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Michaelis Boyd partner Christina Gregoriou advises homeowners and designers to tackle awkward spaces early rather than leave them until the end of a project. She points to a structural column at the Miiro Paris hotel, which the team incorporated into a custom seat in a small niche.
Michaelis Boyd partner Christina Gregoriou is advising designers and homeowners to identify awkward areas early in a renovation, arguing that overlooked corners, narrow corridors and exposed structural columns can become defining features rather than afterthoughts. In an interview with Livingetc, she cited the studio’s work at the Miiro Paris hotel, where a column revealed during construction helped inspire a custom seat fitted into a small niche.
Gregoriou’s advice is to give difficult spaces attention from the start of a project, rather than waiting until the rest of the design is settled. She described common problem areas as unused corners, long corridors, small nooks and rooms that feel less appealing after walls are removed. Structural features can add another constraint: a column may be uncovered during demolition, or an engineer may require a new one to support the building.
At the Miiro Paris hotel renovation, the team was working with two heritage Haussmann-era buildings connected from different streets. Gregoriou said the secondary entrance had been treated as the less attractive side of the property: it was dark, narrow and without natural light, and had been used for back-of-house functions, offices and windowless meeting rooms. The designers chose to make that area an intimate, moody speakeasy instead.
During the strip-out, the team uncovered a structural column that made the floor plan more difficult and left a small pocket with no obvious use. Gregoriou said Michaelis Boyd responded by placing a custom, theatrical love seat in the niche. The project is her example of a design constraint informing a feature, not simply being hidden or worked around. The supplied interview also refers to the studio’s bathroom for WOW!house, created with House of Rohl, where the team selected a statement round bathtub as its starting point; the source excerpt ends before providing further details.
Why Early Design Decisions Matter
The advice has practical relevance for people planning renovations: awkward areas can affect a project’s layout and character, so postponing decisions about them may leave them feeling like leftover space. Gregoriou’s approach frames constraints as part of the design brief from the outset, giving a team more opportunity to develop a purposeful use for them.
The Miiro Paris example also shows the limits of treating a difficult feature as a problem to conceal. A structural column still has to remain part of the building’s support system, but its placement can shape nearby furniture and the way a room is experienced. In this case, the niche and seat became part of a hospitality space’s identity, according to Gregoriou. The example does not establish that every awkward corner can be transformed in the same way; it illustrates one design response to a particular building and brief.
For homeowners, the takeaway is not to copy a hotel’s speakeasy or custom furniture, but to review the full space before committing to a plan. That can help clarify which features are fixed, which can be adapted, and where a design decision may have a larger effect on circulation or use.
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From Difficult Entrance to Speakeasy
Michaelis Boyd was founded in Notting Hill, London, in 1995 by architects Tim Boyd and Alex Michaelis. The practice works across residential, commercial and hospitality projects. The Livingetc report uses its hotel and residential work to illustrate how the studio applies design ideas across different project types.
At Miiro Paris, the brief involved connecting two older buildings that faced different streets. Gregoriou’s account describes the secondary entrance as an area with limited light and a history of service uses. The team reconsidered how the space could function, then adapted its design after the column appeared during strip-out. This sequence matters: the speakeasy concept addressed the entrance’s existing qualities, while the custom seat responded to a later-discovered constraint.
The report also mentions the studio’s work at WOW!house with House of Rohl, where the design team selected a large round bathtub as the protagonist of a functional bathroom. The supplied source does not include the rest of Gregoriou’s explanation, so no further claims about that project are established here.
Limits of the Published Account
The supplied Livingetc excerpt does not provide a publication date, project budget, construction timeline or measurements for the Miiro Paris space. It also does not name the structural engineer or explain the technical requirements that determined the column’s position. Gregoriou’s comments describe the design rationale, but the material does not include independent assessments or feedback from hotel guests.
The excerpt cuts off during the discussion of the WOW!house bathroom, so the team’s full explanation of that project is unavailable. It is also unclear whether the interview contains additional examples or advice beyond the supplied material. The account supports the description of the studio’s design decisions, not a broader claim that all structural obstacles can be turned into practical or successful features.
Applying the Advice at Home
The source does not announce a new project or a future milestone. Its immediate guidance is to review difficult spaces early, before plans are finalized: identify narrow routes, unused recesses, columns and rooms that may lose their purpose as a renovation progresses. Designers can then decide whether those features should shape the layout, become a focal point or be handled in another way.
In a home renovation, structural changes and support columns require input from qualified design and engineering professionals. The interview offers a creative principle, not technical instructions for altering a building. Any decision involving structural work should be based on the building’s requirements and professional advice.
Key Questions
What is Christina Gregoriou’s main renovation advice?
She recommends identifying and addressing awkward spaces early rather than leaving them until the end of a design project.
What happened to the column at Miiro Paris?
According to Gregoriou, the column was uncovered during strip-out. It left a small niche, where the team designed a custom love seat.
How did the Miiro Paris team use its secondary entrance?
Gregoriou said the dark, narrow entrance had previously been used for service functions, offices and meeting rooms. The team reimagined it as an intimate speakeasy.
Does the interview explain how to remove or alter a structural column?
No. It describes how the design team worked around a column, but provides no instructions for structural changes. Structural work requires assessment by qualified professionals.
Source: livingetc.com
