The latest residence to feature a combined staircase and bookshelf is this loft conversion in north London by British design studio Craft Design. (+ slideshow)

Craft Design renovated a former office to create the open-plan residence, inserting a central bathroom that separates the kitchen and dining area from the living room, while also providing the framework for a first-floor bed deck.

The gabled end wall is covered with bookshelves, providing storage for three different areas. The staircase is formed from a series of extruded shelves and leads up from the living room to the mezzanine sleeping area.

"The idea was to maximise the sense of space as well as keeping a simple and efficient layout," said designers Hugo D'Enjoy and Armando Elias.

The designers kept to a simple palette of wooden flooring with white walls and fittings, allowing the owner to add colour by displaying books and other collected items.

We've recently featured a renovated apartment in Barcelona that also uses a bookcase as a staircase. See more interiors that combine staircases with bookshelves »

Photography is by Craft Design.

Here's a project description by Armado Elias:

London based Studio Craft Design led by Hugo D'Enjoy and Armando Elias has transformed a loft space in Camden into a bright and dynamic living-working space.

Originally used as an open plan office space, the challenge was to convert the property into a bespoke and innovative environment that efficiently and creatively responds to the demands of living in London.

In response to the brief, the idea was to maximise the sense of space as well as keeping a simple and efficient layout. The solution successfully achieved this with the introduction of a single volume located central to the loft where all the services are accommodated. Detached from the facades and ceilings this element has divided the open plan into several spaces for different uses such as kitchen-dinning, living room, storage, bathroom and a mezzanine for the sleeping and working area.

The 4.5 m height party wall and roof eaves have been fully used with shelves and storage, which serve the whole space. The stair to access the mezzanine level was cleverly integrated into this single piece of furniture. The rest was about keeping a simple palette in terms of materials and colors to allow the owner collection of objects, art and books give the wall an authentic personality to the space.