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Houzz Tour: A Period Townhouse is Reconfigured for Family Life
Before and after photos show a dark Victorian house opened up and flooded with natural light
Family was at the heart of the design of this Victorian townhouse, from the playful colour scheme to the abundance of space where the parents and their three young children can enjoy spending time together.
The owners asked Caroline Milns of Zulufish to design a new layout and oversee a complete renovation, including an extension. “It’s a tall, thin house with lots of floors and, previously, it had been a warren of dark rooms,” Caroline says. “Downstairs, we reworked the whole basement floor to give them a nice, light and airy kitchen.” Several other rooms throughout were also reconfigured.
The owners asked Caroline Milns of Zulufish to design a new layout and oversee a complete renovation, including an extension. “It’s a tall, thin house with lots of floors and, previously, it had been a warren of dark rooms,” Caroline says. “Downstairs, we reworked the whole basement floor to give them a nice, light and airy kitchen.” Several other rooms throughout were also reconfigured.
Next to the studies was this separate door to the garden; it used to be the boiler/utility room.
The left end of this back wall is roughly where the desk in the first photo would have been. The layout and the level of natural light have now been dramatically transformed.
Caroline extended the space by around 2m, full width, installing glazing to match, and also dug down to allow for more ceiling height.
At the front of the house on this floor was also a separate bedroom, which Caroline reconfigured into a guest suite with a shower (shown further down). In doing this, she also moved the room’s walls to expand the hallway and allow for a built-in utility area (scroll down to see the plans).
Bar stools, Habitat.
Caroline extended the space by around 2m, full width, installing glazing to match, and also dug down to allow for more ceiling height.
At the front of the house on this floor was also a separate bedroom, which Caroline reconfigured into a guest suite with a shower (shown further down). In doing this, she also moved the room’s walls to expand the hallway and allow for a built-in utility area (scroll down to see the plans).
Bar stools, Habitat.
The door on the left opposite the island leads to a cloakroom.
The stairs up lead to the guest suite (ahead) and turn up into the main staircase.
Rug, Jennifer Manners Bespoke Rugs.
The stairs up lead to the guest suite (ahead) and turn up into the main staircase.
Rug, Jennifer Manners Bespoke Rugs.
Caroline designed in a tall pantry to the left of the American-style fridge-freezer and included the sink and more storage in the island, which also has bar stool seating. The skinny cupboard next to the oven is a good use of what could have been wasted space.
Kitchen, bespoke. Units painted in Brighton, Little Greene.
Kitchen, bespoke. Units painted in Brighton, Little Greene.
“The owners steered me colour-wise,” Caroline says. “They didn’t want the usual white or grey kitchen and wanted it to feel like a real family room – light, bright and fresh. They loved these ice-cream pastels.”
“They have quite a few artworks that I worked around,” she adds. “This London landscape artwork was one; the kitchen colours complement it well.”
Beetle chairs, Gubi. Solid oak dining table, Neptune.
“They have quite a few artworks that I worked around,” she adds. “This London landscape artwork was one; the kitchen colours complement it well.”
Beetle chairs, Gubi. Solid oak dining table, Neptune.
The bench seating doubles as discreet storage.
As well as being a dining area, this space is also very much for the children to enjoy and has beanbags for lounging on (out of shot). The shelves and cupboards store toys, and the TV is set into the cabinetry, so is discreet (when off).
The extended space has full-width sliding doors, flooding the dining area with natural light and a pleasant indoor-outdoor feel.
There’s also a terrace on the first floor. “Having this additional outdoor space allowed us to lose quite a bit of garden while extending here,” Caroline says.
There’s also a terrace on the first floor. “Having this additional outdoor space allowed us to lose quite a bit of garden while extending here,” Caroline says.
A plan of the existing lower ground floor layout, which is now the kitchen, gives a clearer understanding of the space as it was: two studies, a bedroom and a utility area, leading onto the garden. Also, there had been a bathroom and a boiler room on this floor.
The proposed layout for the lower ground floor shows Caroline’s changes. One study room and a portion of the other have become the kitchen-diner. The rest of the study farthest from the garden and the dining room (Caroline moved the position of the walls) have been turned into a guest suite and an enhanced utility area.
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Up a floor, here is the entrance hall on the ground floor as it used to look.
The hallway now has new but era-appropriate tiling.
To the left on this level is a door into a snug and study (see below). The door at the end leads to a guest room (the blue room, shown later). The newly configured lower ground floor is accessed just before this door, via a right turn to go down the staircase below the one you can see here.
To the left on this level is a door into a snug and study (see below). The door at the end leads to a guest room (the blue room, shown later). The newly configured lower ground floor is accessed just before this door, via a right turn to go down the staircase below the one you can see here.
The ground floor guest room.
“This room now has a lovely double-height ceiling, as it drops down a few steps,” Caroline explains. The space above was previously closed off, but Caroline opened it up for interest and extra height.
Wallcovering, Article London.
“This room now has a lovely double-height ceiling, as it drops down a few steps,” Caroline explains. The space above was previously closed off, but Caroline opened it up for interest and extra height.
Wallcovering, Article London.
The snug is bright, warm and welcoming, another family-friendly space. It’s a cosy spot for watching TV together and has a working fireplace.
Sofa, Camerich. Yellow chair, Hamilton Conte. Coffee table, Andrew Martin.
Sofa, Camerich. Yellow chair, Hamilton Conte. Coffee table, Andrew Martin.
At the other end of the snug is a study area and music room. The children play the blue piano. The door into the hall is a pocket design to save space, as both sides are narrow.
Desk and chair, Tom Faulkner.
Desk and chair, Tom Faulkner.
The original ground floor layout consisted of a kitchen, now the music room, and large dining room, now the snug. There was also a smaller dining room, seen at the far end here, but
Caroline closed off the opening to create a bedroom.
Caroline closed off the opening to create a bedroom.
Caroline removed the partial separation between these two rooms to create the open-plan snug and music room.
The original floor plan of this level makes the layout a little clearer.
Caroline’s drawings for the new layout of the ground floor.
Up on the first floor is the formal living room. “It’s a very large double room with the highest ceiling in the house,” Caroline says.
As you can see in the next photo, it’s a double aspect room and has wonderful natural light from both ends of the house.
As you can see in the next photo, it’s a double aspect room and has wonderful natural light from both ends of the house.
At the other end of the living room is another sofa and doors out to an L-shaped terrace, which was already there, but which Caroline redesigned. The door on the right leads onto the first floor landing, where there’s a cloakroom.
She also put back original cornicing throughout and replaced all the windows. “We replaced everything with what would have been there originally,” she says.
She also put back original cornicing throughout and replaced all the windows. “We replaced everything with what would have been there originally,” she says.
On the second floor there used to be one bedroom and a large bathroom. It’s now the main bedroom – at the front of the house – and a glamorous dressing room and en suite – towards the back.
Wallcovering, Abbott & Boyd.
Wallcovering, Abbott & Boyd.
These pink panels are built-in wardrobes that form the dressing room. The antiqued mirrors at the end conceal a door into the bathroom.
The en suite behind those mirrored doors is equally glamorous, clad entirely in marble tiles.
The ceilings in here and the bedroom have been dropped to make more space in the loft above.
Marble wall and floor tiles, Mandarin Stone.
Marble wall and floor tiles, Mandarin Stone.
This bathroom in the loft is mostly used by the children.
Tiles, Fired Earth.
Tell us…
What do you like best about this family home? Let us know in the Comments.
Tiles, Fired Earth.
Tell us…
What do you like best about this family home? Let us know in the Comments.
Who lives here? A couple with three young children – a boy and two girls
Location Primrose Hill, north London
Property A Victorian terraced townhouse
Size Five bedrooms and four bathrooms
Designer Caroline Milns of Zulufish
Joinery HUX London
Garden design Ruth Willmott Associates
Photos by Guifré de Peray
Before Caroline’s reinvention, the lower ground floor, now the kitchen, was made up of four small rooms – two studies, a bathroom and a boiler/utility room.
Pictured here is one of the studies; to the right, there was an open doorway into the other study, which led to the garden.