Lighter Living

How a traditional Victorian terraced house in London was transformed into a contemporary living space with an emphasis on light.

- Penny McCormick

We were delighted to have found a spacious end-of-terrace house with a large mature garden, situated on a tree-lined street in a part of London that has a real neighbourhood feel. We also relished the challenge of needing to significantly refurbish the property, which had seen its last renovation in 1976,” revealed the owners of this now-transformed Victorian house in Kensington, London, in a letter defining their original brief. They had a clear vision for the home, to turn it into a contemporary living space, and with that aim in mind they appointed FLOW Architecture, with Magrits, to re-think the interior.

The project, entitled Light Falls House, involved practically the complete demolition and reconstruction of the existing four-storey dwelling, originally built in 1851, together with the addition of a basement and a double-height rear extension. Flow Architecture and Magrits worked in synergy on this challenge. Maria Grazia Savito of Magrits calls the project a “story of friendship and beautiful design” and describes it as a “ journey where the different backgrounds came together to deliver a unique piece of architecture which is also a cosy nest for the owners.”

The first part of the project, reconstructing the shell and core, took two years between 2014 and 2016 and was subject to a number of planning restrictions due to the house’s location within the Abingdon Conservation Area, which dictates that its external appearance must be largely preserved.