Houzz Tour: A Poky Victorian Flat Gains Light and Period Character
This ground-floor terraced conversion flat was once dark, with ‘back-to-front’ rooms, until its innovative and airy transformation
When designers Sebastian Camisuli and Ana Martins first saw this ground-floor flat in north London’s Kentish Town, it had what Sebastian describes as a ‘back-to-front’ layout. ‘The living room and kitchen were in the front, with a bedroom to the back and a corridor on the side leading to the garden,’ he explains. ‘It was a bad 1970s project, but the owners – who had just bought it – saw potential and got us involved.’
‘There was very much a reuse and reclaim approach to the design,’ explains Sebastian. This is particularly so in the multi-functional space at the back of the house, where the exposed brickwork is made up from what was the garden wall, as well as reclaimed London stock to maintain period character.
In the centre of the kitchen area, the chunky wooden island is a reclaimed butcher’s block over which scaffolding poles have been erected to form a hanging rail for pots and pans.
In the centre of the kitchen area, the chunky wooden island is a reclaimed butcher’s block over which scaffolding poles have been erected to form a hanging rail for pots and pans.
The owners had already collected a lot of the furniture and fittings themselves before the project began, having found many of the one-off items at street markets, architectural salvage yards and at salvage retailers including Baileys Home and Retrouvius.
Wooden bench, Ercol at Barker & Stonehouse.
Wooden bench, Ercol at Barker & Stonehouse.
Ana and Sebastian added two skylights in the kitchen area. The one closest to the garden was cut in at the end of the exterior of the flat above. They each have a very sleek, unobtrusive appearance. ‘The skylights are formed by nice clean incisions in the ceiling, rather than being framed,’ Sebastian explains.
Rustic oak parquet flooring,Havwoods. Concrete patterned tiles, Emery & Cie at Retrouvius.Fridge-freezer, Bosch. Extractor, Smeg.
Rustic oak parquet flooring,Havwoods. Concrete patterned tiles, Emery & Cie at Retrouvius.Fridge-freezer, Bosch. Extractor, Smeg.
Sebastian and Ana also chose to hide the structural steelwork added to support the new design. ‘There are no drop-down steels,’ explains Sebastian, ‘we worked hard to incorporate the steelwork with the joists to hide them. Exposed steelwork wasn’t the character we were trying to achieve; we were very much working with the Victorian character and so didn’t want to go for an industrial look.’
To further enhance the period feel, rustic oak parquet flooring was arranged in a herringbone pattern, and traditional-style concrete tiles inserted in the work area.
To further enhance the period feel, rustic oak parquet flooring was arranged in a herringbone pattern, and traditional-style concrete tiles inserted in the work area.
The kitchen cupboard fronts are made from reclaimed floorboards, with reclaimed bricks forming the piers. The tall cupboard next to the fridge-freezer in the previous image is also formed from second-hand flooring.
‘The concrete tiles aren’t second-hand,’ says Sebastian of the flooring chosen by the owner, ‘but they are in keeping.’
Regis sink, The Kitchen Sink Company. Statuary marble worktop, Stone Age.
‘The concrete tiles aren’t second-hand,’ says Sebastian of the flooring chosen by the owner, ‘but they are in keeping.’
Regis sink, The Kitchen Sink Company. Statuary marble worktop, Stone Age.
The cleverly designed new courtyard, or lightwell, between the kitchen and bedroom allowed the latter space to enjoy natural light and air. ‘It also creates a division in the centre of the flat,’ says Sebastian of the 2 sq m area. ‘You could have a skylight instead, but the exposed brickwork adds a playfulness to what the inside and outside of the flat are doing.’
Outside, there is just enough space for a little chair and table, making it a nice spot for an impromptu cup of coffee or a read of the papers.
Orange tap, Vola.
Outside, there is just enough space for a little chair and table, making it a nice spot for an impromptu cup of coffee or a read of the papers.
Orange tap, Vola.
Echoing the cupboard doors, the open kitchen shelves are made from reclaimed floorboards, and the decorative antique brackets were picked up by the owners at a flea market in France.
The window joinery is constructed from oak, which gives the window in both the bedroom and the kitchen a pleasing, organic aesthetic. ‘It’s all bespoke glazing,’ adds Sebastian, ‘to make it clean and unobtrusive.’ He and Ana also opted to arrange the clay tiles in the courtyard in a herringbone pattern to echo the oak parquet in the kitchen/living space.
Clay tiles, Vande Moortel.
Clay tiles, Vande Moortel.
‘The bedroom is quite small, in fact,’ says Sebastian, ‘but there was no need to make it bigger, because there’s so much auxiliary space around it.’
The bathroom is doorless on the bedroom side. ‘The owners are a couple and were happy with that arrangement – perhaps a family would require more privacy.’ The loo is separate.
The bathroom is doorless on the bedroom side. ‘The owners are a couple and were happy with that arrangement – perhaps a family would require more privacy.’ The loo is separate.
The door on the far side of the bathroom opens onto a dressing room, then a cloakroom, and then onto the living room.
While this room was in the middle of the flat when Sebastian and Ana started work, it didn’t include the area with the fireplace. The fireplace is old, but not original to the flat.
‘The panelling is all new, but of the era,’ says Sebastian. ‘It’s warmer than just tiles or plasterboard. And again it gives a warm pattern that can be part of the bedroom, but also part of the bathroom.’ The metro tiles behind the basin are also repeated in the kitchen.
All bathroom fittings, Aston Matthews. Wall tiles, Criterion Tiles. Floor Tiles, Emery & Cie.
While this room was in the middle of the flat when Sebastian and Ana started work, it didn’t include the area with the fireplace. The fireplace is old, but not original to the flat.
‘The panelling is all new, but of the era,’ says Sebastian. ‘It’s warmer than just tiles or plasterboard. And again it gives a warm pattern that can be part of the bedroom, but also part of the bathroom.’ The metro tiles behind the basin are also repeated in the kitchen.
All bathroom fittings, Aston Matthews. Wall tiles, Criterion Tiles. Floor Tiles, Emery & Cie.
Who lives here A professional couple
Location Kentish Town, London
Property type A ground-floor garden flat in a converted Victorian terrace
Designer Ana Martins and Sebastian Camisuli at Martins Camisuli Architects
Photographer Jake Fitzjones
Size 1 bedroom, 1 bathroom plus a cloakroom
Date of project June 2011
‘The original rear extension was really bad,’ recalls Sebastian Camisuli of the flat in its original state, ‘and the brief was to try to resolve the problems the flat had.’
The tasks included reversing the rooms, so that an open-plan kitchen/living/dining space would take up the back of the flat and make more of the ‘lovely long garden’, which Sebastian and Ana had noted was under-used. ‘We wanted to bring the garden back into the house,’ Sebastian explains.
The designers also put a separate living room at the front of the flat, and reconfigured the bathroom and bedroom, adding a walk-through wardrobe. As part of the new design, Sebastian and Ana also did something very clever to the bedroom, flooding the internal room with natural light.