RIBA Chartered Practice · Woking, Surrey

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Projects · Walthamstow, London

Walthamstow rear extension and renovation

A jumble of rooms at the back of a Walthamstow house, opened into one bright room above a steep, now terraced garden.

The open-plan kitchen and rear extension in Walthamstow

A young couple expecting their first child wanted to turn their dark, disjointed home in Walthamstow into a bright, sociable space for family life and for having people round. Earlier extensions had left the back of the house as a jumble of rooms with little connection to the garden, and the garden itself fell steeply away from the house.

The first decision was to clear what was there. The old conservatory came down, and significant structural work opened the kitchen, the dining room and the new extension into one room.

Light was the next problem. The house faces east, so the back of it gets the morning sun and not much after that. Rooflights were positioned to bring steady daylight into the room through the rest of the day. Underfloor heating sits beneath a polished concrete floor, and the kitchen cabinets were made in plywood, chosen for its warmth and natural character.

The slope was dealt with outside. The garden was terraced, and large bi-folding doors now open straight onto it, so the kitchen and the garden work as one space in good weather.

The result is a practical, welcoming home that suits everyday family life and larger gatherings alike.

Plywood kitchen units, a white-topped island and the dining table, with folding doors to the stepped garden
Plywood kitchen units, a white-topped island and the dining table, with folding doors to the stepped garden
Looking past the island and dining table to the sitting area, under two rooflights divided by a timber beam
Looking past the island and dining table to the sitting area, under two rooflights divided by a timber beam
From the island to the folding doors, with a window cut to follow the roof slope beside them
From the island to the folding doors, with a window cut to follow the roof slope beside them
Looking up at the rooflight, with a timber beam down its centre carrying the pendant lights
Looking up at the rooflight, with a timber beam down its centre carrying the pendant lights
Three pendant lights above the island, with glazed wall cabinets and open shelves behind
Three pendant lights above the island, with glazed wall cabinets and open shelves behind
Stools at the plywood island, with a child's wooden trike on the floor and the angled window beyond
Stools at the plywood island, with a child's wooden trike on the floor and the angled window beyond
Folding doors open to the patio beside the dining table, with a painting and brass wall lights above
Folding doors open to the patio beside the dining table, with a painting and brass wall lights above
Glazed wall cabinets and open shelving above the sink, with the island worktop in front
Glazed wall cabinets and open shelving above the sink, with the island worktop in front
The dining table beneath a painting and two brass wall lights, with a toy kitchen in the corner
The dining table beneath a painting and two brass wall lights, with a toy kitchen in the corner
Between the kitchen run and the island towards the angled window and the garden doors
Between the kitchen run and the island towards the angled window and the garden doors
The kitchen under the sloping ceiling, with a rooflight, three pendants and doors opening to the garden
The kitchen under the sloping ceiling, with a rooflight, three pendants and doors opening to the garden
From the sitting area past the island and dining table to the doors onto the garden
From the sitting area past the island and dining table to the doors onto the garden
The white rendered extension from the garden, its folding doors open and steps rising to the lawn
The white rendered extension from the garden, its folding doors open and steps rising to the lawn

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Accreditations

  • RIBA Chartered Practice
  • ARB registered architect, registration number 088216J
  • AECB member
  • Passivhaus Trust member
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