GRADE II LISTED GEORGIAN TERRACED HOUSE
Where: Bloomsbery, London
Size: 5-storey building of appx. 250 sq.m., with a flat in the basement.
Status: Completed
Design: Boix Works and Lanyon-Hogg Architects
Corridor
Corridor
Kitchen
Kitchen
Kitchen
Kitchen
Dining Room
Dining Room
Dining Room
Background
This house is an archetypal late Georgian terraced house originally boasting four floors. The building was constructed in 1827 by W. Forrester Bray, as part of a larger unified development of terrace houses in Kings Cross. The houses are constructed from yellow stock bricks in the typical late Georgian fashion, with standardised layouts and sizes of rooms. In the latter part of the 20th century, the house was used by the Methodist Church as the offices on the lower floors and ministerial residence on the upper floors and was reconfigured to suit those purposes. The original rooms were subdivided into a maze of tiny box offices, windows and doors were replaced, and many original features were lost. The building was acquired in a state of disrepair and in addition, suffered from a flood in 2013.
A watercolour from the 1830s showing the building between the church and the theater. Source: Heritage Statement, Built Heritage Consultancy, June 2014.
Brief
The design brief was to restore the house’s original elements whilst maximizing the available space and creating the contemporary easy-flow family living spaces. The blank canvas enabled a full strip out and installation of modern M&E, contemporary basement conversion and extensions to the rear and roof of the building. Part of the design brief was to turn the shallow basement into a modern height self-contained flat.
Distressed red faucet handles on the kitchen units. Kitchen units are painted in Farrow & Ball Railings No. 31.
Set of Matryoshka dolls painted with El Lissitzky’s Suprematism art work.
Inspiration
The project was designed around unique interior furnishings and artwork dating to the Soviet and post-Soviet era collected and bought to the UK from Russia, to sit alongside Western art deco, mid-century and contemporary furniture. We were influenced by the proximity to the Kings Cross area and historic St Pancras Station. Taking inspiration from the industrial railway heritage, we applied an eclectic mixture of Industrial, Constructivist, Futurist and Modernist detailing on the ground, 1st and 2nd floors.
The East Meets West references transpire throughout the property and inspire the design of the top and lower ground floors. The Japanese themed design of the top floor mansard roof extension includes the master suite with twin showers and dressing room accentuated by extra height ceilings. This unique loft space was supplemented by a roof terrace to maximize the historic views of St Pancras Station.
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Vintage Constructivist style sculpture in the small window niche. Kitchen walls are painted in Farrow & Ball Lichen No. 19.
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Industrial aesthetic in the kitchen, ground floor: Railway luggage rack used for tea collection storage and industrial cage wall lights frame Barbara Nati’s artwork.
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Industrial Blaze Chandelier in antique brass.
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Constructivist elements in the dining room, ground floor: Rietveld Red and Blue Chair vintage replica.
Futurist Vachetta Tubular Chair with white leather.
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Art deco furniture in the reception room, first floor: rare and beautiful Art Deco 1940s sideboard in lacquered mahogany with four maple doors and brass handles; unique 'Cats' Armchair by Kania, Czechoslovakian furniture maker, with marquetry out of 9 types of wood; one out of three black lacquered Art Deco style nest tables with mother of pearl inlay.
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Chinese Pop Art: East meets West in Jacky Tsai’s print “WAR, WAR, WAR.”
Midcentury furniture in the reception room, first floor: 1950s glazed display cabinet with Smiths clock inset; midcentury daybed with the original green upholstery, supplemented with O&L geometric upholstery bolster cushion.
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Post-Soviet Pop Art in the reception room, first floor: Fragment, Alexander Kosolapov’s litograph, "Caviar", 1991, Red
Challenges and Triumphs
Restoring a historic listed building is challenging. In a Grade II listed property, significance is ascribed both to the exterior and interior of a building and the planners are unlikely to permit tempering with elements deemed significant. Internally, these features would include the original floor layout, original materials such as, for example, lathe and plaster, and any original detailing such as cornicing, stairs, doors, and some others. We have painstakingly identified, researched and restored those elements - a process which took meaningful time and resource. Below are a few 'before and afters':
Ground floor corridor before and after: Lathe and plaster was used to restore walls and ceilings. Cornice and pilaster mouldings were replicated throughout the property as per the remaining originals.
Ground floor dining room before and after: Contemporary window was replaced with the Georgian arched hardwood window frame matching the other ones on the street. Original shutters with the cast iron shutter hardware were discovered under the boxing and restored. The modern marble replica of a Regency bullseye fireplace surround with a cast iron gas burner inset was installed, as the original fireplace was lost.
Ground floor kitchen before and after: The kitchen was subdivided into a kitchen and a toilet, with the partition wall blocking the curved wall in the far-left corner in the photo below. The toilet room was removed, opening the space and revealing this gorgeous feature. The kitchen window is the only remaining original window in the house and was delicately restored.
Restoration of a curved door in the kitchen merits mentioning separately. We have previously come across an original curved door in another Georgian house and were bound on restoring this feature in this property. It came out, in our view, as a triumph.
Ground floor corridor and kitchen, curved door before and after: The curved doorframe was restored, and the standard door was replaced with a six panel custom-built curved door. Black hinges and brass and black glass doorknobs are used on the historic doors from the ground floor up.
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We love the fact that the staircase is not a part of the building mainframe and is located in the adjoining stairwell, unlike in many other Georgian dwellings. This allows for a great flow and a full use of the floor area. The stairs themselves were found to be in a large part original and were restored.
Staircase: The stairs were restored using reclaimed wooden floorboards. Natural finish is used to match the floors across the house, which were also restored with a rough proportion of 50/50 of original pine floorboards to the reclaimed ones. The boarded-up balustrade was opened and restored; the missing spindles were replaced. The railings were coloured in Dulux Eggshell Gloss Black and spindles in Oxide Green.
The rear addition to the house was likely built in the mid 20th century and is of no historical significance, however, it is of great functional benefit. With the site being in Bloomsbury and having limited outside space, the rear extension has been rebuilt to include a living inside-outside ‘spa’ area with sunken hot tub hidden under a terrace, new bathroom and shower area as well as an underfloor wine cellar and a large modern roof terrace. With direct line of site through the original Georgian window of the industrial design kitchen, lateral family living was ensured.
Ground floor, rear extension before and after: The ‘before’ photo (apologies for low resolution!) shows the exterior of the rear extension. The building was crumbling and was knocked down. This allowed for excavation and building of the concrete foundation for the hot tub. The extra space created internally was used for a wine cellar.
Ground floor, rear extension: The services room, which contains a 500l cylinder and a boiler, is behind grey the cupboard doors adjacent to the shower room. Shower room is accessed by a glass door, which allows more light flow into the room from the side window. The skylight provides extra light as well. The roof terrace on top of the rear extension is accessed through the hatch. Plentiful storage and office area are hidden behind the doors covered in trompe l'oeil Scrapwood wallpaper in the back of the room. To contrast the historic part of the building, modern design features were used, for example, shadow gaps in lieu of architraves and skirting boards, brushed steel door hardware, and terrazzo floor tiles. The stylistic connectivity is upheld through Industrial lighting and artwork.
To contrast the historic part of the building, modern design features were used, for example, shadow gaps in lieu of architraves and skirting boards, brushed steel door hardware, and terrazzo floor tiles. The stylistic connectivity is upheld through Industrial lighting and artwork.
The construction of the sunken hot tub area was a feat of engineering and craftsmanship.
Sunken hot tub, ground floor: The walk-on hot tub deck cover, hot tub frame, the box housing the electric winch control unit and enormous multi-level gates that can be fully or partially folded to access service area were meticulously crafted out of iroko hardwood. An industrial hatch stop is fitted to the wall to protect the render. The winch is located on the basement level, but is controlled by the unit housed next to the tub.
Marine grade steel hinges capable of withstanding English weather and chlorinated water were custom-built in a specialist forgery in Devon.
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Part of the design brief was to turn the basement into a self-contained flat and we encountered a few challenges along the way. Firstly, no flat is complete without a kitchen, and we faced a dilemma where to install one. The simple solution would be to use part of the reception room, but it would have ruined both the aesthetic and functionality of the room. Luckily, when we were dismantling the porch area ruined by the flood, we discovered a decent-sized vault, which was boarded up along with its filthy contents- an old mattress and a rusty fridge. Bravely, we opted to excavate it to a permissible height and install a small but user-friendly kitchen. In addition to excavation, drainage and damp proofing, we self-inflicted yet another challenge which was tiling the vaulted ceiling with marble brick mosaic. The first attempt to lay the mosaic from left to right across the arched ceiling yielded miserable results due to uneven shape and surface; all tiles had to come off. In a light-bulb moment, we came up with the idea to create a double barrel vault as in so much admired Italian colonnades. The result, in our view, is a triumph.
Basement floor, excavated vaulted kitchen before and after: Double barrel marble mosaic vaulted ceiling is an amazing feature. Albeit small, the kitchen contains all the necessary appliances: hob, oven, dishwasher and washer-dryer. Black Lec fridge blends in well. Tutti-frutti terrazzo worktop, copper sink and tap, Ingo Mauer Soup wall light, cylindrical glass cabinet handles provide interest.
Another challenge in turning the basement into a self-contained flat was adding a shower. Basement toilet did not offer sufficient space. The solution was to borrow a narrow sliver in the size of the existing chimney breast recess from the generously sized bedroom and build an en-suite shower room at one end and a deep cupboard at the other. This allowed the bedroom to remain proportional with the added functionality of the en-suite shower and storage. Both areas are ingeniously separated from the bedroom by two wallpapered thick plywood panels gliding on an American barn door system. The doors proved to be too heavy for plasterboard fittings and the door system was attached to a floorboard instead.
Basement floor, bedroom and en-suite shower before and after: Two Rustica Hardware Bypass Barn Hardware System in brushed steel holds two 40mm thick massive plywood panels. The panel edges are sanded and waxed to showcase the plywood; the panels are covered in Zoffany London Intaglio wallpaper on both sides.
Basement floor, bathroom before and after: While the layout of the understairs toilet was not changed, the room was upgraded a notch. The underbelly of the stairs was plastered to become a feature. Freestanding teak vanity unit with a stone sink offers storage but is open to give an impression of space. Original Style Babylonian Black on Dover White tiles are on the floor, to match the one in the en-suite hower room. Pop art red toy car mirror, Andy Wharhol’s Double Elvis print and whimsical Ingo Mauer Café au lait wall light energize the space.
Loft conversion is a well-trodden path for increasing value of a development. In our case, the brief was to create a functional, light and airy modern principal bedroom with an en-suite double shower and a dressing room while maximizing the outside space and views of a historic Victorian St Pancras building. One challenge was a narrow staircase leading to the loft, which we had to keep due to its historic merit. Albeit we removed the boards and opened up the second floor landing, the stairwell leading to the third floor still felt sepulchral and required the skylight. However, we came up with an idea, which had same impact but allowed us to save money and space for an aircon unit placed in the cavity above the ceiling - a custom-made light box imitating a skylight, with an eternally clear sky above! To increase the feeling of space and light in the loft, we opted to keep vaulted ceiling with exposed beams. Similarly, the glazed doors to the en-suite shower and dressing room allow the light flow from back to front.
Third floor, before and after: The panelled doors glazed with opaque glass are styled after Japanese Shoji doors to complement the theme of the loft space; the actual Shoji doors are made out of paper and albeit the paper is water-proof we were not certain it will withstand the vapour from two showers. Due to slant ceiling, wall-mounted lights had to be used. Mathieu Challieres La Voliere Birdcage lamp was altered to fit the wooden wall bracket. Ingo Mauer Lucellino wall lights are used throughout the property and work well with the Japanese theme. Wholeearth wallpaper is complemented by a custom-made table light with a shade made from a vintage kimono. The vintage prints were sourced in a Kyoto antique shop.
True beauty lies within, and we believe that the mechanical & electrical works (‘M&E’) deserve a special mention. We inherited a property, which had gone through the evolution of M&E with no regards to safety, efficacy and aesthetics. Soil stacks were placed everywhere as if intended for a Super Mario: in the middle of reception room, on the staircase, in bedrooms. We have centralized the soil stack in the middle of the property. Pipes leading to it were routed between floors and ceilings, with carefully calculated slopes in accordance with the modern building regulations. The soil stack is barely identifiable today.
Entire property, soil stacks before and after: The before photos show the stack locations in the reception room and second floor guest bedroom. Today, the stack is located centrally across all floors and is hard to spot as its boxing morphs into the walls with historic cornicing and skirting boards applied throughout. Access to services in the bedrooms is hidden behind removable magnetic panels.
