Jenny wanted a house for entertaining and Mike longed for a state of the art garage for his ever growing collection of classic cars.

When the family and the car collection had outgrown their previous property, also designed by Dyer Grimes Architects, the couple embarked upon a full house refurbishment of a four story Victorian town-house. The plan was to open up the entire space, creating a master-suite in the roof and provide maximum access to the communal gardens. As Jenny is an artist, a glass fronted studio which would allow natural light to flood in, was high on the list of priorities.

West Putney Conservation area has strict planning restrictions on any alterations to period properties, so a careful design approach was needed.

The original Victorian townhouse was split over 4 floors. Although sizeable, the house was a maze of small dark rooms with limited access to communal areas and the garden. The basement and kitchen were small with low ceilings and the main reception rooms were dark and gloomy.

Our clients were also keen to replace the existing windows with large areas of glazing to maximize light throughout and create a contemporary look.

After skilful negotiation with the council, Dyer Grimes Architects achieved approval for a contemporary two -storey glass garage and artist’s studio to compliment the existing ‘Arts and Crafts’ house.

The planners liked the designs so much they awarded it the “best house extension in Wandsworth 2011 award”, deeming it a benchmark for design in the area.

The main house was transformed into a light-filled contemporary home. A curved plaster staircase was installed to create a grand entrance feature to the property. The roof space was opened up and fully converted into a stunning master bedroom suite, with large stacking dormer windows providing far reaching views over Putney.

The basement was deeply excavated, insulated and waterproofed to allow for the inclusion of double-height ceilings. Full height glass pivoting doors were installed throughout the property along with a dramatic stepped external terrace to allow more sunlight into the kitchen.

The internal design vision was centered on connecting the living areas with the garden. This was achieved with magnificent effect through the integration of a timber and glass bridge. Use of glass opened up the whole space and allowed natural sunlight to penetrate into the kitchen, dining & media rooms in the basement. To the rear of the house the existing small windows were replaced with larger natural oak frames to achieve a highly contemporary feel.

The new garden pavilion was fully equipped for entertaining with built in fireplace, living area and fully functioning kitchen to create a stunning focal point to the geometric garden design.

2011 Best Wandsworth House Extension Award.