Interior Design

A complete new home with basement behind an original retained Victorian façade.

The project sought to restore the noble proportions and decorative qualities of the original house without creating a pastiche replica.

The details are a modern interpretation of the historic joinery, which gives the house a familiar but distinctly modern feel. The extended rear garden facing rooms are distinctly modern and take full advantage of the views over the unusually long garden and surrounding trees. A series of small panelled spaces in rich colours and materials compliment the large calm rooms.

The overall experience is book-ended with the roof space and the basement, both designed to maximise their position in the house. The top floor is a timber-lined suite that references the idea of a garret level in a historic house, an intimate space with a sloping ceiling.

The basement level is an expansive space of a scale which would be unusual for a house in the Victorian period. The end grain block floor takes the familiar oak used throughout the house but laid in a manner that feels earthy and grounded. The walls are lined with decorative granite at their base to give a feeling of solidity and weight. The details utilise a mixture of sharp precise bronze with shadow gaps, fine plaster and rough granite.

K Bava Architects worked on the interiors as a joint project with Nick Hill Architects. Base build was by Pitman Tozer Architects.

Photography by Emily Marshall