The homeowner of Brook Green House, who’s in the medical field, was newly in possession of his childhood home—only now with his partner and young children in tow. The original house, a narrow Victorian mid-terrace built in the 1860s in the eponymous neighborhood of Brook Green, London, had four floors, including a dark basement kitchen that provided the only door to the backyard.

Before: The Front

After: The Front

Two problems created a lack of light in the main living areas of the home: the narrow and deep floor plan, as well as an existing glass-roofed rear extension, which was the only space that really got to enjoy the sun.

Before: Kitchen and Rear Extension

Architecture for London responded with a plan that reconfigures the rear of the house, punching through the first floor to connect it to the basement with a double-height kitchen and dining room. Granted, this meant losing a reception room at the rear of the first floor in order to make way for the dramatic vertical space. “The rear reception rooms of most houses are the least used,” says lead architect Amrit Marway. “After completion, the client never really felt that they were missing a room.”

After: Kitchen and Dining

Now, tall walls of glass on the rear facade stretch 4.8 meters high ( nearly 16 feet), bringing copious light to two floors. A streamlined material palette, including soap-washed Douglas fir, polished concrete, and natural stone unify the newly renovated spaces into a calming whole.

The soap-washed Douglas fir warms the cool industrial concrete, while “brass highlights add small glints of light, and marble thresholds between rooms add a luxury feel to what would otherwise have been a very pared-back palette,” says Marway.

The firm ensured that the brass accents were continuous throughout, including an elegant tension rod that suspends the first floor over the lower level. “This was originally a steel finish, and we sourced a foundry near Birmingham who were able to refinish it in polished brass,” says Marway.

Before: Bedroom

After: Bedroom

After: Children's Bedroom

More Before & After:

A Dark Austin Loft Becomes a Light-Filled Haven

A Melbourne Pub Is Recast as a Funky Home

A Classic School Bus Becomes This Family of Four’s Home on the Road

Project Credits:

Architecture: Amrit Marway, Architecture for London (@architectureforlondon)

Builder: Boroak Construction Limited

Structural Engineer: CAR Ltd

Cabinetry Design: Grovecourt Limited

Art: Kaija Bulbrook

Appears In

Before & After: A Cramped Victorian in London Lightens Up With a Double-Height Renovation