Houzz Tour: Smart Space Planning Enhances a London House
This family home gains space from moving a few walls and relocating the kitchen
Amanda Pollard
March 15, 2017
Senior Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors and architecture.
Senior Editor at Houzz UK and Ireland. Journalist and editor specialising in interiors... More
The owners of this Victorian row house in London lived in it for a few years before enlisting the help of designer Ross Malone. “They wanted to remodel the house and fix issues from a previous development,” he says. He worked with the clients to adjust the floor plan, moving the kitchen into the center of the house and adding a downstairs powder room.
“The existing subfloor needed to be replaced too,” Malone says. “Leaking underfloor heating had rotted the joists, so we installed new heating pipes and replaced all of the ground-level floors.”
“The existing subfloor needed to be replaced too,” Malone says. “Leaking underfloor heating had rotted the joists, so we installed new heating pipes and replaced all of the ground-level floors.”
Photos by Chris Snook
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two young children
Location: Clapham, southwest London
Size: Five bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Designer: Ross Malone of Orchestrate
With two youngsters, the owners of this house needed space in the hallway for strollers, shoes, bikes and scooters, so Malone and his team enlarged the area. The wall to the left previously sat flush, but the Orchestrate team pushed it back into the dining room to open up the area.
Behind the protruding wall is a powder room and lots of storage. Three doors at the top hide 3-foot-deep storage for large items, such as suitcases, and at the back are useful open shelves.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two young children
Location: Clapham, southwest London
Size: Five bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Designer: Ross Malone of Orchestrate
With two youngsters, the owners of this house needed space in the hallway for strollers, shoes, bikes and scooters, so Malone and his team enlarged the area. The wall to the left previously sat flush, but the Orchestrate team pushed it back into the dining room to open up the area.
Behind the protruding wall is a powder room and lots of storage. Three doors at the top hide 3-foot-deep storage for large items, such as suitcases, and at the back are useful open shelves.
Installing sliding doors is a clever way of maximizing space, since they don’t swing out into the room. Two glass panels attached to a “mirror” mechanism allow the two doors to the dining room to open simultaneously like a pair of curtains.
The owners chose striking hexagonal tiles for the flooring, which works well with the monochrome theme in the rest of the space. Malone stripped the staircase and stained it almost black.
Floor tiles: Mandarin Stone; Blackened wall paint: Farrow & Ball
The owners chose striking hexagonal tiles for the flooring, which works well with the monochrome theme in the rest of the space. Malone stripped the staircase and stained it almost black.
Floor tiles: Mandarin Stone; Blackened wall paint: Farrow & Ball
The powder room makes good use of the space between the kitchen and the hallway. Rather than trying to make the small room appear larger, the couple chose a dark color to create a cozy space.
Pitch Blue wall paint: Farrow & Ball; sink: Grohe
Pitch Blue wall paint: Farrow & Ball; sink: Grohe
In the dining room, Malone and his team left the fireplace where it was but created cohesion by using the hallway tiles for the hearth.
The restored moldings throughout the house are quite special, Malone says. “You can see this particularly in the architrave at the corner of the sliding door — it bucks out slightly to form a kind of stop. It’s a technique that was used by Georgian [woodworkers] and is really satisfying to look at.”
The restored moldings throughout the house are quite special, Malone says. “You can see this particularly in the architrave at the corner of the sliding door — it bucks out slightly to form a kind of stop. It’s a technique that was used by Georgian [woodworkers] and is really satisfying to look at.”
The wide front window is the perfect spot for a bench seat with pullout storage underneath. The Orchestrate team also installed a glass cabinet in the corner of the room.
A view from the dining area into the open-plan kitchen and living space beyond shows how moving the kitchen from the rear of the house into the middle made full use of all areas of the home.
The kitchen has plenty of storage in the form of lower cabinets and two tiers of upper cabinets. The three long panels between the fridge and the ovens are positioned to cover the recess that forms the powder room behind. “We wanted to make the space as seamless as possible,” Malone says.
A coffered ceiling forms a bulkhead around the wall cabinets and allowed downlights to be installed without the usual rings showing around them. Hammered copper pendant lights in the center provide general lighting, while undercabinet spots illuminate the work surfaces.
HB632GBS1B built-in single electric oven, wine fridge and cooktop: Siemens; RF540ADUSX4 three-door fridge-freezer: Fisher & Paykel; sink and faucet: Grohe; pendant lights: Mr. Resistor
Kitchen Confidential: The Pros and Cons of Double Stacked Cabinets
A coffered ceiling forms a bulkhead around the wall cabinets and allowed downlights to be installed without the usual rings showing around them. Hammered copper pendant lights in the center provide general lighting, while undercabinet spots illuminate the work surfaces.
HB632GBS1B built-in single electric oven, wine fridge and cooktop: Siemens; RF540ADUSX4 three-door fridge-freezer: Fisher & Paykel; sink and faucet: Grohe; pendant lights: Mr. Resistor
Kitchen Confidential: The Pros and Cons of Double Stacked Cabinets
The walnut-veneer cabinets with melamine interiors contrast well with the marble-effect countertops and backsplash.
The push-release cabinets have no need for a handle, so the kitchen stays sleek and simple.
Kitchen cabinets: Linear London
The push-release cabinets have no need for a handle, so the kitchen stays sleek and simple.
Kitchen cabinets: Linear London
The rear addition, which was already in place, used to be the kitchen. Malone and his team replastered and decorated the room. They also upgraded the patio doors.
The entire ground-level flooring had to be ripped up and replaced, as the underfloor heating had been leaking. The team installed a concrete slab with floor joists and insulation, followed by a layer of plywood and more insulation. The builders then installed new underfloor heating and covered the whole thing with engineered limed-oak boards.
Flooring: Trunk; wall lights: Mr. Resistor
The entire ground-level flooring had to be ripped up and replaced, as the underfloor heating had been leaking. The team installed a concrete slab with floor joists and insulation, followed by a layer of plywood and more insulation. The builders then installed new underfloor heating and covered the whole thing with engineered limed-oak boards.
Flooring: Trunk; wall lights: Mr. Resistor
Malone replaced the fireplace with a new surround, and the clients chose the space above the mantel for the TV. Malone placed its subsidiary devices in the cabinet to the left and connected them to just one cable. This now runs through a conduit wall to the screen above.
Stepped woodwork on the right forms boxed shelving, while low cabinets flank the fireplace.
Stepped woodwork on the right forms boxed shelving, while low cabinets flank the fireplace.
“The ceilings throughout the house were previously covered with downlights,” Malone says. “We ripped them out and replaced them with cozier pendants, wall lights and 5-amp lamps. It’s something we do on a lot of projects now.”
The two children’s bedrooms have matching decor. This room on the second floor already had French doors opening to a balustrade.
Pink Ground wall paint and Feather Grass wallpaper: Farrow & Ball
Pink Ground wall paint and Feather Grass wallpaper: Farrow & Ball
The couple are lucky enough to have separate bathrooms, which have been designed in similar styles. His version is completely tiled and contains a walk-in shower.
Tile: Fired Earth; porcelain fixtures: Grohe
Tile: Fired Earth; porcelain fixtures: Grohe
Her bathroom has a dado panel of decorative tiles. There’s also a bathtub in this room instead of a shower.
In the master bedroom, the existing cabinets got new door fronts and interiors. “We assumed there was a fireplace in between the cabinets, but when we started drilling, we discovered a void behind the wall,” Malone says. “We knocked down the faux wall and were left with a space that’s perfect for a chest of drawers.”
The team once again replaced downlights with a pendant and wall lights.
Tallow wall and cabinet paint and Brocade wallpaper: Farrow & Ball
The team once again replaced downlights with a pendant and wall lights.
Tallow wall and cabinet paint and Brocade wallpaper: Farrow & Ball
The staircase leading up to the loft space was an ideal spot for a utility area. A purpose-built cabinet behind the left-hand wall houses a stacked washing machine and tumble dryer.
“We soundproofed the cupboard with insulation to prevent the noise waking up the house,” Malone says.
“We soundproofed the cupboard with insulation to prevent the noise waking up the house,” Malone says.
The teal walls give the loft bedroom a cozy feel. They highlight the molding detail around the bathroom door.
Oval Room Blue wall paint: Farrow & Ball
Oval Room Blue wall paint: Farrow & Ball
A patterned curtain hangs at the door to the Juliet balcony.
Brocade wallpaper: Farrow & Ball; curtains: owners’ own
Brocade wallpaper: Farrow & Ball; curtains: owners’ own
The loft bathroom was remodeled to accommodate the new adjacent utility space. The washroom is now almost completely tiled and, as in the other bathrooms, a custom mirror is lined with an LED strip light.
Porcelain fixtures: Grohe; tile: Fired Earth
Porcelain fixtures: Grohe; tile: Fired Earth
The other child’s bedroom, on the third floor, benefits from a large Velux skylight in the pitched roof.
In this room, cabinetry containing useful storage replaced a chimney bump-out.
Tell us: What do you like about this reconfigured Victorian row house? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
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Tell us: What do you like about this reconfigured Victorian row house? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Browse more homes by style: Apartments | Barn Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Floating Homes | Guesthouses | Homes Around the World | Lofts | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Small Homes | Townhouses | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | Vacation Homes
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I like the clever recovery of space and the skylights.
Everything here to me is about SPACE. It is quite airy.
This is a charming way to add function and save history. Well done! I also like the paint colors. I too, have an elderly house that I rehabbed in the 90's the last time. I chose strong colors in the rooms and painted the 1x6 T&G ceiling white. I get many compliments.