An extension in Walthamstow with a unique double stair design that forms a theatrical entrance to the kitchen.

The design of the stairs and the kitchen are the result of a playful concept developed with the client called "catwalk" where the cats can quite literally walk on the kitchen worktops. Sean and Stephen love how real everyday life stories like this can become embodied in the design of their client's homes.

Horizontal rectangular windows set in a double height space over the stairs bring light deep inside the house and frame views of the evergreen trees at the end of the garden. This tall space heightens the sense of the theatre created by the stairs and gives a feeling of expansion that works in contrast with the compression created by wall of open shelves further back between the living room and the kitchen.

The partially reflective grey finish of the solid worktops creates a dialogue with the large format floor tiles - almost as if the kitchen space had been carved out of the ground.

This extension completely transformed the house in terms of it's atmosphere and it's internal workings and also in terms of the sense of connection with the garden.

The client loves the space and Sean and Stephen thoroughly enjoyed designing it with them from concept stage through to obtaining permission for the extension through the Larger Homes Permitted Development scheme.