This Victorian Grade II listed house in a conservation area in Little Venice, north London, had been neglected for many years and remodelled in the 1980s to include a jarring Postmodern white rendered extension. Our client asked us to exorcise all Po-Mo elements, and to completely renovate the entire house, exposing and restoring original features where they had suffered or been hidden over the years. 

Our strategy was to get back to the raw architectural framework of the building, to reinstate the original proportions and restore the integrity of the house. Then, once the house felt ready, we grafted in the contemporary requirements. Our aim throughout was to make the alterations clearly readable and allow old and new to sit alongside each other, with the Victorian proportions and details creating a backdrop for a modern space that is more appropriate for contemporary living. The works were closely controlled and scrutinised by the Little Venice Garden Committee, whose stringent restrictions had to be adhered to, and so obtaining permissions was challenging. 

We restored the key rooms, mindful of their proportions, and were lucky to find the original Portland stone under layers of finishes in the hall and main stair. The side extension was reconstructed to be clearly distinct from the main house and a new kitchen was built on the upper part of this extension, with vast glass sliding doors to a balcony and commanding view over the garden. The choice of materials and palate created a balanced and natural progression from one area to another, and the garden was given a contemporary look and feel by landscape designer, Christopher Bradley-Hole, creating a more natural connection to the redesigned house.