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Michaelis Boyd partner Christina Gregoriou advises homeowners and designers to address awkward areas early in a project rather than leaving them until the end. She describes how the studio made a structural column and a dim secondary entrance part of the design for Miiro Paris, while details of her separate WOW!house bathroom example are incomplete in the source.
Michaelis Boyd partner Christina Gregoriou says homeowners and designers should identify awkward spaces at the start of a project, not leave them until the rest of the design is complete. In an interview with Livingetc, she points to the studio’s Miiro Paris hotel renovation, where a structural column and a dark, narrow entrance helped inspire a custom seating feature and an intimate bar concept.
Gregoriou’s advice applies to constraints such as unused corners, narrow corridors and exposed structural columns. She says these areas can appear difficult to resolve, but leaving them until late in a project risks making them look like afterthoughts. Her recommendation is to give them attention from the beginning and consider whether they can shape the design.
At Miiro Paris, a hotel created through the renovation of two heritage Haussmann-era buildings connected from different streets, the team reconsidered the role of a secondary entrance. According to Gregoriou, it was dark, narrow and without natural light, and had previously been used for back-of-house functions, offices and windowless meeting rooms. The designers instead saw its proportions as suited to a moody, intimate speakeasy.
During construction strip-out, the team found a structural column that created a small pocket with no obvious practical use. Gregoriou says the designers incorporated the awkward niche into a custom love seat. The source describes the seat as a defining feature of the space, but does not provide project plans, costs or independent evaluation of the finished design.
Why Early Planning Changes Awkward Spaces
The advice speaks to a common renovation problem: a room or feature may not fit the initial design plan, yet it can affect circulation, function and the finished look if it is ignored. Gregoriou’s approach is to treat those constraints as part of the brief from the outset, giving designers time to test practical uses and visual roles before decisions elsewhere are fixed.
The Miiro Paris example shows one way that approach can work in a hospitality project: a space previously assigned to secondary uses became the setting for a bar, while an unexpected column shaped a built-in seating feature. That does not mean every awkward corner can become a focal point. The wider takeaway is narrower: design teams should assess difficult areas early, rather than assuming they can be concealed or resolved at the end.
For homeowners, the distinction matters because structural features cannot simply be removed at will. A column may be essential to a building, and changing structural elements requires qualified professional assessment. Gregoriou’s example is about designing around a constraint, not removing or altering one.
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From Hotel Renovation to Home Design
Michaelis Boyd is a London architecture and design practice founded in Notting Hill in 1995 by architects Tim Boyd and Alex Michaelis, according to the Livingetc report. Its work spans hospitality, residential and commercial projects. The interview uses that range to connect lessons from larger projects with challenges readers may encounter in their own homes.
The Miiro Paris project involved two heritage buildings joined from separate streets, a layout that left the secondary entrance with a distinct character from the hotel’s other spaces. Gregoriou says the studio challenged the area’s previous back-of-house role rather than treating its lack of daylight and narrow proportions as reasons to leave it unused by guests.
The supplied Livingetc material also begins describing a bathroom designed for WOW!house in collaboration with House of Rohl. Gregoriou says the team chose a large round bathtub as the room’s protagonist, but the source text ends mid-sentence before providing the rest of that example. No further details can be confirmed from the supplied material.
What the Interview Leaves Unspecified
The supplied report does not state when the interview was published or provide technical details about the Miiro Paris renovation, including the column’s dimensions, the seating installation’s cost or how guests use the space. Gregoriou’s description of the love seat as memorable and defining is her account of the project, not an independently measured outcome.
The source is incomplete during its discussion of the WOW!house bathroom. It confirms that the team selected a statement round bathtub, but not how the rest of the room was designed or what results followed. The available material also offers design advice rather than a tested formula for converting every awkward area into a focal point.
Applying the Advice to Renovations
The interview does not announce a new project, publication date or upcoming milestone. Its practical next step for readers is to identify difficult areas during early planning and discuss possible uses with their design team before the layout and finishes are settled. For structural features, homeowners should consult an appropriately qualified architect or structural engineer before considering changes; the Miiro Paris example shows the column being incorporated, not removed.
Further details about the WOW!house bathroom would require the complete Livingetc report or additional information from Michaelis Boyd. Until then, the confirmed examples are the hotel’s repurposed secondary entrance and the custom seat built into a niche formed around a structural column.
Key Questions
What is Christina Gregoriou’s main design advice?
Gregoriou advises designers and homeowners to identify awkward spaces early and give them attention from the beginning, rather than leaving them until the rest of a project is finished.
How did Michaelis Boyd use the column at Miiro Paris?
Gregoriou says the team designed a custom love seat in the niche created by the column and the surrounding floor plan. She described the result as a defining feature of the space.
What happened to the hotel’s dark secondary entrance?
According to Gregoriou, the entrance had been used for back-of-house operations, offices and meeting rooms. The team saw its narrow, dim proportions as appropriate for an intimate speakeasy.
Does the source give complete details about the WOW!house bathroom?
No. The supplied text says the team chose a statement round bathtub, then cuts off before explaining the rest of the design.
Source: livingetc.com
