A home with a mountain view is a lovely thing. A home that is the mountain view? All the better.

At least that’s the way architect Mat Barnes, founder of CAN, sees it. Sure, he could have turned his Edwardian-era house in South London into something slick and expected—“But it’s just a bit boring, innit?” he says. “Why can’t there be ideas as well?”

Mat’s experimental streak is why you’ll find a delightful, stage-set mountain peak above the glass-box addition at the rear, inspired by a photo of the construction of Disneyland’s beloved Matterhorn Bobsleds roller-coaster. In the image, a plaster mountaintop sits precariously above the scaffolding—a striking contrast of nature and artifice that fascinated the architect.

Before: Rear Facade

After: Rear Facade

The interior of the dilapidated, 100-plus-year-old brick house became a site of exploration and play, too, offering Mat the freedom to test ideas most clients would find nerve-racking: kitchen cabinets made from recycled milk bottle tops, checkerboard tiles, a sitting room painted rich, royal blue from floor to ceiling.

The end result is a riotous, postmodern playhouse that layers pattern in color in fresh ways. “Typically in modern design, you’ve got white walls and add artwork to it,” says Mat. “The idea here was to have the architecture be the character.”

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Before: Kitchen and Dining Room

Mat, his wife, and their 18-month-old daughter lived in the damp, dingy dwelling for four months before they started the renovation, a period that stretched out for months on end and that the architect refers to as the “Danger Times.” The COVID-19 pandemic threw a wrench in the works as well, delaying supply delivery and construction so much that the back of the house had plywood instead of glass for three months.

Finally complete, Mountain View is the family home—and living architectural lab—they’ve always wanted. Mat’s daughter, now a toddler, loves it most of all: “She loves telling people she lives in the house with the mountain on top.”

After: Kitchen and Dining Room

Before: Bathroom

After: Bathroom

Before: Upstairs Hallway

After: Upstairs Hallway

After: Extension

Before: Front Room

After: Front Room

Before: Stairwell

After: Stairwell

More Before & After:

A “Higgledy-Piggledy” Beach House in Australia Becomes a Streamlined Retreat

An Architect Upgrades a Blah Berkeley Bungalow With a Stylish Addition

Project Credits:

Architecture: CAN / @can_agram
Building/General Contractor: Catalin London
Structural Engineer: Hardman Structural Engineers / @hardman_structural_engineers
Cabinetry Design/Installation: Harry Lawson