In the quiet streets surrounding London’s Alexandra Palace, Zminkowska De Boise Architects has transformed a modest Edwardian mid-terrace through a carefully considered 16 sqm rear extension and wider reworking of the family home. Designed around the daily lives of Claire and Andrew and their two young sons, the project uses colour, exposed structure, natural materials and improved visual connections to turn a previously cramped and disconnected ground floor into a generous, light-filled sequence of spaces.
Claire and Andrew bought the house in 2018 and lived in it largely unchanged for five years before beginning the project. That period gave the family a detailed understanding of how the existing spaces worked - and where they did not - allowing the brief to develop from lived experience rather than a desire simply to maximise floor area.
Before the intervention, the rear of the house was compromised by a poorly built single-storey outrigger and narrow side return. Pebble-dashed, dimly lit and disconnected from the garden, the arrangement required the family to move awkwardly between rooms when cooking, baking or entertaining. Limited sightlines also made it difficult to maintain visual connection across the ground floor, an important consideration for Claire, who is a full-time parent and carer to the couple’s eldest son, Theo, who has Down’s syndrome.
To overcome the compact footprint and limited natural light, ZDB Architects approached the scheme through careful composition, focusing on the relationship between the new extension, the existing principal rooms and the garden. Rather than simply adding floor area, the intervention prioritises visual connection, ease of movement and daylight, allowing the family to remain close while occupying different parts of the home.
The result is a modestly sized yet remarkably expansive L-shaped extension. The two-storey section of the existing outrigger was retained and re-supported on an exposed dusty-pink steel frame, turning a necessary structural intervention into one of the defining architectural elements of the project.
During construction, the family rented the house next door and regularly visited the site together, allowing the children to remain connected to the project and watch the transformation take shape.
Accessibility is embedded within the spatial organisation rather than expressed through overt adaptations. Clear sightlines, a level ground floor, generous circulation and strong visual connections between the kitchen, living spaces and garden allow family members to occupy different areas while remaining connected.
This was particularly important for Claire and Theo, who is hard of hearing and wears a bone-conduction hearing aid. Being able to maintain visual connection across spaces provides reassurance and allows Claire to respond quickly when needed. Soft materials, textiles and planting also contribute to the acoustic character of the interior.
These considerations form part of a wider approach centred on clarity, comfort and intuitive movement - creating a home that supports everyday family life without feeling institutional or prescribed.
Colour is integral to the architectural language of the project. Claire has always loved pink and wanted the house to feel distinctive, playful and full of character. Bright pink powder-coated aluminium windows, doors and a rooflight animate the extension, complemented by the exposed dusty-pink steel structure.
The pink-framed openings warm the daylight entering the space, casting subtle tones across fair-faced red brick and the birch-plywood ceiling. The bold colour is balanced by a restrained palette of natural, gently toned timber and tactile materials, bringing warmth and clarity to the interior.
Structural materials are deliberately left visible. Softwood rafters, steel, brick and plywood give the extension a direct material expression, while a shallow hipped roof draws daylight deep into the plan. Brick walls continue between inside and outside, reinforcing the relationship between the kitchen, extension and garden.
Externally, the rear elevation is unified through a coordinated family of pink aluminium details, including the coping, rainwater hopper and downpipe, extending the colour strategy beyond the windows and doors and giving the intervention a coherent architectural identity.
The interior is organised as a series of connected zones that support different activities without fragmenting the ground floor. At its centre is a practical kitchen island tailored to Andrew’s passion for baking. The family describe themselves as “baking-obsessed”, and baking is a regular shared activity. Kneading dough in particular helps support Theo’s fine motor skills, making the kitchen not only a social hub but also a space for learning and therapeutic activity embedded naturally into family life.
The dining area is anchored by a bespoke birch-ply corner bench with integrated storage beneath. Scattered with cushions, it creates an informal social nook used throughout the day, from breakfast and after-school snacks to larger family gatherings.
Bookshelves, planting and softer textiles bring another layer to the interior, providing opportunities for personal expression while helping balance the harder structural materials. The family’s history is incorporated into the new spaces too. A large wooden table from Claire’s childhood home could not be retained at its original size, so it was carefully cut down and repurposed as shelving, preserving a tangible connection with her family past within the redesigned house.
From the dining bench, a large sliding window frames views towards the garden. During warmer months, the bi-folding doors can be opened completely, allowing the ground floor and garden to operate as a continuous living space.
The garden itself was developed alongside the architecture, with ZDB Architects advising on its overall layout, materials and colour palette, while specialist input informed the planting. Together, the architecture and landscape strengthen the sense of openness while retaining the protected, enclosed character that the family value.
Despite adding just over 16 sqm, the intervention fundamentally changes how the existing house is experienced. Careful planning, improved daylight, long sightlines and material continuity make the ground floor feel substantially more generous without relying on a large extension.
The project is expressive without becoming decorative for its own sake. Its exposed structure, pink-framed openings and tactile materials grow directly from the character of the family and the practical requirements of their everyday lives.
Claire and Andrew describe the completed home as a “house for all seasons”: open, light-filled and sociable during the warmer months, yet warm and cocooning in winter.
Through a relatively modest architectural intervention, ZDB Architects has created a home in which structure, colour and spatial planning work together to support the people who live there. Rather than maximising size, the project demonstrates how close attention to daily routines, movement, daylight and material character can transform the experience of an existing house.
Hanna Zminkowska, Partner at Zminkowska De Boise Architects, said:
“From the outset, Claire and Andrew wanted a home that reflected who they are - a family that cooks together, entertains often, and embraces colour and individuality with confidence.
“Our role was to shape a space that felt joyful and intuitive to use, while quietly supporting the practicalities of family life. The pink-framed openings and exposed structure aren’t gestures for their own sake; they’re expressions of the family’s warmth and energy.
“Ultimately, the project was about creating a place that feels uplifting every day - a home that is unmistakably theirs.”
