Starting over can be a real challenge

5 April 2012

When Satya Lall split from her husband she wanted "a new home for a fresh start". With two children, Dax, 19, and Keisha, 14, she needed live-work space so she could combine mothering, particularly for her school- age daughter, with running her own business. She'd also always longed to live in a loft apartment.

So, almost two years ago, Lall took her life in both hands, sold her four-bedroom Golders Green house and bought a disused warehouse in North Finchley.

Today she has a beauty and alternative therapy centre, The Hidden Alternative, with four studios and a team of seven therapists offering a range of treatments from acupuncture to yoga. And she has the apartment of her dreams, 2,500sq ft, on two floors, with a spacious living-dining-kitchen area, a study and three bedrooms, including a large master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom and walk-in wardrobe.

The conversion did entail some difficult domestic manoeuvres. The family had first to move into a tiny twobedroom flat and store most of their possessions. Lall, 42, also had to put her career on hold for a year. And she took a chance, buying the £250,000 building without planning permission, which didn't come through for six months.

"Friends said, don't do it. My lawyer said, don't do it. I had all these businessmen telling me I'd done the wrong thing." Even her builder thought she was "ambitious".

But today the L-shaped building, set in a cobbled courtyard with a bubbling fountain in the centre, is, as she describes it, "an oasis of tranquillity". And Lall, who has always worked on her own, now has only to cross the courtyard to find like-minded souls.

For details of the beauty treatments and alternative therapies available at The Hidden Alternative, call 020 8343 8514.

'Buying a warehouse is cheaper than a tiny house'

The 3,500sq ft warehouse, which used to be an art store, lies down a passage between two houses in a primarily residential area. Lall decided on a commercial property because "it's a lot cheaper than buying a tiny house". Even so, finding the right place wasn't easy. "Estate agents laughed and said you can't find something like that.î

The project cost more than £100,000, financed by the sale of Lall's house and "a huge mortgage". The building needed gutting: "When the builders started, they ripped out everything, the ceilings, the panels, the walls. There was nothing here.î Underfloor wiring and pipework had to be installed, as well as air conditioning in the therapy centre. The walls were 80 per cent damp and required dry lining. The blue concrete downstairs floors needed replacing with oak flooring.

Lall hired architect Jeremy Williams Leroy on a recommendation from one of her clients, and believes starting from scratch was a bonus as they drew up plans: "You could play and have as much fun as you wanted." Lall designed the maple and stainless-steel kitchen herself and combed London for baths and doors for the apartment.

'The energy is good and there's a nice atmosphere'

Satya Lall has only to lock her front door and close her louvred blinds to disconnect from work. But, in practice, she finds daily contact with alternative practitioners has influenced the way she carries out beauty treatments.

"I'm actually becoming more alternative. I went on a course studying homeopathy and it just got me looking at everything differently.î Even her facials now start with diagnostics. "It gets you to know more about the client in a holistic way."

As well as beauty, the Hidden Alternative offers acupuncture, Chinese medicine, aromatherapy, craniosacral therapy, Indian head massage, reflexology, Reiki, energetic therapy and one-to-one yoga sessions. Therapists hire the studios for as long as they need and most are recruited locally. Craniosacral therapist Silvana Calzavara, 44, who has three children at the same school attended

by Lall's daughter, has been practising for two years and used to work from home. "But this place has such a lovely feel and it's so nice and spacious.î And that's important for her clients, who are often stressed and come to her for the deep relaxation her therapy provides. "It's tranquil, we have no on-going traffic or buses trembling the building."

Arram Kong, 59, an energetic therapist with eight years' experience, agrees. His aim is to help clients concentrate their energies fruitfully, so it's a definite plus that: "The rooms are very, very nice and the energy is good. There's a nice atmosphere." As well as enjoying the working environment and the social and professional contact with other therapists, they both admire Lall's achievement and attention to detail and style. In fact, clients have described the Hidden Alternative as "Knightsbridge comes to North Finchley".

'Life is a river, go with the flow'

The apartment is decorated in cool neutrals, with an emphasis on natural materials, from the Thakat dining table and chairs to displays of unglazed pottery and polished stones. Candles abound: in a wooden rice bowl, in glass jars, on wrought-iron torchères.

Lall spent a great deal of time searching out just the right objects. "I've become quite a good bargain hunter," she insists. The calm atmosphere she has created flows through to the therapy centre in the second half of the L, linked with the apartment through an office behind the living area. The external wall is painted hot orange, both to be visible from the street and on the recommendation of Lall's feng shui teacher. But inside, apart from two bronze-resin reliefs by sculptor Emmanuel Okoro, tranquil beechwood, glass and pebbles and contemporary stainless steel prevail.

On a glass door is etched "Life is just a river, go with the flow", summing up Lall's philosophy. She'd do all this again if she had to: "I would, I really loved it."

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