that I’m familiar with every detail. The whole process is quite personal, and all about the people we work with.”
The house stands within a conservation area, and special attention was therefore paid to preserving the character of the building by restoring Victorian features. Traditional cornicing and ceiling roses define the formal front spaces; sitting in pleasing juxtaposition to the rear. Subtle changes in texture and detail define semi-private spaces like the study, while maintaining the home’s openness. The complete refurbishment of the first floor maintains generously proportioned rooms – again with a modest extension to the rear, which creates a new master bedroom suite where one did not previously exist. Overall, the size of the house has only increased by 29 m2
to 252 m2 ,
but these small interventions have made an enormous impact on the entire layout. “We absolutely loved the design,” says Nicola. “Planning permission was passed really smoothly, Henri went out to tender to choose a builder, and we all moved to live in a rented house for eight months, because we knew the building work would be too invasive to consider staying here.
“Almost the entire back of the house came off, so it was like a shell, and we had builders working in virtually every room. David was on site most days, watching the work progress, and it was quite shocking to see just how much of the building was demolished.” A structural engineer was employed to produce calculations for the necessary
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www.sbhonline.co.uk
Subtle changes in texture and detail define semi-private spaces like the study, while maintaining the home’s openness
steelwork, with minimal exposed columns in the new glass extension, leaving the space as open as possible.
The complexity of removing the rear wall and load-bearing partitions was resolved by installing two steel portal frames, in order to support the existing house above. A bulge in one external brick wall also meant that this needed to be taken down and rebuilt, which was an unexpected expense. “Foundations are standard concrete strip, and the varying floor levels were rationalised to create a seamless flow out into the garden and eliminate the existing small steps,” explains Henri. The garden itself has also been reshaped and slightly manipulated, with matching low-slip tiles laid inside and out on the terrace, further
april/may 2020
NICOLA’S ADVICE
“Be extremely organised and clarify everything clearly from the start to avoid delays and confusion.”
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