My Houzz: Kids Choose the Hues for an Expanded Row House
Moving the staircase and extending out and up give this London family’s Victorian home a spacious open-plan layout
Lizzie and Joe Fraher’s southeast London home used to be a typical Victorian row house. The rooms were dark and grouped around a staircase that took up a significant part of the house and had no natural light.
To turn it into the family home they wanted, the architect couple were prepared to make fundamental changes. They removed walls, altered floor levels and relocated the staircase to divide the house into a more spacious front and rear. They extended up into the attic and added to the side of the house too.
The Victorian past isn’t forgotten, though. Throughout the house are striking reminders of the original structure and features.
To turn it into the family home they wanted, the architect couple were prepared to make fundamental changes. They removed walls, altered floor levels and relocated the staircase to divide the house into a more spacious front and rear. They extended up into the attic and added to the side of the house too.
The Victorian past isn’t forgotten, though. Throughout the house are striking reminders of the original structure and features.
Each of the floors of the house has a consistent accent color, which on the ground floor is yellow. “We have two young daughters, and we gave them the opportunity to choose the colors, so they could be involved in the design,” Lizzie says.
The kitchen cabinetry is a custom design by Shape London, a woodworking company in which the Frahers are also creative partners. The cabinets are made from Valchromat, a through-colored medium-density fiberboard. “It has a slight grain, so it’s a really tactile finish,” Lizzie says. They’re in gray, with the ground floor’s signature yellow used for feature recesses, shelves and other details.
The work surface is gray Corian. “It has a slim profile, so it’s a clean aesthetic,” Lizzie adds.
The work surface is gray Corian. “It has a slim profile, so it’s a clean aesthetic,” Lizzie adds.
The kitchen’s polished concrete flooring extends throughout the ground level. “It’s very robust, and we love the texture and tone. It’s easy to maintain, and it’s a great surface to run around on — perfect with two young children,” Lizzie says.
Know Your Flooring: Concrete
Know Your Flooring: Concrete
The dining table and bench were existing pieces that got a colorful makeover. “The girls wanted a pink table, so we painted it and the bench,” Lizzie says. It’s teamed with DSR chairs designed by Charles and Ray Eames. “I’m not worried about clashing colors,” she says.
Parker dining table and bench: Habitat; DSR side chairs: Aram
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Parker dining table and bench: Habitat; DSR side chairs: Aram
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The house’s original staircase moved as part of the remodel, leaving space for a shoe and coat rack opposite the front door in the new layout. Made to fit the space, the unit has shoe storage at the bottom, a pegboard for coats in the middle, and cabinets at the top for items like umbrellas and bike helmets.
The details on the top cabinets were inspired by the house’s original features. “There were two decorative ladies’ faces in the plasterwork,” Lizzie says. “They were replaced in yellow and gray.”
Storage unit: Shape London; floor tiles: Blueprint Ceramics
The details on the top cabinets were inspired by the house’s original features. “There were two decorative ladies’ faces in the plasterwork,” Lizzie says. “They were replaced in yellow and gray.”
Storage unit: Shape London; floor tiles: Blueprint Ceramics
The floor levels throughout the house were lowered, resulting in an attic conversion that’s as spacious as the lower two floors. In the living room, which is off the hallway, the height change left the bay window relatively higher than it was, making the room more private.
Sofa: Habitat; floor lamp and Lampe de Marseille wall light: The Conran Shop; mirror: Shape London
Sofa: Habitat; floor lamp and Lampe de Marseille wall light: The Conran Shop; mirror: Shape London
When looking across the ground floor toward the hallway, it’s impossible to miss the previous location of the staircase. It’s delineated in the accent yellow on the storage wall, which is made from Valchromat. The push-open doors conceal storage for toys, cleaning supplies, camping stuff and more.
The barn-style door to the hallway is space-saving. The track and hardware provide another opportunity to feature the yellow accent shade.
Storage wall: Shape London
The barn-style door to the hallway is space-saving. The track and hardware provide another opportunity to feature the yellow accent shade.
Storage wall: Shape London
The new staircase bisects the house into front and rear sections. The latter area is where the kitchen (visible in the background) is located on the ground floor.
The staircase is clad in Douglas fir plywood, as are the new walls alongside it. “It’s almost as if the staircase is growing up through the building,” Lizzie says.
The staircase is clad in Douglas fir plywood, as are the new walls alongside it. “It’s almost as if the staircase is growing up through the building,” Lizzie says.
A groove was routed into the stairs and the Douglas fir plywood was stained gray to create the impression of a stair runner, leading the eye upward. “We didn’t want to introduce another texture,” Lizzie says.
Chair: Monoqi; Lampe de Marseille wall light: The Conran Shop
Chair: Monoqi; Lampe de Marseille wall light: The Conran Shop
Reorientating the staircase balanced the size of the bedrooms and created functional spaces on the landings. Since this second-floor study area is part of the unified staircase structure, the flooring again is Douglas fir plywood.
IC Lights collection pendant lamps: Flos
IC Lights collection pendant lamps: Flos
Throughout the house, the original floor, ceiling and baseboard levels are marked on the walls.
A rope handrail is positioned alongside the staircase leading from the second floor to the top floor. “Our youngest daughter can’t quite reach a normal height,” Lizzie says.
The second floor’s accent shade is orange and features in the display space in this rear bedroom. “The cubbies break up the wardrobes to make a design feature,” Lizzie says. The sliding door to the room saves space inside the bedroom.
All the doors are clad in Douglas fir plywood, and the pulls are inset with brass. “We love brass because it [produces a patina] when you touch it,” Lizzie says.
The second-floor bathroom faucets are orange, the floor’s signature color. The sink is custom-made from concrete. The couple chose an almost black color to create contrast with the accent orange. They also selected resin flooring for its slip-resistance and for the way it complements the ground floor’s polished concrete.
Sink: Shape London; faucets: Vola
Sink: Shape London; faucets: Vola
On the top floor, the accent shade is green, seen here on the shower control. Except for the bathrooms, vinyl flooring covers this floor and the one below. “It’s cost-effective and creates a seamless floor,” Lizzie says.
A green shelf with storage beneath runs around part of the girls’ play area, on the top floor’s landing. “They can play at a comfortable height without leaving trip hazards all over the floor,” Lizzie says.
The shower room on the top floor has a fixed roof light above the shower to bring in natural light. A herringbone tile pattern has a dynamic effect. The faucets and towel bars are in the floor’s accent green.
Sink and mirror: Shape London; faucets: Vola
Sink and mirror: Shape London; faucets: Vola
The sustainability of the house was important to the couple, who opted for a wildflower roof for the addition to replace the garden space they lost. They also chose high-quality insulation and double-paned, wood-framed windows.
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More home tours: Apartments | Small Homes | Colorful Homes | Contemporary Homes | Eclectic Homes | Farmhouses | Midcentury Homes | Modern Homes | Ranch Homes | Traditional Homes | Transitional Homes | All
House at a Glance
Who lives here: Lizzie and Joe Fraher of Fraher Architects and their two young daughters
Location: Southeast London
Size: Four bedrooms, two bathrooms
A pivot door with one large panel of glass leads from the new addition at the back of the house to the garden.