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In an interview with Livingetc, Michaelis Boyd partner Christina Gregoriou advised homeowners and designers to address difficult spaces early in a project rather than leave them until the end. She described how the firm turned a structural column and a cramped niche at Miiro Paris into part of a theatrical seating feature; details of her further advice about the WOW!house bathroom are incomplete in the source material.
Michaelis Boyd partner Christina Gregoriou says homeowners and designers should tackle awkward corners, narrow corridors and exposed structural features at the start of a project, rather than leaving them until the end. In an interview with Livingetc, she described how the firm used a structural column and a small niche at the Miiro Paris hotel to create a theatrical custom seat, illustrating how a perceived design problem can become a focal point.
Gregoriou’s advice applies to residential, commercial and hospitality projects, according to the interview. She points to spaces that can be difficult to plan around: unused corners, narrow hallways, awkward recesses and structural columns revealed or required during renovation. Her recommendation is to give those areas primary consideration from day one. If they are deferred, she says, they may remain conspicuous rather than fading into the overall design.
The Miiro Paris renovation provides the clearest example in the source. The hotel combines two Haussmann-era buildings linked from different streets. Gregoriou said the secondary entrance had been treated as the less appealing side: it was dark and narrow, with little natural light, and had been assigned back-of-house functions, administrative offices and windowless meeting rooms. The design team instead chose to make the space an intimate, moody speakeasy.
During the strip-out, the team found a structural column that complicated the already difficult plan and left a small pocket with no obvious use. Gregoriou said Michaelis Boyd responded by designing a custom love seat to fit the niche. She described the result as the space’s defining feature. The source presents this as the studio’s account of its design process, not as an independent assessment of the finished hotel or its commercial performance.
Turning Renovation Constraints Into Features
The advice offers a practical way to approach a common renovation challenge: some parts of a building cannot easily be removed or reshaped, and their intended use may not be obvious. Gregoriou’s approach is to treat those features as part of the design brief early, rather than trying to disguise them after other decisions have been made. That can affect how a room is organized, where seating goes and what purpose a difficult corner serves.
The Miiro Paris example also shows the difference between a general design principle and a project-specific solution. The column was not described as something the team removed; instead, the designers incorporated the tight space around it into a custom seating feature. For homeowners, the lesson is not that every awkward nook should become a dramatic centerpiece, but that early planning can help turn fixed limitations into deliberate choices.
Gregoriou also discussed the bathroom designed for WOW!house with House of Rohl. The available excerpt says the team selected a grand round bathtub as the room’s “protagonist,” rather than allowing the layout alone to dictate its feel. The source cuts off before her explanation is complete, so it does not provide enough detail to describe the project’s other design decisions.
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The Studio Behind the Advice
Michaelis Boyd was founded in Notting Hill, London, in 1995 by architects Tim Boyd and Alex Michaelis, according to the Livingetc report. The practice works across hospitality, residential and commercial design. The article cites projects including Soho Farmhouse, the Groucho Club and The Williamsburg Hotel, as well as restaurants such as Santi NYC, Moro and Officine Bac at Le Grand Hôtel Cayré in Paris.
The interview’s focus is not a newly announced building, renovation or business development. It is a design-advice report built around Gregoriou’s comments and examples from the studio’s work. Its central point is that challenging spaces can be considered active parts of a project’s character, rather than leftover areas to resolve once the main design is finished.
Details Missing From the Excerpt
The supplied source does not state the interview’s publication date, and it does not provide independent confirmation of the Miiro Paris design details beyond Gregoriou’s account. It also does not identify the hotel’s opening timeline, provide visitor or business outcomes, or report how guests have responded to the seating feature. Those details should not be inferred from the design example.
The material about the WOW!house bathroom ends mid-sentence. It confirms that Gregoriou identified a statement bathtub as the room’s main feature, but not what additional advice she gave about renovation obstacles or how the completed space was received. The article is advice and project commentary, not evidence that a particular design approach will suit every home or building.
No Further Milestone Reported
The source reports no upcoming announcement, construction milestone or follow-up from Michaelis Boyd. Readers seeking the full explanation of Gregoriou’s WOW!house bathroom advice will need to consult the complete Livingetc interview; the excerpt provided here does not contain the rest of that discussion. The practical next step for anyone planning a renovation is to identify awkward or fixed features early and discuss suitable design options with the project’s qualified professionals.
Key Questions
What is Christina Gregoriou’s main design advice?
She advises designers and homeowners to identify awkward spaces early and make them part of the plan from the beginning, rather than leaving them to be dealt with at the end.
How did Michaelis Boyd use the column at Miiro Paris?
Gregoriou said the column created a small, difficult niche. The team designed a custom love seat to fit the space and make it a feature of the hotel interior.
What was the challenge with Miiro Paris’s secondary entrance?
According to Gregoriou, it was dark, narrow and short on natural light, and had been used for back-of-house functions, offices and windowless meeting rooms. The design team reimagined it as a moody speakeasy.
What did Gregoriou say about the WOW!house bathroom?
The available excerpt says the team chose a grand round bathtub as the room’s central feature. It ends before her account gives further detail.
Does the report say the approach works for every renovation?
No. It shares Gregoriou’s advice and examples from Michaelis Boyd projects. It does not establish that the same solution will suit every building, room or renovation brief.
Source: livingetc.com
