Creative Studio LVT — Shoreditch

This Shoreditch creative studio — a converted Victorian warehouse with exposed brick, steel RSJs, and polished concrete aesthetics — needed a floor as bold as the work produced within it. The existing epoxy coating was delaminating and creating a trip hazard; the client needed a rapid turnaround without closing the studio during the working week.

The Brief

The studio director was clear: the new floor had to read as industrial concrete, had to be completely flat (photographers work on the floor — tripod wobble is not acceptable), and had to be finished before Monday morning. A 200m² install in a weekend, in a building with goods lift access only between 7am and 8pm.

Material Selection

We proposed Karndean Korlok Rigid Core in Urban Concrete: a 600x300mm tile with exceptional depth of texture and a matte finish that under studio lighting is genuinely indistinguishable from sealed concrete at normal working distance. Rigid-core LVT has zero flex underfoot — critical for photography work — and the 0.55mm wear layer exceeds commercial specification.

The Weekend Install

Six fitters. Friday evening: materials delivered and staged. Saturday: surface preparation — grinding the delaminated epoxy, applying 3mm levelling compound over the lowest sections, sanding flat once cured. Sunday: full adhesive installation, including all cuts around structural columns, cable management, and perimeter detailing.

The studio was operational for Monday morning as promised. Within the month, the client commissioned a second fit-out for their new studio in Hackney — same spec, same team.