Houzz Tour: An East London Victorian House Gets an Eco Makeover
This light-filled, pared-back home in Hackney is more than just beautiful – it’s a model of energy efficiency and sustainability
James Wright wasn’t originally looking for a house to do up – he wanted a plot of land. ‘I started off wanting to build a house from scratch,’ he explains, ‘as all architects do… But after a few years, we realised it was never going to happen in the area where we were looking, so we decided instead to find an existing house and adapt it.’
James’s wife started asking around the local estate agents and found what would become the family home – eventually. ‘It had a leaky roof, needed rewiring, replumbing and replastering, and it had damp, as with all houses when they get to around 100 years old,’ says James. ‘It needed a lot of attention, which was great – just what I was looking for!’ And his vision? ‘I thought, we can make this house beautiful – but let’s make it energy efficient, too, and let’s make that the driver.’
James’s wife started asking around the local estate agents and found what would become the family home – eventually. ‘It had a leaky roof, needed rewiring, replumbing and replastering, and it had damp, as with all houses when they get to around 100 years old,’ says James. ‘It needed a lot of attention, which was great – just what I was looking for!’ And his vision? ‘I thought, we can make this house beautiful – but let’s make it energy efficient, too, and let’s make that the driver.’
‘The idea was to construct a modern, energy-efficient family home behind the existing Victorian façade,’ explains James of the substantial renovation. This included demolishing and reconstructing the original house – bar the façade – and adding a new roof, walls, floors and underfloor heating throughout. He also added a basement and a loft, as well as numerous eco details, such as insulation, passive solar heating and a sophisticated grey water recycling system to power the toilets and washing machine, as well as garden irrigation.
‘The house is in a conservation area,’ says James, ‘so we had to do all this work without it showing.’ As such, the glass-panelled front door and windows are all painstakingly restored originals.
Pontos Aquacycle grey water recycling system, Hansgrohe.
‘The house is in a conservation area,’ says James, ‘so we had to do all this work without it showing.’ As such, the glass-panelled front door and windows are all painstakingly restored originals.
Pontos Aquacycle grey water recycling system, Hansgrohe.
The chimney breast is one of the few original details retained. ‘It’s a terraced house and the fire breasts are part of the party wall,’ says James, ‘so I thought they should stay.’ A Danish Morso wood-burning stove has been fitted to supplement the underfloor heating. ‘Morso produces some of the most energy-efficient stoves in the world,’ adds James.
The large dining table was made specially by Bulthaup, who made the kitchen. ‘It’s the perfect height for Hans Wegner’s C24 Wishbone chair,’ explains James. ‘I specified the length of the table to ensure that, at a squeeze, we could fit 10 of these chairs around it.’
Pendant lights, Original BTC. Wishbone chairs, available at Skandium.
The large dining table was made specially by Bulthaup, who made the kitchen. ‘It’s the perfect height for Hans Wegner’s C24 Wishbone chair,’ explains James. ‘I specified the length of the table to ensure that, at a squeeze, we could fit 10 of these chairs around it.’
Pendant lights, Original BTC. Wishbone chairs, available at Skandium.
In terms of the aesthetic for the renovated house, James was keen to create something distinctly modern. ‘The interiors are a contrast to the claustrophobic, cluttered rooms normally associated with the Victorian house,’ he says.
Four-sided steel frames, rather than beams, provide extra structural support, which has allowed James to really open up the building. The rear of the house now incorporates a terrace and an open-plan kitchen-diner, which connects the garden to the existing house.
Four-sided steel frames, rather than beams, provide extra structural support, which has allowed James to really open up the building. The rear of the house now incorporates a terrace and an open-plan kitchen-diner, which connects the garden to the existing house.
James chose a palette of natural materials, all of which, along with the fittings, were either locally sourced or from within the EU. ‘Materials include coppiced chestnut fencing from Sussex, Welsh slate, French limestone, Danish timber floorboards, and brass cladding from the UK,’ says James. ‘Many of the tradespeople were local, too. It was always comforting during construction to see how few vans – and how many bicycles – arrived each morning.’
The wire horse sculpture is by Debi O’Hehir, one of several of her works in the house. ‘Tamara has a passion for horses – and I enjoy the expression of their form.’
Sculpture, Debi O’Hehir.
See how to make a classic white scheme work in your interior
The wire horse sculpture is by Debi O’Hehir, one of several of her works in the house. ‘Tamara has a passion for horses – and I enjoy the expression of their form.’
Sculpture, Debi O’Hehir.
See how to make a classic white scheme work in your interior
The windows are the original 1893 sash units. ‘The glass is old and so distorts the view through it,’ says James. ‘I like that effect and we couldn’t have replicated it with newer windows.’ Each unit, however, was removed, taken apart and reconstructed with new timber spliced in where required and new ironmongery. Draught stripping improved their thermal performance.
‘We don’t have sofas, coffee tables, a TV or those sorts of things,’ says James. ‘We live quite a spartan life. The English oak coffer under the window is 16th century and is used to store the children’s toys. ‘Furniture in the house tends to rotate around the different rooms.’
Wicker floor light, Gervasoni at Darklight Design. CH25 armchairs, Hans J Wegner at Ferrious.
‘We don’t have sofas, coffee tables, a TV or those sorts of things,’ says James. ‘We live quite a spartan life. The English oak coffer under the window is 16th century and is used to store the children’s toys. ‘Furniture in the house tends to rotate around the different rooms.’
Wicker floor light, Gervasoni at Darklight Design. CH25 armchairs, Hans J Wegner at Ferrious.
An original Le Corbusier etching hangs over the fireplace. James and Tamara found it in a gallery in Paris on their honeymoon. ‘It’s my favourite picture in the house,’ says James.
Light flows freely throughout the ground floor spaces thanks to a series of four structural steel frames, which allowed all the original internal walls to be removed.
The walls feature small niches for displaying decorative objects. ‘All the external walls were heavily insulated to improve the energy rating of the house,’ explains James. ‘This meant increasing the thickness of walls internally by more than 150mm. In a number of places, I chose to cut out small pockets and form LED light boxes for art displays. We also did this on internal walls where we had space.
‘Most of the light boxes were specifically sized to suit artworks we owned, but some are used for a rotating gallery of paintings and clay models by the children.’
The walls feature small niches for displaying decorative objects. ‘All the external walls were heavily insulated to improve the energy rating of the house,’ explains James. ‘This meant increasing the thickness of walls internally by more than 150mm. In a number of places, I chose to cut out small pockets and form LED light boxes for art displays. We also did this on internal walls where we had space.
‘Most of the light boxes were specifically sized to suit artworks we owned, but some are used for a rotating gallery of paintings and clay models by the children.’
The kitchen is a Bulthaup b3 design, which James had made to fit the space. The units and worktop stretch unbroken across 9m and are flooded with daylight, thanks to the 6m skylight above.
Appliances, Gaggenau. Kitchen, Bulthaup.
Find out the things to consider when planning a rear extension
Appliances, Gaggenau. Kitchen, Bulthaup.
Find out the things to consider when planning a rear extension
The simple box form of the kitchen/living area extension clearly defines the new addition from the original building.
The exterior of the extension is clad in recycled brass panels treated with blow torches. ‘It’s oxydized, which is why it’s that colour,’ says James. ‘I’d seen an architect in Greenwich do the same – Capisco, the firm behind the dome of the planetarium there, in fact. I looked into it and discovered the company was right on my doorstep, and so I got in touch and asked them to take on our, much smaller, job, which they did.’
The exterior of the extension is clad in recycled brass panels treated with blow torches. ‘It’s oxydized, which is why it’s that colour,’ says James. ‘I’d seen an architect in Greenwich do the same – Capisco, the firm behind the dome of the planetarium there, in fact. I looked into it and discovered the company was right on my doorstep, and so I got in touch and asked them to take on our, much smaller, job, which they did.’
‘The open-plan nature of the ground floor really comes alive with people,’ says James. ‘The garden and terrace are treated as rooms and the connection between house and garden is blurred. When the glass doors are open, the level thresholds allow the children to ride their bicycles from inside to out.’
The dark, glamorous bathroom has been designed as a wet room. The walls are clad in roughly split Cwt-y-Bugail Welsh slate on the floor and walls. The bath is a reproduction of a late 19th century French double-ended model.
Empire bath, The Water Monopoly. Taps, Vola. Sanitaryware, Duravit. Slate floor tiles, Welsh Slate.
Empire bath, The Water Monopoly. Taps, Vola. Sanitaryware, Duravit. Slate floor tiles, Welsh Slate.
One of the children’s bedrooms, in the new extension at the rear of the house.
The master bedroom is part of a suite for James and Tamara. ‘There’s a bedroom, bathroom, dressing room and space for a desk,’ explains James. ‘I wanted to ensure the bedroom could feel very open, but could also be closed off to become more private.’
The unusual-looking door measures 1.8m wide and was made to James’s design. ‘The horizontal handrail is actually a joint – the door was too large to bring up the stairs and weighs almost 150kg.’
‘The lacquers and paints used in the house are by Biofa,’ James adds, ‘and contain no volatile organic compounds, so are far more healthy.’
Low-energy wall light, John Cullen Lighting.
The unusual-looking door measures 1.8m wide and was made to James’s design. ‘The horizontal handrail is actually a joint – the door was too large to bring up the stairs and weighs almost 150kg.’
‘The lacquers and paints used in the house are by Biofa,’ James adds, ‘and contain no volatile organic compounds, so are far more healthy.’
Low-energy wall light, John Cullen Lighting.
One of the home’s five bedrooms is used as a library. ‘The house has a calming sense of simplicity,’ says James, ‘which helps me feel relaxed after a long day in the studio.’
James’s plans for the rebuild of the house.
The house was stripped to its bare bones during the renovation. ‘Until the house looked like this,’ says James, ‘I really didn’t know what I was going to do with it, which fitted with my original premise that I was going to build a house from scratch.’
The roof-mounted solar water heating system is by Viessmann. ‘There are what’s called “evacuated tubes” on the roof,’ explains James, ‘which take up around 2m sq of space – so it’s not for everyone. The sun beats down on them and heats up a metal plate inside. The heat from that goes into the storage tank, which is a bit bigger than a normal hot-water cylinder. The outlay may seem a lot – it was £1,600 and then you need a new storage tank as well – but the payback is around seven or eight years. And you can probably get cheaper versions – this one is top of the range.’
Vitosol 300T solar collectors, Viessmann.
TELL US…
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Vitosol 300T solar collectors, Viessmann.
TELL US…
What do you think of this ecofriendly home? Share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Who lives here Architect James Wright with his wife, Tamara, and their three young children
Location Hackney, east London
Year built 1893
Size 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and 1 cloakroom
Architect James Wright of Macdonald Wright Architects
‘Domestic building stock is responsible for around a quarter of all UK carbon emissions,’ says James. ‘Most efforts to reduce the contribution made by people’s homes have focused on new-build housing, but I was keen to prove that a 120-year-old building within a conservation area could be adapted to become as efficient.’
The floors throughout the house are sustainably sourced Douglas fir and the skirting has an interesting shadow gap. ‘It gives the impression the floor is like a giant jigsaw piece slotted into the existing plan,’ James explains.
Flooring, Dinesen.