A reimagined former dairy offers west London’s newest boltholes to covet
New residential scheme The Dairy is tucked away in a quiet corner of Notting Hill and has everything going for it – design-led interiors by Echlin, a slice of London history, and location, location, location
The Dairy, the newest development by Echlin in London, offers that covetable but extremely rare combination: it brings together a central, yet very quiet and discreet location; a highly design-led interior; and a slice of Notting Hill history, set in a reimagined 19th-century former working dairy facility. The result is not only prime real estate, but also a carefully thought-out selection of eight homes.
Explore The Dairy by Echlin in London
The project was led by developer Black Treacle, with architecture by Frost Architects. Echlin conceived the interiors, sensitively restoring and reworking the industrial building's fabric to retain its character as much as possible, and adapt it confidently and delicately to the 21st century.
Keeping that balance was important to the design studio. 'Industrial buildings have an inherent sense of theatre – the scale, the light, the layers of history. They resist formula, which is exactly what makes them so compelling to work with. At The Dairy, our team's approach was to reveal and reinterpret that heritage rather than overwrite it,' said Samuel Pye, creative director at Echlin.
The result is a gentle composition that straddles rawness and sophistication, defined by neutral colours with bold accents and a material palette of exposed brick, steel and hard edges. The period structure's existing tall ceilings and big windows add drama to the interiors and ensure each apartment is completely unique, with its own personality.
There are barrel-vaulted ceilings and Crittall-style windows, but also a peppering of warm woods (oak herringbone flooring, for instance) and curated art that soften the atmosphere and create a play between rough and smooth. Limestone and quartzite surfaces in bathrooms and kitchens add texture and coolness.
Caring for the historic building was important to the team in more ways than one, explains Pye: 'Industrial reuse is one of the most sustainable models we have. The most successful examples treat industrial living not as a style, but as a framework for longevity.'
Featuring generous proportions and carrying a sense of restrained elegance, the Dairy's eight apartments have now started going on the market.
