Houzz Tours
UK Houzz Tour: A Dated 1980s Home Gets a Very Unusual Extension
Before and after images show how a surprising idea totally transformed this bland modern house in London, UK
“The brief was very loose,” says Martin Gruenanger of UK-based Space Group Architects, the man behind the creative reinvention of this dated 1980s red-brick house in London. “Our clients wanted Scandinavian flair, open-plan living, plenty of storage, and space they could each use for working from home.”
Gruenanger’s idea for creating all of this was novel: he not only extended the back of the house and opened up the ground floor; he also added a small, unusual two-storey extension to the front of the house, giving the property a distinctive look.
Gruenanger’s idea for creating all of this was novel: he not only extended the back of the house and opened up the ground floor; he also added a small, unusual two-storey extension to the front of the house, giving the property a distinctive look.
Here, you can see the living space before the renovation, with a conservatory visible at the back.
Is your home pleading for a revamp? Find an architect near you on Houzz to bring it up to date
Is your home pleading for a revamp? Find an architect near you on Houzz to bring it up to date
This shows the view of the living space from back to front. On the left are tilting windows near a small front garden. This is the position of the original kitchen window, but Gruenanger extended the opening down to the ground.
To the right is the vestibule (the front door is to the left of it, out of sight). And ahead is a door leading into a new ground-floor bathroom in the extension that was added to the front of the house. A fridge is tucked under the stairs, along with two storage cupboards.
“Our first task was to open up the ground floor as much as possible and correct the convoluted layout,” says Gruenanger. “We provided long views through the house and added dedicated storage for coats, keys, the gas meter, and so on.”
Martin and his team also reglazed the entire house – which included introducing skylights to the stairwell to bring light deep into the home – and thermally upgraded the building for insulation.
One small but nifty touch is a letterbox discreetly fitted into the wall, so post falls onto the benchtop, not the floor. You can just see it at the far end of the bench beneath the bottom shelf.
To the right is the vestibule (the front door is to the left of it, out of sight). And ahead is a door leading into a new ground-floor bathroom in the extension that was added to the front of the house. A fridge is tucked under the stairs, along with two storage cupboards.
“Our first task was to open up the ground floor as much as possible and correct the convoluted layout,” says Gruenanger. “We provided long views through the house and added dedicated storage for coats, keys, the gas meter, and so on.”
Martin and his team also reglazed the entire house – which included introducing skylights to the stairwell to bring light deep into the home – and thermally upgraded the building for insulation.
One small but nifty touch is a letterbox discreetly fitted into the wall, so post falls onto the benchtop, not the floor. You can just see it at the far end of the bench beneath the bottom shelf.
This is how the kitchen originally looked. The windows above the washing machine are in the same position as the full-height windows seen in the previous image.
“The kitchen is Ikea, but we added a Corian benchtop to make it more exclusive-looking,” says Gruenanger. It also has a splashback made from marble geometric tiles, which add an interesting pattern, and open shelves made by the builder to match the wall units.
The pillar on the left-hand end of the kitchen is where the old house ended. It’s been kept visible to provide delineation between the cooking and living spaces. “It also made the structure simpler and cheaper to construct,” says Gruenanger.
The pillar also contains power points for the kitchen. “So rather than puncturing your beautiful new marble, you can tuck all the appliances down into this corner,” says Gruenanger.
The architect also custom-designed the table on wheels. It has a recycled-glass top and can be used flexibly as a benchtop for food-prep overspill or as a table where people can have meetings when the owners are working from home.
Ovens and cooktop: Smeg; lighting: Holloways of Ludlow, Made to Last and Astro; wall tiles: Mandarin Stone
The pillar on the left-hand end of the kitchen is where the old house ended. It’s been kept visible to provide delineation between the cooking and living spaces. “It also made the structure simpler and cheaper to construct,” says Gruenanger.
The pillar also contains power points for the kitchen. “So rather than puncturing your beautiful new marble, you can tuck all the appliances down into this corner,” says Gruenanger.
The architect also custom-designed the table on wheels. It has a recycled-glass top and can be used flexibly as a benchtop for food-prep overspill or as a table where people can have meetings when the owners are working from home.
Ovens and cooktop: Smeg; lighting: Holloways of Ludlow, Made to Last and Astro; wall tiles: Mandarin Stone
At the back of the room is the home workstation with a floating desk. The wall is clad in Whiterock, a material that’s hardwearing and hygienic. As a handy touch, it’s also a surface that can be written on.
To the left is an entire wall of handleless storage. The pale flooring is engineered ash.
Whiterock wall cladding: Altro
To the left is an entire wall of handleless storage. The pale flooring is engineered ash.
Whiterock wall cladding: Altro
On the patio outside the rear extension, the decking is made from recycled plastic for its slip-resistance and durability. The brickwork is the same as on the street-facing extension. “It’s a homage to what we did to the front of the house,” says Gruenanger.
LED strips between the decking and the bricks create an attractive feature after dark. A discreet flap for the couple’s cat has been added to the right of the glass doors.
LED strips between the decking and the bricks create an attractive feature after dark. A discreet flap for the couple’s cat has been added to the right of the glass doors.
“The original conservatory was too hot in summer and too cold in winter,” says Gruenanger.
The glazed elevation facing the garden is split into three zones. Bi-fold doors open to the left and right. The middle section has a super-small brass mesh called MicroLouvre laminated into the external layer of the double-glazed unit to reduce solar gain.
“The mesh also has interesting properties,” says Gruenanger. “You can sense a real animation of the space as the sun moves around the room, and the reduction of solar gain is really noticeable on the glass with the mesh.”
“The mesh also has interesting properties,” says Gruenanger. “You can sense a real animation of the space as the sun moves around the room, and the reduction of solar gain is really noticeable on the glass with the mesh.”
From the downstairs bathroom, you can see all the way to the back of the house.
Encaustic floor tiles and marble wall tiles: Mandarin Stone
Encaustic floor tiles and marble wall tiles: Mandarin Stone
This window, which features the house number on its glass, faces the street (see the next image for the exterior perspective). It looks like a door, but for security it tilts to allow air in rather than opening fully.
There’s a walk-in shower and, on the right, storage for linen, towels and the washing machine.
There’s a walk-in shower and, on the right, storage for linen, towels and the washing machine.
From the front of the house, the exterior of the bathroom window is visible to the left. It overlooks a small courtyard in which plants will grow to make a discreet place to store the bins.
“The front extension is very visible to the public,” says Gruenanger. “The owners have told us lots of people complement it. They joked if they’d been given a pound for every time this happened, it would have paid for the extension!”
“The front extension is very visible to the public,” says Gruenanger. “The owners have told us lots of people complement it. They joked if they’d been given a pound for every time this happened, it would have paid for the extension!”
This is the front of the house as it was originally. “There was a small porch [left], which meant two doors too close together,” says Gruenanger. The extension covers the place the porch occupied.
The original kitchen windows can be seen on the right.
The original kitchen windows can be seen on the right.
This little room is on the first floor of the front extension. The window above the front door is on the left, there’s mirrored storage on the right, and more storage is tucked into the eaves.
The new front extension from the outside shows the window in the first-floor room. Here, the front door (open) is below it and the kitchen window, with new bespoke planter beneath it, is to the right.
The brickwork of the new section, while a very similar colour to the old, has a different texture. This, along with the ‘ribbon’ of glazing, and the decorative protruding bricks, subtly marks the extension as a new addition.
The driveway has grass pavers to soften the look of the concrete.
The brickwork of the new section, while a very similar colour to the old, has a different texture. This, along with the ‘ribbon’ of glazing, and the decorative protruding bricks, subtly marks the extension as a new addition.
The driveway has grass pavers to soften the look of the concrete.
The upstairs bathroom includes a bath with two showerheads so two people can shower at the same time.
The glass sliding door leading into the room (left) features a digital print designed by Space Group Architects to reference the unusual brickwork pattern on the front extension. “The red parts are the bricks that protrude,” says Gruenanger.
A niche created by concealing the toilet’s cistern provides shelf storage, with mirrored cupboards above it.
Wall and floor tiles: Mandarin Stone; tiles in niche: Pentagon; stone-resin composite basin with integrated towel rail: Lusso Stone Bathrooms; tapware: Samuel Heath
The glass sliding door leading into the room (left) features a digital print designed by Space Group Architects to reference the unusual brickwork pattern on the front extension. “The red parts are the bricks that protrude,” says Gruenanger.
A niche created by concealing the toilet’s cistern provides shelf storage, with mirrored cupboards above it.
Wall and floor tiles: Mandarin Stone; tiles in niche: Pentagon; stone-resin composite basin with integrated towel rail: Lusso Stone Bathrooms; tapware: Samuel Heath
The master bedroom is upstairs at the back of the house. A circular mirror slightly recessed into the wall and surrounded by LED lighting makes an interesting feature.
Your turn
What do you think of this unusual front and back extension? Tell us what you like in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Missed our last Houzz Tour? Catch up with more great international design here with this Sweden Houzz Tour: A Studio’s Custom Design & Boatbuilding Tricks
Your turn
What do you think of this unusual front and back extension? Tell us what you like in the Comments below, like this story, save the images, and join the conversation.
More
Missed our last Houzz Tour? Catch up with more great international design here with this Sweden Houzz Tour: A Studio’s Custom Design & Boatbuilding Tricks
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their cat
Location: East London, UK
Size: A 1980s terrace house with three bedrooms and two bathrooms (increased from two bedrooms, a storage room and one bathroom)
Architect: Martin Gruenanger of Space Group Architects
“When the owners purchased the house, they were aware it lacked character, but they liked the location and saw some potential,” says Gruenanger. “The house was really basic and bland, with unattractive brickwork and brown uPVC windows.”