Vauxhall house: Exploring a grand design
James and Jane* had bought property in London decades ago, and then left for a new life overseas, letting out their London house in the meantime. Contemplating a return to London during their retirement years, they wanted to explore the potential to transform their run-down Victorian terraced house into a dream home they could live in for the rest of their lives. Jane had mobility issues, and was concerned about moving up and down the stairs.
The client
A photograph of one of the existing kitchen, with the side garden on the left.
Our design allowed them to see what was possible, and get a sense of the scope - and cost - of the work that would be needed to truly transform a dark house dominated by small rooms, into a light, airy and open space for modern living.
One of the four Preview Studio visualisations showing how that same room could appear post-renovation, with the proposed rooflight over where the existing side garden would be.
They weren't new to commissioning architectural work, but they needed to decide if this was the right path for them:
Could they extend into the loft, even though the headroom seemed too limited?
Could they add a lift or ramps, to allow access between the key spaces without relying on the stairs?
What were their options for making the house more sustainable?
How much would this all cost?
Their questions
Existing plans of the ground floor, showing the existing layout with a front room, ground floor bedroom, and kitchen and dining space in the rear. Click on the images to see larger versions.
Proposed plans showing how the space could be enlarged, opened up and connected. Click on the images to see larger versions.
The Preview Studio design included two extensions, one at the ground floor which would widen the existing narrow and dark kitchen under a large glass rooflight, and another into the loft to make room for a new bedroom.
Separate rooms on the ground floor that were used as lounge, bedroom and kitchen would be absorbed into one large flowing living, dining, kitchen space, with much more room for entertaining, and space and light for indoor plants.
On the upper floor, a bedroom suite would be created by combining two bedrooms, complete with walk-through wardrobe and a generous en-suite bathroom. An existing bathroom would be removed to allow for a larger and better-connected space opening out onto their roof terrace - the only sunny outdoor space.
The design
One potential treatment of the new living space, with the kitchen in the background.
Energy efficiency and extra design options
James and Jane preferred not to change the appearance of the house from the street, so were most interested in the impact that internal insulation would have on their floor area and room dimensions. The energy efficiency advice section of the pack showed that they could bring their wall U-values in line with current standards for new-build houses with 80mm of internal insulation, but the trade-off would be a loss of around 2.7 sq m of floor area.
Preview Studio design options showed the potential positions of future lifts, and the amount of space that a ramp linking the living and kitchen levels would take up.
The page from the Preview Studio pack showing the impact of adding internal insulation to the house.
The combination of the two extensions would increase the floor area by 22%, but the cost for the total transformation of the house would likely be somewhere between £200,000 and £400,000.
Ultimately, after thinking about the compromises that would have to be made to improve accessibility, and the cost of transforming the house, they decided it was better for them to look for a single-level property, where stairs would not be an obstacle to enjoying their retirement.
The numbers
Services:
Core Preview Studio pack
Extra design option
Energy efficiency advice
*Names have been changed for privacy reasons.
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