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Room Tour: A Dark Ground Floor is Now a Fresh Open-plan Space
How do you transform a gloomy Victorian terrace into an airy, light-filled home? By being bold with space
Turning the ground floor of this classic tall, dark Victorian terrace into a bright, California-inspired space was always going to be a challenge, but one determined couple and their architect have worked wonders to fulfil that brief in this beautifully extended home.
The ground floor originally ended where the chimney is and, when the couple bought the property, there was a small extension tacked on the back that was half the width of the new space. “It didn’t use the full width,” Mike says, “and it felt chilly and small.”
The house did, however, have one very special feature that really sold it to the couple: a garden gate that opens out directly onto Well Street Common.
“This feature really led the design of the whole ground floor,” Mike explains, “as the homeowners wanted to be able to go from the front of the house into the park without encountering any obstacles or walls en route. They wanted to experience the ground floor as part of the journey into the park.”
Workstead Orbit Sconce wall lights, Another Country. PH 5 pendant light, available at Skandium. W20 glazed doors, Crittall.
The house did, however, have one very special feature that really sold it to the couple: a garden gate that opens out directly onto Well Street Common.
“This feature really led the design of the whole ground floor,” Mike explains, “as the homeowners wanted to be able to go from the front of the house into the park without encountering any obstacles or walls en route. They wanted to experience the ground floor as part of the journey into the park.”
Workstead Orbit Sconce wall lights, Another Country. PH 5 pendant light, available at Skandium. W20 glazed doors, Crittall.
To enable this, Mike came up with a design that removed all the internal walls on the ground floor, creating a visual flow right though the space. The old addition was also demolished and replaced with a full-width extension across the back of the building.
As well as visually opening up the ground floor, the space is also wheelchair-friendly, with a ramp running throughout. “It does make the whole ground floor feel like one landscape where you don’t have to go up or down any steps,” he says.
As well as visually opening up the ground floor, the space is also wheelchair-friendly, with a ramp running throughout. “It does make the whole ground floor feel like one landscape where you don’t have to go up or down any steps,” he says.
“At the same time as opening up the space, however, the couple also wanted the ground floor to feel cosy, and they really wanted a wood-burning stove,” Mike says.
The solution was to make a feature of the central fireplace, which can now be viewed from three sides and brings a warm, relaxing feel to the home. Keeping the chimney also helped to retain a sense of the original structure.
From a practical point of view, the team consulted specialist Billing Chimneys before undertaking the work, and a sprinkler system was installed, linked to large water tanks in the basement, as a fire-prevention measure for the open-plan space.
Arte U-90h fireplace, Spartherm.
Looking for help with your own renovation project? Find the right professional on Houzz.
The solution was to make a feature of the central fireplace, which can now be viewed from three sides and brings a warm, relaxing feel to the home. Keeping the chimney also helped to retain a sense of the original structure.
From a practical point of view, the team consulted specialist Billing Chimneys before undertaking the work, and a sprinkler system was installed, linked to large water tanks in the basement, as a fire-prevention measure for the open-plan space.
Arte U-90h fireplace, Spartherm.
Looking for help with your own renovation project? Find the right professional on Houzz.
In order to draw in lots of natural light, Crittall windows were installed across the back, and skylights run right along the roof. “It’s a north-facing room, which was helpful, as it doesn’t overheat,” Mike explains.
The oversized timber beams also help to increase the amount of light in the room. “They’re about 40cm deep, which is deeper than they need to be,” Mike says, “but these help to reflect light into the room below.”
The kitchen extension is simply decorated, with limewashed brick, tactile wood and painted panelling providing plenty of texture. “We liked the idea of a room where there wasn’t much plasterboard,” Mike explains. “We wanted the surfaces to have a richness to the material.” By giving the brickwork a coat of limewash rather than regular paint, it gave it a powdery, matt finish.
What are Crittall windows? Find out here.
The oversized timber beams also help to increase the amount of light in the room. “They’re about 40cm deep, which is deeper than they need to be,” Mike says, “but these help to reflect light into the room below.”
The kitchen extension is simply decorated, with limewashed brick, tactile wood and painted panelling providing plenty of texture. “We liked the idea of a room where there wasn’t much plasterboard,” Mike explains. “We wanted the surfaces to have a richness to the material.” By giving the brickwork a coat of limewash rather than regular paint, it gave it a powdery, matt finish.
What are Crittall windows? Find out here.
The kitchen is from Plain English and the homeowners fell in love with it as soon as they saw it in the showroom. “Originally, we visualised quite an austere, simple kitchen,” Mike says, “but then the owners visited the Plain English showroom and knew immediately that was what they wanted. So that very much lead the interior style in the room, with the hand-painted panelling and real attention to detail and craftsmanship.”
It’s clear the success of this project was the result of a close collaboration between architect and owners. “We met with the clients every week and they were very hands-on,” Mike says, “though at the same time realistic.”
As a result, the finished home is a unique blend of old and new. The couple have given this Victorian house a new lease of life, creating a space fit for 21st century living.
Osea Kitchen, Plain English; painted in Olive Green, Papers and Paints. Wall panelling painted in Pink Slip, Little Greene. Kitchen taps, Studio Ore.
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Tell us…
What do you like about this Victorian renovation? Let us know in the Comments section.
It’s clear the success of this project was the result of a close collaboration between architect and owners. “We met with the clients every week and they were very hands-on,” Mike says, “though at the same time realistic.”
As a result, the finished home is a unique blend of old and new. The couple have given this Victorian house a new lease of life, creating a space fit for 21st century living.
Osea Kitchen, Plain English; painted in Olive Green, Papers and Paints. Wall panelling painted in Pink Slip, Little Greene. Kitchen taps, Studio Ore.
Shop a huge range of cushions of Houzz.
Tell us…
What do you like about this Victorian renovation? Let us know in the Comments section.
Who lives here? A couple and their young son
Location Hackney, London
Property A Victorian terrace with four bedrooms and two bathrooms
Extension dimensions 24 sq m
Architect Mike Tuck of Mike Tuck Studio Architects
“This was the first house my clients had owned,” Mike Tuck says of the Victorian terraced house in Hackney. The property itself is fairly typical of its type, with three floors of vertical living space.
However, the owners had a vision for the home that was anything but typical. “They’d just moved over from California,” Mike explains, “and they were used to expansive horizontal houses. This vertical house was the total opposite.
“So the brief was to create a large, open-plan ground-floor space and to introduce some elements of light, bright Californian living to this narrow, dark house,” he says.