As I
mentioned in the inaugural Era Gaming Setup thread, we moved to a new flat in London early 2017. While our previous flats have been designed ourselves, this time we commissioned a renowned London interior design practice to design the flat for us, with a very detailed brief that described our personal style. As entrepreneurs, we simply didn't have the time to do the research required, source the furniture and install everything ourselves - our time was better spent on our companies. But we still wanted that it would feel like a flat we could have designed ourselves.
Soon after moving in, we decided we should commission professional photography of the flat while the flat was still new and slick, with our favourite photographer (PM me for details). The shoot was intended to be spread over two weeks, coordinated around weather patterns and sunrise / sunset times, to make most out of the space.
Unfortunately, disaster struck between the first and second week of the shoot. In November 2017, a huge leak from the penthouse above us caused a lot of damage - over £100K worth in our flat. Ever since, we have been fighting with lawyers and insurers to get everything fixed. Thus, the second week of the shoot never happened.
After a lot of drama, the reworks in the flat are finally confirmed to begin in July. All floors are going to come off, walls are going to be redecorated, speakers repositioned, a new walk-in-robe is being made, just to mention a few things. The flat will look very different after the works. Much better.
The first set of pictures, even if incomplete, has now been published, and I thought I will share it with Era. We'll do a new shoot after the repairs, detailing more of the different spaces. I do apologise for the lack of
gaming setup photos for now.
Here are the photos we shot last Autumn:
Lounge and dining area - the heart of the flat, where we spend most of our time. A Genelec 7.0 system provides sound to the space, with a three Genelec 8351s in the front, and four ceiling-mounted Genelec 8340s at the rear. The TV is Sony KD85XD8505BU, chosen for its low input latency and high quality 4K HDR image.
The Genelec speakers where chosen because they allow us to hear the video games closest to what the likes of Capcom or Bioware intended. The large amount of reflective glass surfaces was a particular challenge, but Genelec used their software to minimise intrusive artefacts resulting from the hard surfaces in the space.
Snug - This is the most indulgent area in the flat. We designed it as a comfy late night escape, a cave where one can retire to late at night when others go to sleep. A Sony 4K TV on the left is hooked up to a Super NES Classic and a NES Classic, making this the classic gaming space. This space also hosts a headphones listening station, with a Cambridge Audio streamer (Tidal/Spotify), Schiit Yggdrasil DAC, Schiit Ragnarok amp, and Hifiman HE-1000 headphones.
View from Snug to Lounge - snug terrace is designed to be our 'cigar terrace'. I smoke one cigar every two months with a good friend, always here with a glass of whisky. Reindeer hides remind us of our native Finland.
Kitchen and breakfast bar - I often sit around the breakfast bar with my iPad, reading Era. TV and front Genelecs in the lounge can be seen on the left side.
Breakfast terrace - This is at the front of the lounge. It's very often windy in the City, so getting to have breakfast here is a rare treat.
Guest room - I've spent more time of my life in hotels than one should. Our guest room was modelled based on my favourite features of hotels. The bed is large, and has USB and charging slots on the side. A study desk with a comfy chair provides a space for any urgent work. A power jack is hidden under a hatch, so that laptops and iPads can be charged while working. Light blocking curtains darken the room for a good night's sleep.
Study - this is our home office. Printer, scanner and shredder are hidden out of sight. A bespoke standing desk was built, accommodating a mechanism inside it. The iMac is used for work, and a little bit of Dota 2. The framed poster above the iMac features the original technical drawings of Sega Megadrive, dated 1989.
A total of 16 Genelec AIC-25 in-ceiling speakers are installed in the various rooms, to provide a common sound space around the flat. With Spotify Connect, we can play music straight from the Spotify app to them.
So that's where we were last October / November. We'll get new photos shot this year, and barring any leaks of biblical proportions, I'll post photos of the upgraded flat in the 2019 thread.