oak frame is topped with four green extruded plastic pears, and a console in the living area that ‘wears’ four tiny clogs on each foot.
Experimental designs by James Shaw
The spiral staircase’s blue extruded plastic handrail created in situ by Shaw, a chair by Santi Guerrero Font, and a photo by Groana Melendez
(Image credit: Lewis Ronald)
Although he experiments with a range of materials and techniques, Shaw is best known for his pastel colored extruded plastic molds, which he has used to build everything from lamps, chairs and tables to a drinks trolley and home accessories such as door handles, cutlery and candle holders (many of which can be found throughout the house).
“I’ve been working with extruded plastic for almost a decade,” explains Shaw, who graduated from the Royal College of Art’s Design Products MA course in 2013 with Making Guns, a project that includes a trio of gun-like design tools. “This was my attempt to find out: How am I going to gear up? How do I start my professional life? These tools allowed me to set up my own workshop later, with the idea that the tool dictates the outcome.”
The living area with Shaw’s armchair made from recycled plastic, a cherry wood console and a lamp made from walnut, aluminum and plastic. Artwork includes photographs by Joanna Piotrowska and a painting of snooker player Ronnie O’Sullivan by Lydia Blakeley. Vintage chairs by Börge Lindau and Bo Lindekrantz for Blå Station complement Shaw’s pear-shaped walnut dining table
(Image credit: Lewis Ronald)
Among those tools was a gun that pumped recycled plastic into a stream of organic material that he has since learned to shape in myriad different ways. “The way the plastic comes out [of the extruder gun] is just the product of the machine,” says Shaw. He describes his result as “just as the plastic wants to be. We’re just seeing it used in a much more controlled and consistent way.’
His first instinct was to explore bioplastics (an idea he’s keen to revisit in his practice). “But what was immediately clear was that plastic waste was just incredibly plentiful and companies were offering unlimited amounts for free takeout,” he says. The first series, called Plastic Baroque, has grown over the years, using discarded post-consumer plastic to create expressive objects that combine archetypal forms with a novel, contemporary aesthetic.
The Shaw-designed kitchen is constructed of veneered MDF, with stainless steel Hi-Macs and countertops. On the sky blue island is a vase from Dalston’s Troy Town Art Pottery
(Image credit: Lewis Ronald)
Shaw’s practice has expanded to diverse materials, with a hands-on, experimental approach that has led him to work creatively with metal and wood, often incorporating the extruded plastic elements into his designs. In addition to his pieces from the 2022 LDF show, Shaw has also created other objects specifically for the home, including a light blue plastic handrail for the spiral staircase and a large bookshelf made from aluminum extrusions.
A large aluminum bookcase designed and built by Shaw, featuring a large jug by British potter Darren Ellis
(Image credit: Lewis Ronald)
Shaw’s own furniture is mixed throughout the house with pieces from designer friends like Jochen Holz and Wendy Andreu, vintage finds, and design classics, including a pair of “Componibili” storage units by Kartell’s Anna Castelli Ferrieri (used as bedside tables) and Achille Castiglioni Lamp ‘Parentesi’ for Flos. “I really like the way these different things come together,” he notes. “I think a lot of people would have expected it [the house] like a totally insane grotto,” Shaw jokes, half-jokingly, nodding to the recognizable style of his most popular Plastic Baroque works. “But I’m happy to give [my pieces] the room to breathe. Until I lived in this house, I never really had the opportunity to live with my own work, so it was nice to actually have this everyday experience.”
Bathroom tiles from Domus, arranged by Shaw in patterns inspired by Anni Albers’ textiles (one arrangement features Shaw’s partner Rupert’s cat, who recently moved into the house).
(Image credit: Lewis Ronald)
A round skylight above the living area
(Image credit: Lewis Ronald)
A version of this story appeared in the March 2023 Style Edition of Wallpaper*now available in print, in the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS and to Apple News+ subscribers. Subscribe to Wallpaper Today* (opens in new tab)