SJW Architects were delighted to receive the commission to redevelop and extend this substantial Edwardian home in the West Putney Conservation Area, London. The property possesses many typical and generous features of the period, such as large bay windows, a private front garden, an entrance porch on granite pillars, white painted timbers expressed in the gabled front bay, clay roof tiles, and, most welcome of all, a wonderfully spacious interior.
Our clients wanted to rationalise, extend and open up the interior, removing some tucked-away utilitarian spaces and allowing daylight to permeate.
A prior partial roof conversion some time in the past had brought compromised interiors to the second floor. The project addressed this with a complete reconstruction of the roof, allowing two generous bedrooms and a bathroom.
At first-floor level, a dreamy trip to the Black Isle's seaport town of Cromarty, coinciding with the client's love of Farrow & Ball's equally dreamy namesake, inspired a sequence of luxurious yet serene suite of sleeping, washing and dressing spaces.
On the ground floor, the maxim "less is more" was used to deliver a large extended single space to the rear, with clear spanning structure. A pairing of naturally sumptuous oak and marble, complemented by timeless 'All White', ensured that the material character countered any potential loss of charm through the sheer volume of space.
On the rear elevation, reclaimed London stocks were used, continuing the material tradition at the rear of Edwardian houses. A natural cast stone coping tops the parapet, investing quality in the facade. A deep brick soffit of soldier courses brings shade to the south-facing glazed opening and an adjacent 'up & over' rooflight inverses the solid-to-void pattern of masonry, playing with the pre-existing motif of using brickwork simultaneously for purpose and decoration. The glass-to-glass joint of the vertical and horizontal planes of the rooflight allows the kitchen to escape the room for a moment, while drama and light are brought in. Always seeking an opportunity within a wall, a bench seat is integrated, allowing the family to occupy this space and its connection to the garden and the sky.