Visit a Brick Row House Updated for Modern Life
Watch and read how a major renovation gave a narrow English home more openness and fresh contemporary style
Mitchell Parker
October 18, 2021
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative trends, breaking news, industry analysis and humor.
Houzz Editorial Staff. Home design journalist writing about cool spaces, innovative... More
Looking for more openness in their narrow Victorian brick row house, this U.K. couple reached out to Michael Parinchy of Probuild360. What followed was a major renovation that saw the home taken down to the bare brick structure. Walls came down, flooring came out. And Parinchy added a new roof and built a contemporary extension off the back. The juxtaposition of the old Victorian front facade and the modern back one is a feeling that extends into the interiors, where traditional elements like herringbone wood flooring contrast beautifully with sleek contemporary bathrooms and modern home automation features.
The brick row house was built during the Industrial Revolution in Victorian-era England. “It was very well built,” Parinchy says. “A very solid house.” While local regulations meant the team had to keep the front exterior in its original traditional style, they were free to add on to the rear of the home.
Watch now: Go inside this updated Victorian row house on Houzz TV
Watch now: Go inside this updated Victorian row house on Houzz TV
The back addition boosted the available square footage and brought more light into the interiors through large windows. A two-piece sliding glass door on the black composite-clad lower portion has minimal framing for uninterrupted views of the backyard. Two large windows on the second floor bring views and light to the main bedroom. “It’s kind of an American-style contemporary look,” Parinchy says of the addition.
Find design-build firms in your area
Find design-build firms in your area
Inside, Parinchy and team took the home to the studs and started fresh. They removed a wall and door behind the staircase to create an open shotgun-style layout that runs from the front door to the back sliding glass doors. “[The homeowners] had ideas for open-plan living, but we opened it up even more,” Parinchy says.
The light wood herringbone flooring runs throughout the entire first floor and nods to the Victorian roots of the home. It features radiant heat.
In the kitchen are dramatic black cabinets and slab countertops and backsplash. A black-framed shelf over the island brings down LED lights and offers a spot for some greenery.
A whole-home automation system lets the homeowners use a phone app to control ceiling speakers and lights. They can even turn on the oven while sitting in traffic on the drive home from work. “It’s really everything you can possibly think of,” Parinchy says.
Browse a collection of essential kitchen products
The light wood herringbone flooring runs throughout the entire first floor and nods to the Victorian roots of the home. It features radiant heat.
In the kitchen are dramatic black cabinets and slab countertops and backsplash. A black-framed shelf over the island brings down LED lights and offers a spot for some greenery.
A whole-home automation system lets the homeowners use a phone app to control ceiling speakers and lights. They can even turn on the oven while sitting in traffic on the drive home from work. “It’s really everything you can possibly think of,” Parinchy says.
Browse a collection of essential kitchen products
The bathrooms embrace a high-contrast contemporary style. In the main bathroom, shown here, off-white tile in a limestone finish provides a clean backdrop to a black freestanding tub, black-framed shower enclosure and other black details.
Watch now: See more on how this Victorian home got a contemporary overhaul
Watch now: See more on how this Victorian home got a contemporary overhaul
In a guest bathroom, large-format botanical print tiles bring a bit of color and pattern to the sleek space.
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
In another guest bathroom, ribbed tile catches light, giving some walls a textured effect. A layered lighting approach combines natural light from a dormer, overhead lights, a backlit mirror and cove lighting in the generous shower niche.
In the main bedroom, olive green walls set a soothing tone while a black contemporary-style four poster bed adds graphic lines.
Watch now: Visit this updated U.K. home on Houzz TV
Shop now: Browse a curated collection of essential kitchen products
Watch now: Visit this updated U.K. home on Houzz TV
Shop now: Browse a curated collection of essential kitchen products
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I'd really love to know what tiles were used in the bathroom with the sloped ceiling - the large format ribbed tiles in particular are so unusual, and work so well with the natural terrazzo-esque floor tiles
Fabulous
Before and after pictures and floor plans please