Gellatly Road

Transforming the client's journey from the busy main road through to a secluded, tranquil private garden, the traditional Victorian house has been delicately reassembled, with a transition through a ply bookcase from the cosy, narrow Victorian spaces into a full width, open contemporary kitchen space.

The timber clad rear extension uses bifold windows across a fitted bench seat and a large aluminium framed glass door to allow the owners to appreciate their unusually large 60ft garden. The project purposely uses a restricted palette comprising of black stained larch cladding, birch ply and concrete to create a tactile atmosphere which contrasts from the plaster mouldings of the original spaces.

The project has been completed on a tight budget, with each element reviewed to consider labour times on site to keep costs down to a minimum. The ply cad walls avoid the need for new plaster and paintwork, while the original timber floors have been kept and refurbished for re-use throughout the original rooms of the house. Where possible, materials have been sourced from local suppliers to reduce the embodied energy of the project. Recycled yoghurt pot worktops have been used in the kitchen and bathrooms to add a visual interest against the subtle ply joinery.

All photographs by Emmanuelis Stasaitis