Home Sweet Homie
Located in Tottenham, London, Bruce Grove Youth Space is a centre for young people aged 11–19, and up to 25 for those with special educational needs.
It’s a vibrant place that’s been around since the 1970s — full of history, culture, and love.
That said, their I.T. Suite was in need of some love on its walls…
BEFORE…
Designing the mural came with its challenges — the room lacked natural light, so I had to carefully balance bold colours with how they’d appear in dim conditions.
The grey-green wall didn’t help the low light in the room, but that was simple enough to change.
The bold red beams, though, were off-limits. So I embraced them — bringing that same red into the mural as a wallpaper-style stripe to tie the space together.
DESIGN BRIEF
There wasn’t a formal design brief. Instead, I held focus group discussions with some of the young people and staff. What came through clearly was that Bruce Grove Youth Space feels like a second home — like one big family.
From that, I chose a democratic concept: shelves. The mural became about what sits on those shelves, representing everyone in the space. In the end, I selected the items myself, and it was an easy choice.
No matter our age, there are simple things that unite us. You’re never too old to make a paper plane, or forget the sweet taste of Ribena, even if you don’t drink it anymore.
The final mock up design
My sketches and ‘workings out’ were necessary for scaling up on a large wall.