The client required a functional family home with an emphasis on natural light, a sense of space and playful design resolution whilst respecting the Victorian dwelling. The renovation consisted of taking a semi-detached single-level 1880s Victorian worker’s cottage to two storey’s and four bedrooms. The size and scope of the addition has been concealed behind the original façade, only hinting at the extension by cutting the first floor around the chimney this detail, then repeated inside the first floor bedroom echoes the origins of the building. The front door opened onto a traditional Victorian corridor with glazed doors allowing a glimpse of the contemporary extension beyond.
Light and storage are incorporated in thoughtful and original ways. Both bathrooms have large, distinct windows that transport you into endless skies. An internal window, showing the staircase treads, links the house’s two levels and gives the staircase its own personality (along with red numbered tiles) that children enjoy as a magical space for puppet shows and peeping on grown ups below. Storage is cleverly conceived in each room. Walk-through bookshelves create the living room’s character. A butler’s hatch joins the staircase pantry to the kitchen. The kitchen’s island bench conceals a toy stash and seating nook. Splashes of colour and texture punctuate the minimalist palette. Playful touches of red appear throughout. Yellow dot hooks skip across a bathroom wall. Original brickwork discovered during construction has been white bagged instead of replastered in order to celebrate the history of the home and add a sense of warmth.
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