Project Tour: A Family Home Packed With Personality
Welcome in to Project Claremont!
When I first walked into this home, of course it looked nothing like it does now, but It also felt all wrong. My clients wanted some major changes, the house simply didn’t suit or reflect the young, fun family that occupied it.
The Victorian terraced house was not in poor condition, but little thought had been put into the previous renovations, how a young family would live in and use it seemed to not have been considered. The front living room was unused because it had only one door to the narrow hallway and had not been opened up to the rest of the ground floor space. And at the rear of the house, the U-shaped kitchen cut off any flow and was an insufficient use of space. The lack of storage was immediately noticeable as coats and shoes crowded the doorway. And one of the things that at the top of Julie’s wish list was a full-sized bath, which despite having two bathrooms, the house did not have.
The Brief
After and intensive discovery session and questionnaire with the clients, to exactly determine how they wanted the home to function for them, I tackled the layout. No extra space was added to the structure of this home, it already had a rear extension and loft conversion, but I worked hard to find hidden and underused areas to incorporate into the home, planning and laying it out it more efficiently to achieve everything that they wanted; a light, open plan kitchen with an island, a dining space where the table wasn’t pushed up against the wall and plenty of clever storage in every room.
the layout
Most challenging was re-planning the layout in the existing loft into the main bedroom suite, it was a medium sized space with built-in wardrobes placed in front of the eaves, and a small en-suite shower room. By removing the wardrobes and stealing some of the previously unused space from the eaves behind, I was able to open up the space, include 3 rooflights and add a bright spacious en-suite with a large shower and a freestanding slipper bath, much to the client’s excitement.
And then by claiming a small area of the bedroom, and combining it with the previous shower room space, I was able to offer the client’s a walk-in wardrobe as well.
The beautiful ceramic hanging on the wall between the living room and kitchen is by artist Rebecca Harker rebeccaharker.com
The kitchen was designed by South Place Studio and bespoke made, including the brass panels on the sides of the kitchen island
The artwork on the kitchen shelf is from a boutique artwork collection designed by Tash South
The hidden kitchen provides a perfect spot to hide the clutter and incorporate extra storage
the light
Bringing in more natural light is always my top priority in any renovation. To achieve this here, downstairs, for the exterior glazing, I suggested glazing the entire rear of the kitchen onto the garden, replacing the existing, dated framed, skylight in the kitchen to be frameless to allow uninterrupted views of the sky,
Internally, an entire wall between the livingroom and hallway was demolished and replaced with a crittal-style glass screen, so light could filter into the centre of the ground floor from both the front and the back of the terraced home. Upstairs in the loft , for that feeling of light and spaciousness, and a bonus view of the sky whilst relaxing in the bath, three Velux rooflights were added into the sloped roof of the new en-suite to bring in maximum light.
The oversized half-circle handles in the dining room were designed by South Place Studio and bespoke made
I always try and fit in a place to sit in the kitchen - for a more social space.
I designed the small family bathroom to be funtional in monochrome but still fun and playful
Multi Functional
The clients requested that the small home office be multi-functional, so a lot of thought went into this 2.5 x 2.5m space. Not only did it need it to be an office for everyday use, but it also needed to act as an occasional guest bedroom. As well as a desk, a double bed, or even a sofa bed was out of the question, so I designed murphy bed to be integrated into the bespoke wall of cabinetry, and a desk that folds down flat against the wall when the bed is in use. We even managed to fit a floor to ceiling linen cupboard into this room.
The storage wall in the office hides a fold-down double bed for guests
The main suite is relaxing yet playful in greens, pinks, brass and texture
I sourced the vintage mirrors on either side of the main bed from a vintage store, they are originally from the MTV studios in London, I love finding pieces with a good story!
The main en-suite - that had been a wardrobes before!
The three skylights we added bring in great natural light and an amazing sky view from the tub
A glimpse from the main bedroom through to the landing, the texture and colour of the of pink feathers connects the two areas
The outside
Once we started on the house, the clients decided to add the garden designe to the project as well, the under-used garden held nothing more that some lawn and a shed. The brief was to transform it into a low-maintenance, multi-use space for the family to enjoy. Although I’m not a landscape designer, I do love a garden project! Especially when clients want to use the space as an indoor/outdoor multi-funtional area. In this design, I included decked areas, a dedicated bbq spot, built up flower beds and a full width garden room at the rear – split into shed storage and a fun playroom for their young daughter. The garden was a delight to design, I love the pergola and we carried though some of the colours used inside the house through to the outdoors on the unique tiling details.
The garden was under-used and impractical before the renovation, we transformed it into a much-used and multi-funtional indoor/outdoor space which is also easy to maintain for this busy family
I carried through the colours from the interior through to the outside with these colourful tiles used in a unique way
The garden playroom is a burst of colour for the client’s daughter.
The miami loo!
Without a doubt, the MOST fun was designing the downstairs guest loo! Which we all affectionately call the Miami Loo, because of the stunning Cole & Son Miami wallpaper that inspired the design.
This tiny room surprises and delights guests and every time and is a little jewel box to enjoy - especially on those grey London days.
This project was a delight to design and so satisfying to see come to life and provide a vastly improved home for this family!
🖤 Tash
Notes:
Total Renovation and Interior Design by South Place Studio
Garden design by South Place Studio
Styling and Accessories by South Place Studio
Build by DG Design
Photography by Juliet Murphy
