The clients, wanted to inject some character and drama into a relatively ordinary Victorian terraced house whilst preserving the remaining Victorian features. They had inherited a very low and dark basement room converted from a cellar by the previous occupants. Rather than waste money and resources digging out the basement space further, we decided to counterpoint it with a much taller adjoining space and celebrate the contrast between tall and low. A semi-circular staircase completely lined cherry links the Victorian world of the original house above to the floor below. The stairwell space is intentionally rich and dark, with a porthole to view the room beyond.
Semi-circular motifs are echoed in the rooflight designs. Deeply recessed, these celebrate light rather than glass.
Bay windows were the dominant architectural expression of the existing building's exterior. The extension is in the form of a new bay window but simplified, painted white and fitted with bright coloured window frames. New bathrooms were formed, each with a different character and a green stained plywood stair leads to light modern loft space.
The scheme is intended to provide a series of spaces with different characters within a single house. There are contrasting light and dark spaces, materials of varying texture and warmth and rooms of contrasting volumes. The basement colour scheme is influenced by 1950's American kitchens complimented by bespoke candy flecked terrazzo worktops. The ground and first floors have a classic victorian atmosphere with dark Greens.
