Creating some of the more compellingly decorated private homes in London, answering a creeping urban homogeneity with living spaces that feel as soulful as they do sophisticated

New York Times / T magazine / Megane O’Grady

Merlin inhabit spaces as he renovate them, infusing each room with history and humanity

New York Times / T magazine / Megane O’Grady

A sense of high-level craftsmanship prevails

New York Times / T magazine / Megane O’Grady

With each new project, they reinvent their aesthetic, freshly inspired by a new neighborhood, a style of architecture or somewhere they’ve recently travelled.

New York Times / T magazine / Megane O’Grady

Their spaces are paean to their skill and exquisite taste

The Times / Times Luxx magazine / Carolyn Asome

They are champions of craft and the natural shonkiness of the human touch

The Times / Times Luxx magazine / Carolyn Asome

With no client, they have complete creative freedom.

The World of Interiors / Kate Jacobs

The way the owners feel their space is typical of how Merlin operates.

The Times / Times Luxx magazine / Carolyn Asome

Unlike other architects, this husband and wife team search the world to handpick their sites and are involved in every aspect of their projects

The Times / Times Luxx magazine / Carolyn Asome

They are like artists reimagining the city

The Telegraph / Caroline McGhee

Merlin only work on one project at a time…evocative details throughout his projects are testament to his focussed approach

Dwell/ Michele Koh Morollo

FOUNDER

We have a background in architecture and craft bespoke homes from the ground up.

Eschewing the conventional role of an architectural designer, we get personally involved in every aspect of our projects, from dreaming up an original concept to finding the right site and making the whole home, right down to the last detail. We are the dreamers, creatives and craftsmen of each project.

Our holistic method of working means that we retain complete creative freedom to bring our visions to life from their original, seed-like beginnings. We camp or live in the empty sites until we understand the context, light, volumes and temperature of the space, and travel to find objects, materials and inspiration.

This unique practice allows us to ‘feel’ our spaces before we begin designing and crafting — a process that imbues the end result with the effects of our strong emotional and physical bond to each home.

We consciously work on just one project at a time every project and each is a journey, reflecting our changing interests in a particular place, idea, material and methods of making.

Read More about our thoughts and process of Home Making.

Merlin Eayrs

Partner, Play Associates | Designer at DRMM Architects | Researcher for Liam Young, Unknown Fields Division | Researcher for Eyal Weizman in The Westbank | Unit master at The Architectural Association with David Greene (Archigram) | Unit master at Oxford Brookes with David Greene (Archigram) | AA Dipl. Architectural Association | Inchbald Interior Design School | Oundle School, Peterborough

Merlin, can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I was born on my family’s farm in Cambridgeshire in 1982. Growing up in the countryside, I was very connected to the land and nature because physically tending to our environment was the norm. I would see my father making and repairing things on the farm every day: whether it was welding a 10-metre truss to restore a barn, fixing his tractor, or re-roofing the house, he would make and fix everything himself.

As the most creative member of my family, I moved to London to study architecture and immerse myself in a more stimulating environment. After a long architectural education, I taught at the Architectural Association and Oxford Brookes alongside David Greene whilst working at DRMM, and became very interested in the housing crisis in London, working on several social housing projects.

Longing for a more physical and intimate relationship to the spaces I created, I joined forces with a friend from school to work on a mews house, for which I designed and made everything, from the bespoke staircase to the hand-crafted cabinetry.

What is your role?

I spend my days on site, refining the designs of our homes through the process of making. I enjoy a sense of connection with the land and materials, understanding and learning how best to craft and shape them, and attending to every detail of every corner. I collaborate daily with Zoe on the designs, and collaborate with a team of specialised craftsmen, with whom I make our dreams a physical reality.