Houzz Tour: A Rejig Gives a Family More Room Without Extending
This house illustrates how clever space planning can make a home feel bigger, even when the footprint stays the same
We often think the only way to gain more space in a home is to extend, but this isn’t always the case. For the owners of this 1920s house, the option was made more complicated by the fact that a sloping garden offered little scope for extension.
“In the end, we realised there was enough space in the existing house if we configured it in the right way,” architect Chris Jones of Jones Associates says. He set about transforming the boxy layout to create a home that feels light and spacious.
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“In the end, we realised there was enough space in the existing house if we configured it in the right way,” architect Chris Jones of Jones Associates says. He set about transforming the boxy layout to create a home that feels light and spacious.
This article is from our Most Popular stories file
The ground floor was reconfigured by opening up the wall between the kitchen-diner and family room to create a spacious cooking and living area.
Need help with your renovation? Read reviews of architects and building designers in your area.
Need help with your renovation? Read reviews of architects and building designers in your area.
The original dining room was blocked off from the family room by an internal wall…
… and the kitchen was tucked in a nook at the back.
“The clients wanted their home to be light and clean-lined, but not clinical,” Chris says. “So we chose a more muted paint colour than bright white for the walls, and teamed this with a timber floor, natural elements and careful lighting.”
The couple were also keen to have a marble worktop and upstand. However, as practicality was key, they decided on an easy-maintenance, marble-effect composite. The surface continues down the side of the island, with a mitred joint on the corner, for a waterfall effect.
The top of the island has been kept clear of appliances and, instead, the back wall houses a double undermounted sink and an induction hob.
Walls painted in Strong White; cabinets painted in Pigeon, both Farrow & Ball. Kitchen carcasses, Ikea. Appliances, Miele. Undermounted stainlesss-steel sinks (in kitchen and utility room), Franke. Minta mixer taps, Grohe. Boiling-water tap, Quooker.
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The couple were also keen to have a marble worktop and upstand. However, as practicality was key, they decided on an easy-maintenance, marble-effect composite. The surface continues down the side of the island, with a mitred joint on the corner, for a waterfall effect.
The top of the island has been kept clear of appliances and, instead, the back wall houses a double undermounted sink and an induction hob.
Walls painted in Strong White; cabinets painted in Pigeon, both Farrow & Ball. Kitchen carcasses, Ikea. Appliances, Miele. Undermounted stainlesss-steel sinks (in kitchen and utility room), Franke. Minta mixer taps, Grohe. Boiling-water tap, Quooker.
You might also enjoy 18 Kitchens Where Gorgeous Waterfall Worktops Take Centre Stage.
To keep costs to a minimum, Chris designed the kitchen with off-the-shelf carcasses and bespoke MDF doors that were spray-painted in a very pale green. A recessed handle design ties in with the minimal aesthetic of the space, while wide drawers, cupboards and ceiling-height wall units make it easy for the owners to keep the space tidy.
Chris had the smart idea of building out the upstand to create a shelf for storing chopping boards and utensils off the worktop. The couple also invested in a boiling-water tap, which allows them to do without a kettle.
To complement the modern space, Chris installed a protruding frame around the perimeter of the ceiling to form a contemporary cornice. Lighting is provided by three pendants over the island, under-cabinet LED strips and warm, subtle recessed spots around the cornice that can be angled towards the worktops.
Pendant lights, Bestlite.
Chris had the smart idea of building out the upstand to create a shelf for storing chopping boards and utensils off the worktop. The couple also invested in a boiling-water tap, which allows them to do without a kettle.
To complement the modern space, Chris installed a protruding frame around the perimeter of the ceiling to form a contemporary cornice. Lighting is provided by three pendants over the island, under-cabinet LED strips and warm, subtle recessed spots around the cornice that can be angled towards the worktops.
Pendant lights, Bestlite.
A tall fridge has been slotted into a wall at the end of the kitchen, and to the side of this is a pocket door that opens up to a utility area.
“As we’d expanded the kitchen into the dining room, we could afford to take a bit of the space to create this compact room,” Chris says.
There was already a lean-to extension alongside the kitchen with a corrugated plastic roof. The team replaced the roof with a glass one to make it more usable as a place to store boots and bikes, and now a door leads out to this space from the utility room.
“We moved the boiler and water tank to the lean-to,” Chris says. “This was a good way to free up more space inside.”
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“As we’d expanded the kitchen into the dining room, we could afford to take a bit of the space to create this compact room,” Chris says.
There was already a lean-to extension alongside the kitchen with a corrugated plastic roof. The team replaced the roof with a glass one to make it more usable as a place to store boots and bikes, and now a door leads out to this space from the utility room.
“We moved the boiler and water tank to the lean-to,” Chris says. “This was a good way to free up more space inside.”
You might also enjoy Kitchen Tour: An Elegant Addition Helps Restore a Crumbling House.
The front living room is connected to the open space at the back by a large sliding pocket door, which can be closed off if the owners want to make the room cosy in the evening.
In both spaces, the couple requested acoustic insulation along the party walls either side of the chimney breasts. “We built a false wall 100mm inside the wall and installed acoustic plasterboard to minimise noise transfer,” Chris says. “We then matched the cornicing on this new section with that on the original walls.”
The traditional features in the front room differentiate it from the more modern space beyond, but the grey oak flooring throughout unifies the whole ground floor.
Chris’s team opened up the fireplace to make room for a wood-burning stove and installed a slate internal surround and hearth.
Walls painted in Skylight; fireplace surround painted in Hague Blue, both Farrow & Ball. Engineered oak flooring, Element 7.
In both spaces, the couple requested acoustic insulation along the party walls either side of the chimney breasts. “We built a false wall 100mm inside the wall and installed acoustic plasterboard to minimise noise transfer,” Chris says. “We then matched the cornicing on this new section with that on the original walls.”
The traditional features in the front room differentiate it from the more modern space beyond, but the grey oak flooring throughout unifies the whole ground floor.
Chris’s team opened up the fireplace to make room for a wood-burning stove and installed a slate internal surround and hearth.
Walls painted in Skylight; fireplace surround painted in Hague Blue, both Farrow & Ball. Engineered oak flooring, Element 7.
All the windows in the house were draughty and single-glazed, so the team replaced them with new timber frames and double-glazing.
On the first floor, Chris changed the space by swapping the smallest bedroom and the bathroom. He also made the two rooms slightly smaller to create a larger third bedroom; as the small bedroom is mostly used as a study, it doesn’t need to be big.
In the master bedroom, the team built a full wall of storage using sprayed MDF. “There’s hanging space either side of the chimney breast and shallow drawers in the centre,” Chris says.
A row of recessed ceiling lights are angled towards the cupboards to make it easy to see what’s inside. The room is quite long, so two pendants were fitted in the ceiling and there are a couple of wall lights either side of the bed.
A row of recessed ceiling lights are angled towards the cupboards to make it easy to see what’s inside. The room is quite long, so two pendants were fitted in the ceiling and there are a couple of wall lights either side of the bed.
The front bedroom belongs to the couple’s daughter and has a warmer colour scheme that works well in a north-facing space.
“As we’d moved walls around, we needed to replace the cornicing in here,” Chris says.
A cupboard space beneath the landing stairs can be accessed from this room, so only a chest of drawers and bookshelf were needed for extra storage.
Column radiator, Ultraheat.
“As we’d moved walls around, we needed to replace the cornicing in here,” Chris says.
A cupboard space beneath the landing stairs can be accessed from this room, so only a chest of drawers and bookshelf were needed for extra storage.
Column radiator, Ultraheat.
The orignal family bathroom felt quite cramped, and the lilac suite wasn’t to everyone’s taste.
The new bathroom has bright white sanitaryware, which contrasts with a practical grey rubber floor.
Simple rectangular tiles are laid in a stacked pattern along the side of the bath and over a built-out wall that hides the pipework and cistern. Along this false wall, the team installed a worktop and splashback in the same marbled composite that was used in the kitchen to give the family an extra shelf.
Full-height mirrored cupboards with recessed LED lights below provide ample storage.
Sanitaryware, Duravit. Taps, Vola. Swadling Absolute shower controls and fittings, Matki. Rubber sheet flooring in Shackleton Grey, The Colour Flooring Company.
Simple rectangular tiles are laid in a stacked pattern along the side of the bath and over a built-out wall that hides the pipework and cistern. Along this false wall, the team installed a worktop and splashback in the same marbled composite that was used in the kitchen to give the family an extra shelf.
Full-height mirrored cupboards with recessed LED lights below provide ample storage.
Sanitaryware, Duravit. Taps, Vola. Swadling Absolute shower controls and fittings, Matki. Rubber sheet flooring in Shackleton Grey, The Colour Flooring Company.
The loft had already been converted, but the ceiling was extremely low. Chris managed to lower the floor into the space below to increase head height in the main room, without losing height on the first floor.
“There was unused space in the top floor landing,” Chris says, “so we made use of the area by building storage right along the wall beneath the eaves.”
Tell us…
What’s your favourite aspect of this reconfigured 1920s house? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What’s your favourite aspect of this reconfigured 1920s house? Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Who lives here? A couple and their two young children
Location North London
Property A 1920s semi-detached house
Size Four bedrooms and two bathrooms
Architect Chris Jones at Jones Associates Architects
Photos by Gareth Gardner
An open-plan ground floor was key when it came to making better use of the space in this house, and it also helped to bring in more light.
“At the back of the house, we took out the separating wall between the kitchen and dining room completely and increased the size of the window openings at the rear,” Chris says.
The kitchen now sits to the side of an informal seating area and a dining space, where the family can look out to the south-facing garden through two sets of glass doors. “We chose sliding doors, as they allow a larger area of glass and better sightlines,” Chris explains. “Above these, there are recessed slots in the ceiling that conceal electrically operated roller blinds.”
Aluminium sliding doors, IDSystems. Pendant over dining table, Louis Poulsen. Superellipse extension table, Fritz Hansen. Wishbone dining chairs by Hans J Wegner, available at Heal’s.