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Architects: Neil Dusheiko Architects
- Area: 174 m²
- Year: 2016
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Photographs:Agnese Sanvito, Tim Crocker
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Manufacturers: Charles Howey, Crosswater, Lubelska, Maxlight
Text description provided by the architects. Neil Dusheiko Architects have completed a beautiful and very personal renovation of a Victorian terraced house in Stoke Newington. The house was designed for the architect’s father-in-law, just around the corner from the architect’s own house where he lives with his wife and family.
Neil Dusheiko said: “My wife wanted her father to be closer to us so we could easily pop in and out of each other’s homes. We found a house in the road parallel to ours but it was a bit dark and damp. I wanted to make it into a light and airy home where my father-in-law could live comfortably and easily in a really beautiful space."
One of the priorities was to make sure that there was plenty of room for to display his collection of art and ceramics. The kitchen wall is lined with bespoke, oak shelving, where ceramics and glassware are displayed. The materials in the kitchen have been carefully chosen for their texture and warmth, complementing the numerous objects d’art. The floor is paved with brick pammets and the worktops are wood, as are the floors in the adjoining sitting room area.
The kitchen was very important as the client is a keen cook. It is a light filled space with a skylight over the dining table, a large, glass door leading into the garden and a comfortable window seat, the perfect place for visitors to sit and chat to the cook.
In the sitting room there are simple, bespoke wooden cabinets but the design has been kept simple as the walls are filled with the owner’s collection of paintings and prints. Art works also line the walls on the landing and in the bedrooms throughout the rest of the house.
Neil Dusheiko, Director of Neil Dusheiko architects said: “It was important in the design to strike a balance between bringing in light but also creating a private and intimate space that felt very personal. We wanted to modernise the house and make it a more comfortable place to live but retain a feeling of warmth."
A new loft has been added, which is light and bright with skylights, and large windows through which you can see the spire of the local church in the distance. It is also cosy and private, with wooden cupboards and floors and dusty red walls which complement the client’s kilims and textiles.
Practice Director Neil Dusheiko said: “We wanted the house to feel light and to be comfortable and modern but at the same time to be very personal. By designing the house around all of my father-in-laws beautiful things I hoped to make the move from the old family home a little easier. My wife and I and our daughter are always in and out of the house and every time I visit there’s another picture up or another ceramic dish on the shelves. I’m really enjoying seeing him settle into the house."
Product Description.
The materials were carefully selected to create a unified palette that would help exude a warm calm atmosphere, tying the contemporary design into the existing historic fabric of the home. Materials work well together due to the inherent relationships between natural and reclaimed materials.
Reclaimed Brick
We used reclaimed brick tiles for the new kitchen and dining spaces which provides warmth and texture to the newly created space. We used the same material outside on the patio to create a sense of connection between inside and outside.
Glass
A large pivot door and fully glazed roof over the dining rooms maximise light ingress and create a strong connection between the house and the garden. Tall sliding glass panels allow for framed views from the house to the outside.
Oak Joinery
Bespoke oak joinery provides lighter textured infill areas for storage and display for the client’s ceramic and glassware collection. The joinery also houses the heating storage containers, handrails and plenty of space for the client’s personal effects collected over his lifetime.
Zinc Cladding
We chose black anthracite zinc cladding for the loft structure as we wanted to use cladding in large sheets to give a more monolithic feel to the roof extension. This included creating large panels of solid metal with simple clean openings framing up views from the roof to key local attractions.
