ISLINGTON TOWNHOUSE

Photographer: Paul Raeside

A grand mid Victorian,  locally listed terrace house in the beautiful conservation area in the borough of Islington is the setting for this luxurious  Bohemian project.  The house is much loved by its owners; a judge, her international mediator husband and their two young children. They wished to completely replenish the house while respecting and  retaining all of the original features. Additional storage was a must as was creating light and airy spaces.

Most of the internal features had been lost over time; fireplaces blocked over, original doors removed and modern coving in place. The original timber floors are in poor condition and have sagged over the years. 

Beautiful features like the original cornicing in the entrance hallway, an original stained glass window looking over the back garden and the original layout and proportions of the rooms are all being retained and restored.

Additional space for the family is being achieved by converting the attic into habitable space and extending it via a dormer extension.

A bold, rich palette of greens, pinks, deeply veined dramatic marbles and pale natural oak chevron parquet floors has been chosen. 

Key pieces of existing artwork, objects and furniture with sentimental value, including an inherited chest of drawers from 1930s Shanghai, are being sensitively incorporated into the new design.

The design and refurbishment of the house is to allow for cherished items to be added to the house over time. So, the style is not formulaic or themed but rather a tasteful and refined backdrop onto which the owners beloved objects and artwork can be placed. 

The clients’ large clothes and shoe collection will be accommodated by a huge new wall of full height wardrobes in the master bedroom with carefully planned drawers, shelves and hanging space inside to meet the exact requirements of the couple.

A traditionally detailed timber staircase will continue to the converted loft space with a dramatic large linear roof light flooding the stairs with natural light. 

The starting point for the design of the new loft bedroom was for it to be like a library that can be slept in as requested by the avid reading 8 year old whose bedroom it will be. A hanging chair and a large window bench seat provide comfortable spots where a good book can be read while enjoying views out over the London roof tops and gardens below. In the evening, while lying on the bench you could look out at the starry night sky above through the large square roof light.

The new roof uses two types of high performance insulation allowing the loft bedroom to have excellent heat retention and low heating requirements as a result. Double glazed sash windows can be opened to provide fresh air. Double glazed roof lights mean the roof is as thermally efficient as possible.

Existing fabric such as the floorboards will be donated to timber merchants so that they can be reused, not disposed into landfill.

The structural scheme was designed to keep the steel work to a minimum thus reducing the carbon footprint of the works.