FOXGROVE ROAD

This double fronted Victorian villa was an impressive home, but it still had a small dark kitchen ‘below stairs’ at the rear - with no real connection to the rest of the house, or to the garden. Because the kitchen was there the family tended to live in this small dark room, without really using the rest of the living spaces. 

The whole house has now been transformed with a rework of the flow of spaces, opening up the staircase, and clever roof tweaks to steal extra space and create a bathroom on the top floor out of a wasted water tank cupboard.

The look is romantic Victorian with a contemporary twist. The client wanted to keep the period features of the house but was keen to experiment with colours and patterns to create a sense of drama and fun.

The front to back living room had been knocked through in the past but was too large for everyday family use. Now, double-glazed steel framed doors between the rooms open up the original second doorway, recreating two separate rooms. The rooms have a slightly different feel and are now back in daily use, while still possible to link together as one when the occasion requires it. Daylight is retained from front to back.

The main grand staircase originally ran only from ground floor to first, with a boxed in ‘servants stair’ leading from ground floor downstairs to the kitchen, via the back door, cellar door and a toilet. The boxed section has been removed, and the ornate stairs and balustrade down to the lower flight, form a three storey grand staircase through the centre of the house.

The mezzanine level previously housed a large family bathroom and one bedroom with a small study. A new timber panelled guest shower has been created in the small study, and the large bathroom has reverted to a second guest room.

On the lower level the kitchen has been extended out into the garden in blue engineering brick, creating an expansive kitchen dining space. 

Clever reuse and upcycling of the client’s own furniture mixed with new and designer pieces has given the house an established but unique feel.