Like many 1920s houses, this double-fronted home in north London, had been burdened by decades of ill-conceived extensions, blocking natural light, and creating a fragmented, inefficient flow. Its once grand proportions were stifled by narrow sightlines and disjointed spaces. But with an imaginative redesign by Mulroy Architects, this four-storey, five bedroom house has been reborn – now a light-filled, family sanctuary optimised for user wellbeing and warmth.
The journey of transformation began in October 2021 when Nichola, a 52-year-old founder of interior and spatial design studio No Ordinary House, and her husband Stanton, a 49-year-old private investor, found themselves in search of a new home. After an extensive search for a property that could meet their needs for flexible living and future adaptability, they stumbled upon the perfect canvas in this 1930s house. A sense of possibility permeated the space – and with Mulroy Architects at the helm, the couple’s dream of creating a modern, social sanctuary for their family began to take shape.
Their overarching vision was a desire to connect the home to the garden, infusing it with light, space, and a strong connection to nature. The existing extension had created a physical and psychological barrier to the outdoors, limiting both natural light and the flow between the interior and the expansive garden. The house’s outdated footprint was also not suitable for their growing family. With two teenage sons, Nichola and Stanton wanted to create more areas for their family and friends to gather, entertain, and enjoy together.
The key to unlocking light and space started with opening up the ground floor and creating two powerful sightlines – one that flows from the front door, right through to the bottom of the garden, and another that reaches up to the sky through a new galleried staircase. Drawing inspiration from the breezy beach houses of Horace Gifford on the East Coast of the United States, Mulroy’s design philosophy embraced a sense of openness, space, and fluidity. The living spaces were designed to overlap and interconnect, allowing the family to circulate freely without sacrificing comfort.
But the couple didn’t stop there. Inspired by the potential to future-proof their home, they challenged Mulroy Architects with an additional request: could a basement be added? The architects, always focused on creating functional and purposeful spaces, responded by encouraging the couple to carefully consider what the new space would be used for. After thoughtful discussions, it became clear that the basement offered an opportunity to embed "social sustainability" into the design. The result is a basement that is not just an underutilised space, but a vibrant, multi-functional area that serves as a gym, a screening room, and a bar. Its design integrates with the rest of the house and provides access to a private sunken courtyard garden, creating a unique indoor-outdoor experience. Importantly, the basement can be adapted in the future into a fully self-contained apartment, providing a living space for multiple generations of the family as their needs evolve.
The upper levels cater to the family’s need for flexibility. As the couple’s sons approach adulthood, the newly created loft space has been carefully designed with self-contained bedrooms, providing privacy and independence without detaching the family from one another. The addition of these spaces, paired with thoughtful considerations for accessibility and adaptability, ensures that this is a home for all ages and can accommodate their changing lifestyle needs, well into the future.
For the interiors, Nichola, an advocate of design that creates harmony between the built environment and the natural world, set out to bring the outdoors in. At the heart of the home, a striking double-height courtyard features a full-height living wall, offering a green sanctuary that softens the modern finishes. This living wall not only serves as a focal point, it enhances the environmental sustainability of the home by improving air quality and supporting biodiversity. The project addressed environmental impact, and Mulroy implemented significant low-energy improvements. External wall and roof insulation, energy-efficient window replacements, and solar photovoltaic panels were installed on the extension roof, helping to increase the energy performance of the house from SAP B and G to a far more sustainable SAP Band C. These improvements, alongside the house’s careful arrangement to optimise natural daylight and ventilation, ensure this is a comfortable, energy-efficient home for years to come.
A project like this would cost between £3,500 and £4,500/sqm excluding fees, landscape and VAT.
Reflecting on the project, Andrew Mulroy, Director at Mulroy Architects, added:
“The redesign reflects a shared belief in creating bold spaces that can evolve with needs over time. The thoughtful addition of a flexible basement, self-contained loft spaces, and sustainable features ensures that this house is not just a home for the present – it is a home for the future. From the moment you step inside, the house invites you to experience the beauty of natural light and the tranquillity of nature, offering a sense of calm and space that is hard to find in a city like London.”
