48Terrace Transformation

Stuart Archer and Amelia Humber spent two years getting a feel for their run-down London terrace, which had not been worked on since the 1970s, before transforming it into a light-filled home

Renovating and extending a neglected, Artex-covered London terrace provides one couple with a contemporary, light-filled home

“I think it’s worth living in a place for a while just to see how you use it — it makes you think about what you want from each space”

Following a four-month project to renovate and extend what had been a dark, Artex-decorated, ex-student digs, it took a bit of getting used to when architect Stuart Archer and his wife, Amelia Humber, moved back into a light-filled contemporary family home.

“It took a while for us to settle back in, as it felt like we were living somewhere else,” says Stuart of the couple’s Stepney Green two-storey Victorian terrace house.

“When we bought the property in 2014, nothing had been done to it since the 1970s,” says Stuart. “There was Artex everywhere, flock wallpaper, old electrics and mould on the walls. Students had been living in it for the past 10 years, and due to its state of repair we managed to get it a bit cheaper.”

The couple spent two years living in the property before undertaking any work. “I think it’s worth living in a place for a while just to see how you use it — it makes you think about what you want from each space,” says Stuart.

The key ideas that emerged after this period were to open up the main living spaces, bring in more light and if possible, create more space at the back of the building to connect with the garden. “As the house is in a conservation area the planning advice we originally received was that it wouldn’t be considered

as there was no precedent on our street,” says Stuart. “Then we thought OK, it’s only £170 to submit the application and I could do the drawings for free as an architect. So we made a submission and the case officer considering the application was amenable.”

As a result, a new 10m2 side return extension has allowed for the internal rearrangement of the ground floor and creation of a larger flexible kitchen area connected to the garden. The new black brick-faced extension, featuring a glass door and large rooflight which brings in natural light, took four months to build.

“If you’re adding something to a property, I think it should look of its time. The original house was built in 1850, and it’s possible to buy bricks that mimic the original London stock bricks, but I like to use contemporary materials,” says Stuart.

“There are hundreds of brick types to choose from with many different finishes — smooth, sandy, textured or rough. In this project we chose an inexpensive engineering type brick – Ibstock Atlas – as we were after a smooth and consistent appearance that suits the contemporary style.”

In parallel with the construction of the extension, the entire house was also upgraded.

This involved a complete rewire and ripping up the floorboards to put in insulation and underfloor heating. Key to the renovation of the ground floor living areas was the idea of creating ‘picture frame’ windows and openings throughout the ground floor. “We didn’t want a totally open plan space, so by purposefully retaining certain walls and punching holes (‘picture frames’) into the walls this allows for the kitchen, lounge and dining areas to be connected without merging into one another,” explains Stuart.

“We also didn’t want to open the front door straight into the lounge. I like it when you still have an entrance hallway. We kept the wall but punched a hole through it so you can pop your head round to say ‘hello’,” explains Stuart.

“In terms of the material palette, we wanted to have natural materials with lots of matt surfaces. So we chose unfinished timber floors, natural unpolished Carrara marble tops and lots of American black walnut picture frames,” says Stuart.

Upstairs the bedrooms have been modernised and a new larger bathroom has been created. “We took the existing bathroom out and demolished some storage space that meant we could have a bigger bathroom. We wanted a good-sized bathroom rather than trying to create an extra bedroom.”

Despite months of living in the spare room with a microwave and kettle for company while the works were carried out, Stuart and Amelia are delighted with the result. “Even though we have only extended by 10m2, the impact has been significant. The extension itself has resulted in a large, flexible and useable space. It’s great for having people around due to the bigger kitchen and nicer dining room. Also, the extension has resulted in an improved interaction with the garden which we spend a lot more time in (weather dependent!)” concludes Stuart.