This was to be the dream home of a couple, reunited after many years. At auction, they had just bought the two-storey, mid-terrace house in a leafy part of Lewisham, south London. Unaltered since its construction in the early 1950s, the building’s original fabric and features appealed to my clients. But it badly needed work, and they wanted an architect who shared their appreciation for designs of that period. Chatting about their tastes (on a wet and bleak wintry night in November in the dimly lit house, which had few working light bulbs) it became clear that echoes of their favourite holiday destination – Palm Springs, California, with its mid-century architecture – would enrich their daily living and sense of home as a sanctuary. This was reinforced, amid the pandemic, by the

fact that one of the co-owners was a nurse working on Covid wards. I was commissioned to design a complete makeover and extension, and manage the entire project, so they could continue living off-site, secure in the knowledge that their scheme was in safe hands. We extended the loft space and converted it into a home office, and on the ground floor, opened up the kitchen and created a day room in a small, single-storey rear extension. I also designed a bespoke kitchen, and commissioned a joiner to build it – and other furniture – at lower cost than off-the-peg alternatives. This was also true of the all-important sunburst-style front door. Careful specification of materials inside and out – including the garden’s hard landscaping – helped control the budget. Cost savings through management of the procurement and contractors also helped ensure the project was a success.

 

Client: Private

New Gross Internal Area: 84 sqm

Location: Lewisham

Services Provided: Planning & Building Control Drawings, Construction Production information, Project Management and Hard Landscaping

RIBA Stages: 0 - 7