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Houzz Tour: A Small Victorian House Where Every Inch is Maximised
This petite terrace was struggling to accommodate a family of four and a home business before its stylish redesign
A modest extension, a bespoke kitchen design with some very smart touches, and a space-maxing loft conversion have completely transformed this period home. The owners, one of whom runs her food business from the house, were bursting out of the original building and, with baby number two on the way, needed a skilful rethink of their space.
Enter interior designer Yoko Kloeden, who the owners found on Houzz, and who has created a beautiful and high-functioning home for them, packed with discreet storage and clever ideas.
Enter interior designer Yoko Kloeden, who the owners found on Houzz, and who has created a beautiful and high-functioning home for them, packed with discreet storage and clever ideas.
Yoko extended into the side return, but only went out by 1.4m at the back in order to boost the kitchen while retaining as much of the small garden as possible.
“A big part of the brief was to make the ground floor an indoor-outdoor space,” Yoko says. As such, she made the opening as wide as possible and designed the internal, micro-cement flooring and external decking to be flush. She also chose exposed brickwork for the back wall to boost the indoor-outdoor feel.
“The kitchen is a galley style – ie, with cupboards on both sides – but with the workspace in the middle,” Yoko says. “This is a moveable island, so the client can wheel it out to the garden, where it works as a serving trolley.” The flush flooring is also key to making this work.
The pendant lights are a ‘rise and fall’ design. “We specified these. I think really low pendant lights look good, but they obviously wouldn’t be practical if the island was in the garden. This means they work whether it’s in here or outside,” Yoko explains.
Pendants and heavy brass tap, The French House: London. Island, Peppermill Antiques, part of Peppermill Interiors.
“A big part of the brief was to make the ground floor an indoor-outdoor space,” Yoko says. As such, she made the opening as wide as possible and designed the internal, micro-cement flooring and external decking to be flush. She also chose exposed brickwork for the back wall to boost the indoor-outdoor feel.
“The kitchen is a galley style – ie, with cupboards on both sides – but with the workspace in the middle,” Yoko says. “This is a moveable island, so the client can wheel it out to the garden, where it works as a serving trolley.” The flush flooring is also key to making this work.
The pendant lights are a ‘rise and fall’ design. “We specified these. I think really low pendant lights look good, but they obviously wouldn’t be practical if the island was in the garden. This means they work whether it’s in here or outside,” Yoko explains.
Pendants and heavy brass tap, The French House: London. Island, Peppermill Antiques, part of Peppermill Interiors.
Yoko designed the kitchen herself and had it made by joiners to maximise the available space, particularly as the left-hand wall has sections at different depths (scroll down to see the floorplan).
The handleless units are stained oak. “We used oak with a rustic grade, so it has knots and grain, then got it stained to look slightly vintage-y, which is very much the client’s aesthetic,” she says. The palette generally is also very natural.
Though new, the moveable island has a vintage look about it and is made from pine with a zinc top. There’s some storage within it for cutlery and large serving bowls. “It can’t store anything too heavy, as it needs to move,” Yoko explains.
Elsewhere, there’s a dishwasher and a freestanding American-style fridge on the left, just visible in the previous photo. There’s also a slimline wine cooler on the right, seen here.
Storage is a mix of drawers and cupboards. “Because the space is so narrow, we put lots of shelves inside the units to make the space as flexible as possible,” Yoko explains.
You can find an interior designer for your renovation on Houzz, too. Take a look through the Professional’s Directory and read reviews from previous clients.
The handleless units are stained oak. “We used oak with a rustic grade, so it has knots and grain, then got it stained to look slightly vintage-y, which is very much the client’s aesthetic,” she says. The palette generally is also very natural.
Though new, the moveable island has a vintage look about it and is made from pine with a zinc top. There’s some storage within it for cutlery and large serving bowls. “It can’t store anything too heavy, as it needs to move,” Yoko explains.
Elsewhere, there’s a dishwasher and a freestanding American-style fridge on the left, just visible in the previous photo. There’s also a slimline wine cooler on the right, seen here.
Storage is a mix of drawers and cupboards. “Because the space is so narrow, we put lots of shelves inside the units to make the space as flexible as possible,” Yoko explains.
You can find an interior designer for your renovation on Houzz, too. Take a look through the Professional’s Directory and read reviews from previous clients.
All the appliances are professional grade and the hob is gas; this is fitted to sit flush within the worktop to keep the look clutter-free.
Yoko chose zellige fish-scale tiles for the hob splashback.
Tiles, Emery & Cie.
Yoko chose zellige fish-scale tiles for the hob splashback.
Tiles, Emery & Cie.
The splashback behind the sink is cast concrete, as are the worktops throughout.
Before the renovation, the house had one bathroom, two bedrooms and an existing loft. However, the latter didn’t meet Building Regulations or make best use of the available space.
This floorplan of the whole building shows how the spaces now work and fit together.
This floorplan of the whole building shows how the spaces now work and fit together.
The dining area, which is behind the kitchen in the ground floor’s middle room, features more exposed brick. This is open-plan with both the kitchen and the living room, at the front of the house.
The bench seating is bespoke and continues from the kitchen in the same materials. There’s drawer storage beneath the bench for excess cooking appliances, and the dining table is extendable.
The flooring is original; Yoko simply had it sanded and restored.
Table, Neptune. Chairs, Hay. Lighting; mirror, all sourced by the owner in French antiques markets.
The bench seating is bespoke and continues from the kitchen in the same materials. There’s drawer storage beneath the bench for excess cooking appliances, and the dining table is extendable.
The flooring is original; Yoko simply had it sanded and restored.
Table, Neptune. Chairs, Hay. Lighting; mirror, all sourced by the owner in French antiques markets.
The garden as it used to look. The owner needed this to be a space in which she could host guests and serve food for her events.
The garden as it now looks, seen from a similar angle and with the island wheeled outside, ready for use.
Yoko designed a charcoal-coloured concrete outdoor kitchen, featuring a barbecue area with shelving, plus a worktop and a freestanding sink at the far end. The decking is larch.
Yoko also designed the bench seating in the same larch decking wood. A green wall of mixed, living plants, added by the project’s gardening professional, adds lush depth against the back wall.
This is the living room as seen from the dining area.
Lighting, vintage Swedish. Vintage coffee table, clients’ own.
Lighting, vintage Swedish. Vintage coffee table, clients’ own.
All the single-glazed windows throughout the house were upgraded as part of the renovation, and everything was rewired and replumbed. In here, there are new radiators as well as new wall lights.
“We restored the cornices, sanded the floor and added built-in storage either side of the chimney breast,” Yoko says. She also designed this striking bespoke cast concrete fire surround.
Walls painted in Palladio lime paint, Kalklitir.
Walls painted in Palladio lime paint, Kalklitir.
On the first floor, the smaller of the two bedrooms, at the back of the house, is now a spare room/home office. The front bedroom (not photographed) had originally been the couple’s room, but their two daughters now sleep in there.
In here, there’s a sofa-bed and this fold-down desk, designed again by Yoko to make best use of the space.
The whole house is decorated in lime paint. “It gives you a lovely soft texture, which you can see best in this room,” Yoko says.
Walls painted in Antique Blue lime paint, Kalklitir.
In here, there’s a sofa-bed and this fold-down desk, designed again by Yoko to make best use of the space.
The whole house is decorated in lime paint. “It gives you a lovely soft texture, which you can see best in this room,” Yoko says.
Walls painted in Antique Blue lime paint, Kalklitir.
The first floor bathroom is used by guests and the children.
Wall tiles, Mandarin Stone. Floor tiles, Mosaic del Sur and Emery & Cie.
Wall tiles, Mandarin Stone. Floor tiles, Mosaic del Sur and Emery & Cie.
The vanity unit, which has drawers and an open shelf, is bespoke and made with oak stained with a white oil.
The couple’s bedroom is now in the new loft, where the windows overlook the garden. The palette again is soft and natural, and the wall behind the bed is covered in grasscloth for organic texture.
“What was here previously was just a space within two pitched roofs, so it was very narrow,” Yoko says. Working within Permitted Development guidelines, she designed a dormer to create height and added a bathroom above the rear room on the first floor (which is also a bathroom – the one seen in the previous photo).
To the right of the bed, there’s full-width built-in storage, plus another rooflight. To the left is the window then the en suite bathroom.
Bedside tables, vintage. Table lamp, Hay. Cast pendants, Menu Space. Curtain fabric, Otomi 39390110, Casamance.
“What was here previously was just a space within two pitched roofs, so it was very narrow,” Yoko says. Working within Permitted Development guidelines, she designed a dormer to create height and added a bathroom above the rear room on the first floor (which is also a bathroom – the one seen in the previous photo).
To the right of the bed, there’s full-width built-in storage, plus another rooflight. To the left is the window then the en suite bathroom.
Bedside tables, vintage. Table lamp, Hay. Cast pendants, Menu Space. Curtain fabric, Otomi 39390110, Casamance.
This is the loft en suite. “It’s a tiny room, but we fitted in a bath as well as a walk-in shower, which is where this picture is taken from,” Yoko says. “There’s also a niche between the en suite and the main bedroom, which we used to create more storage. We added storage into all kinds of alcoves, as it’s such a small house.”
The vanity unit is the same as the one in the first floor bathroom, but with a Silestone counter and a brass tap.
Floor tiles, Mandarin Stone. Pendant light, Curiousa & Curiousa.
The vanity unit is the same as the one in the first floor bathroom, but with a Silestone counter and a brass tap.
Floor tiles, Mandarin Stone. Pendant light, Curiousa & Curiousa.
The shower is fully glazed in characterful tiles, which again reflect the natural palette and textures used throughout the project.
Tiles, Emery & Cie.
Tell us…
What’s your favourite detail in this cleverly redesigned terrace? Let us know in the Comments.
Tiles, Emery & Cie.
Tell us…
What’s your favourite detail in this cleverly redesigned terrace? Let us know in the Comments.
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Who lives here? A couple with two young daughters, one of whom was born in the middle of the project
Location South London
Property A Victorian terrace
Size Three bedrooms and two bathrooms
Designer Yoko Kloeden of Yoko Kloeden Design
Photos by Cathy Pyle
The old kitchen, seen here, was cramped before Yoko got to work on the extension and redesign. It wasn’t big enough to house all the professional equipment the owner needs to run her food business, which includes hosting workshops and supper clubs, providing catering, and making pickles and chutneys. She also uses the garden to entertain guests.