John & Jemima have a passion for renovating period houses and a talent for marrying the best of contemporary design with traditional period features.

A derelict Victorian double-fronted house in Putney provided them with the perfect canvass from which to fulfil their dream.

Dyer Grimes Architects set about creating a stunning family house with a 100ft landscaped garden.

The original house suffered from endemic subsidence and dry rot throughout. The kitchen and utility rooms at the back of the house were small and dark and the basement needed to be comprehensively excavated to make a spacious playroom for the couple’s four children.

The front garden walls were in a state of complete disrepair and were in danger of falling down, and the garden, untouched for 35 years, was a jungle of over 20 self-seeded trees and a mecca for foxes.

Furthermore, the house is located in the Putney Park Conservation Area which meant stringent planning restrictions on any external changes.

Working with our team of expert engineers we effectively designed and rebuilt the house from the inside out. To make the house safe, all supporting walls were structurally rebuilt and underpinned.

Using conservation craftsmen and traditional materials the dining, kitchen and utility rooms were connected together to create one magnificent light-filled space.

Dyer Grimes Architects were successful in persuading the council planners to grant permission to install a stunning floor-to-roof 6m tall glass slot window which, along with the panoramic glazed doors to the back of house created an incredible contemporary design statement and flooded the house with light.

All 22 trees were removed and the ground levelled to create a new modern garden with a vast oak tree at its centre. A running track for the kids was created around the oak and a slot pool installed to mirror the vertical glass window at the back of the house.

Our expert Interior Designer Team successfully combined the period mouldings and modern features to dramatic effect creating a unique blend of old and new.