Houzz Tour: A Georgian Home in London Has an Incredible Transformation
See the amazing ‘before and after’ photos of this beautiful Georgian home – an abandoned hospital restored to its former glory
Jo Simmons
16 January 2016
Houzz UK Contributor. I have been an interiors journalist since 1995, writing several books on design and numerous features for glossy homes mags over the years. For Houzz, I cover decorating ideas and trends and interview designers and professionals for their insights. My favourite pieces to write, though, are Houzz Tours, as I love exploring and learning about real homes. Call me curious — or nosy!
Houzz UK Contributor. I have been an interiors journalist since 1995, writing several... More
Built in 1798, this striking Georgian property in one of central London’s smartest squares started life as an aristocratic home, designed by architect brothers Robert and John Adam. The house suffered bomb damage during the Second World War and was later acquired by the government to become a hospital.
When the owners bought the building, it was still full of medical equipment, with thick lino on the floor and much of the space divided into consultation cubicles complete with privacy curtains – visible in the first image, a before shot of the empty hospital.
When the owners bought the building, it was still full of medical equipment, with thick lino on the floor and much of the space divided into consultation cubicles complete with privacy curtains – visible in the first image, a before shot of the empty hospital.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here A professional couple
Location Central London
Property A Grade I listed, five-storey house, built in 1798
Size 2 bedrooms, 2 en suite bathrooms and a cloakroom
Architect Russell Taylor Architects
In this image, you can see inside the house before work began, in May 2007. The renovation continued until the end of 2008, with every detail painstakingly created. ‘The house is Grade I listed, which is the highest level of protection, so both the local council and English Heritage were involved in every decision,’ says Silvia Maiorino of Russell Taylor Architects, the practice behind the renovation. ‘But it was always the intention of the owners to be sympathetic to the building and do things right, often at great expense.’
The brief was to create a home comprising three floors of reception space with two floors given over to bedroom suites. The house had been used as the London Foot Hospital before the owners bought it. ‘It was really ill adapted to being a hospital, especially for people who might have had difficulty moving from floor to floor!’ says Maiorino, who worked closely on the project. ‘It had been fitted out very crudely inside, too. Structural reinforcements had been installed in quite a ham-fisted way and very few original features remained.’
Who lives here A professional couple
Location Central London
Property A Grade I listed, five-storey house, built in 1798
Size 2 bedrooms, 2 en suite bathrooms and a cloakroom
Architect Russell Taylor Architects
In this image, you can see inside the house before work began, in May 2007. The renovation continued until the end of 2008, with every detail painstakingly created. ‘The house is Grade I listed, which is the highest level of protection, so both the local council and English Heritage were involved in every decision,’ says Silvia Maiorino of Russell Taylor Architects, the practice behind the renovation. ‘But it was always the intention of the owners to be sympathetic to the building and do things right, often at great expense.’
The brief was to create a home comprising three floors of reception space with two floors given over to bedroom suites. The house had been used as the London Foot Hospital before the owners bought it. ‘It was really ill adapted to being a hospital, especially for people who might have had difficulty moving from floor to floor!’ says Maiorino, who worked closely on the project. ‘It had been fitted out very crudely inside, too. Structural reinforcements had been installed in quite a ham-fisted way and very few original features remained.’
Exploration work suggested the arch in this space (seen in the previous image) had been added later in the house’s life, probably during the Victorian period. ‘We decided to open up the arch and put in what we call a column screen,’ says Maiorino.
The columns now sit centrally where the arch once was, framing the beautiful drawing room on the first floor. ‘It has the highest ceilings, grandest detailing and largest windows, so it had to be the drawing room!’ she adds.
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The columns now sit centrally where the arch once was, framing the beautiful drawing room on the first floor. ‘It has the highest ceilings, grandest detailing and largest windows, so it had to be the drawing room!’ she adds.
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This is the other end of the drawing room as it looked when the house was used as a hospital, complete with medical examination cubicles.
The radiator seen in the previous picture has been removed and the floor-to-ceiling window restored to its former glory. The Ionic columns contrast nicely with the soft grey walls.
‘The columns are made from a specialist plaster called scagliola, which is very hard and can be made in any colour to replicate any stone,’ says Maiorino. ‘The only way you can tell it’s not marble is that it doesn’t feel cold. Its advantages are that it’s lighter than marble – we would have had to reinforce the floors if we’d used the real thing – and it’s cheaper.’
‘The columns are made from a specialist plaster called scagliola, which is very hard and can be made in any colour to replicate any stone,’ says Maiorino. ‘The only way you can tell it’s not marble is that it doesn’t feel cold. Its advantages are that it’s lighter than marble – we would have had to reinforce the floors if we’d used the real thing – and it’s cheaper.’
It’s hard to imagine how this medical space, in another ‘before’ shot, could become the ground-floor dining room, shown in the next picture. A chimney breast is just visible on the far wall; in the restored room, the alcove to its left has been partially filled in. ‘We used this space to run pipes and services up and down the house,’ says Maiorino.
Tall windows flood the dining room with light. The house sits on the end of the terrace in a central London square and many rooms benefit from a double aspect.
Walls painted in Mole’s Breath, Farrow & Ball. Fireplace, Chesney’s.
Walls painted in Mole’s Breath, Farrow & Ball. Fireplace, Chesney’s.
Also on the ground floor, what was once consultation rooms, seen here, is now a light-filled reception space next to the dining room.
The beautiful arched windows in the ground-floor reception room are a feature of the flank wall of the property. ‘All the windows were replaced,’ Maiorino says. ‘Some had been put in as recently as the 1960s and were wrong for the house. None of them were original, due to bomb damage.’
Specialist glass, made to look like the kind manufactured during the Victorian period, was used. ‘It’s not perfectly flat and has a slight distortion in it, to look authentic,’ Maiorino says. The chandelier is from a specialist restorer and maker of period lighting.
Specialist glass, made to look like the kind manufactured during the Victorian period, was used. ‘It’s not perfectly flat and has a slight distortion in it, to look authentic,’ Maiorino says. The chandelier is from a specialist restorer and maker of period lighting.
The stairs running up from the ground floor entrance hall were covered with thick boarding and lino and also painted. ‘This is a cantilever staircase with Portland stone treads, which is original to the building,’ says Maiorino. ‘We stripped off all the paint and repaired the treads, inserting new stone where needed. We also repaired the original stone flags on the floor as some were broken. It was about making the best of what we found and subtly introducing new pieces of stone to repair it all.’
From the basement to the second floor the stairs are Portland stone, but they then become oak.
This staircase is a copy of the one in Sir John Soane’s Museum. ‘The owners are patrons of the museum and prefer the more stripped-back neoclassical style that he favoured over the decorative style of the Adams brothers, who designed the building,’ Maiorino explains. ‘In addition, by the time the building was finished in 1798, Robert Adam had died and, although he designed the exterior elevation, he never saw the interior. So it fits to follow the style of an architect who came just after him.’
This staircase is a copy of the one in Sir John Soane’s Museum. ‘The owners are patrons of the museum and prefer the more stripped-back neoclassical style that he favoured over the decorative style of the Adams brothers, who designed the building,’ Maiorino explains. ‘In addition, by the time the building was finished in 1798, Robert Adam had died and, although he designed the exterior elevation, he never saw the interior. So it fits to follow the style of an architect who came just after him.’
The basement kitchen design was developed by the owners together with kitchen specialist Smallbone of Devizes. ‘This is actually a prototype for what has become their Macassar collection,’ says Maiorino. ‘It was inspired by the designs of architect Sir John Soane. The detailing, geometric shapes and use of marble and mirrors are all references to his work.’
There is also a cloakroom on this floor.
Kitchen, Smallbone of Devizes.
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There is also a cloakroom on this floor.
Kitchen, Smallbone of Devizes.
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This scruffy space on the second floor became a snug, which you can see after its transformation in the next photo.
The now beautifully restored snug connects with the en suite bathroom via the door next to the clock. The walls were painted in a Farrow & Ball shade that’s no longer available and the fireplace is a marble design, copied from Sir John Soane’s Museum and made by Chesney’s.
Fireplace, Chesney’s.
Fireplace, Chesney’s.
This meeting room on the second floor has been reinvented as a double-aspect en suite bathroom. You can just see the door to what is now the snug hidden behind a bookcase at an angle to the window.
The house is on the corner on the south side of the square, and is flooded with light. This second-floor bathroom makes the most of it by having three large windows.
The bath and shower were made bespoke. ‘We contacted a stone supplier with detailed drawings on how we wanted it to be done,’ Maiorino says.
Throughout the house, the flooring is all new, apart from on the top floor. ‘We used engineered boards and fitted underfloor heating,’ the architect adds. ‘The radiators in here are used as towel rails.’
The bath and shower were made bespoke. ‘We contacted a stone supplier with detailed drawings on how we wanted it to be done,’ Maiorino says.
Throughout the house, the flooring is all new, apart from on the top floor. ‘We used engineered boards and fitted underfloor heating,’ the architect adds. ‘The radiators in here are used as towel rails.’
A mirrored dressing room connects the bathroom to the bedroom on the second floor. ‘Again, this was inspired by Sir John Soane, who used mirrors a lot to multiply space,’ says Maiorino. ‘We fitted cupboards on both sides in this little bottleneck space, with a vaulted ceiling above. The mirrors create a kaleidoscope effect and reflect to infinity, because they face each other.’
Read expert tips on how to organise your wardrobe brilliantly
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On the top floor, another messy office space from the house’s time as a hospital was miraculously transformed into a beautiful bedroom, seen in the next picture.
The floorboards are pine on the top floor, rather than the oak that was installed below. ‘These boards were hidden under carpet or lino,’ says Maiorino. ‘We don’t think they are Georgian, but probably date from the Victorian period.’
This room was probably always intended to be a bedroom for the family that owned the property. ‘Space was at too much of a premium in London to keep servants up here,’ says the architect. ‘Some staff would have lived in the house, but it’s most likely they would have been in the basement.’
This room was probably always intended to be a bedroom for the family that owned the property. ‘Space was at too much of a premium in London to keep servants up here,’ says the architect. ‘Some staff would have lived in the house, but it’s most likely they would have been in the basement.’
This is the en suite bathroom at the top of the house. The windows on this side, on the flank wall of the building, were partially protected from the bomb damage, but still needed to be replaced.
TELL US…
What do you think of this painstakingly restored house? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
TELL US…
What do you think of this painstakingly restored house? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
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Done to perfection!
It is really stunning, so much attention to detail. The owners must be just so pleased with how it turned out. I can well imagine the long hours they would have spent pouring over detail. Well done!
Would love to actually see the stairway transformation. This home is lovely.