Pizza delivery man and the ceiling collapsed’
It’s all part of his own personal revolt, he says, against the anodyne, beige interiors that have become the hallmark of so many of today’s architect-designed homes. But, more prosaically, designing a flexible family home, for himself, Aurie, wife Laura Dubeck, who works for the Greater London Authority, and nine-monthold baby, Sidney, was also top of the agenda.
‘We had been living in Brockley, just a 15-minute drive away, and needed more space,’ Mat says. ‘Laura’s best friend’s parents were living next door to a house that had been left empty, with the owner living in Poland. In 2019, we made an offer of about £600,000 – a similar house on the street had just sold for quite a bit more, so it was a good price – and they agreed to the sale.’
The derelict home was in a parlous state, with not just areas of damp and sodden, swirly pub carpets, but real danger zones. ‘We lived in the house for a couple of months,’ recounts Mat, ‘but then the hallway ceiling fell down as I was opening the door to a pizza delivery guy. Luckily, nobody was hurt, but we realised we better move in with family members nearby while the work was being done.’
With a budget of £230,000 to cover both the main house renovation and the building of the extension, they completely transformed the home from abandoned wreck to surreal south-east London retreat. As the house is not in a conservation area, and the streetside view of the mountain-roofline echoed two neighbouring houses’ dual-pitched roofs, local planners had no
‘What I love about our house is that it truly feels like it’s ours’
objections. On the ground floor, a network of tiny, impractical rooms was opened up, and, off the hallway, a dingy lounge transmogrified into a dazzling-blue living space featuring an original fireplace, with sculptural plaster fragments arranged on a wall.
The progressively widening hallway leads onto the multi-coloured and textured kitchen/diner, and then on to the extension itself, its entrance marked by a partially ruined brick wall. ‘I wanted this to reflect the semiderelict state that we found the house in,’ says Mat, in direct contrast to what your average homeowner would want to do. ‘It’s also a reference to the abandoned flat in Trainspotting.’
The 25 sq m extension itself features exposed steel and timber, with a huge expanse of floor-to-ceiling glass leading on to the garden.
Upstairs, the lines are calmer, and the palette paler. Was this done deliberately, to keep the sleeping quarters more peaceful? ‘To be honest, it’s more that we ran out of money,’ Mat laughs. ‘But then again, it’s probably best not to go too hard stylistically up here, as the kids might get bored with it.’
Family, friends and neighbours, says Mat, tell him they love it – although some have admitted the look would be too ‘busy’ for them to live with every day, and even Laura admits some of his ideas were just too out there. But Mat is adamant that British homeowners’ obsession with trying to add value stops them from having fun,
and letting their home be a true extension of their personality. ‘Nobody has any control over the housing market, so if you are planning on staying somewhere for a while, just go for it,’ he says. ‘What I love about our house is that it truly feels like it’s ours.’
For those planning a new extension or makeover, Mat says having a sense of humour, and not letting ‘big-egoed
architects’ dictate what you want, is key. Next up at his own home is the garden, which needs a redesign, and the construction of a workshop. As you’d expect, it won’t be your average garden room. ‘I’m thinking of styling it as a huge fake boulder,’ Mat muses. ‘Whatever it is, it will be something interesting.’