Renovating
8 Beautiful Homes to Visit During the Open House London Weekend
See a selection of Houzz design projects in real life at the capital’s annual architecture festival, 22-23 September
If you like reading our Houzz Tours, you’ll love the Open House London festival. Over the weekend of 22 and 23 September, you can visit properties for free and see up close how designers and architects have used clever tricks to turn plots of land and old buildings into truly stunning homes.
Check out our guide to some of the brilliant Houzz projects you can visit this year.
Check out our guide to some of the brilliant Houzz projects you can visit this year.
Gesamtkunstwerk, Wanstead
This home is a masterclass in how to combine a contemporary extension with an Edwardian house. Martin Gruenanger of Space Group Architects has carefully renovated the old property and added a new construction, celebrating the difference between the two styles of architecture.
The property contains a whole host of clever features, including an elevated bathroom that’s made room for an underground sauna and a fire pit in the master bedroom.
Find more photos of the Gesamtkunstwerk project
This home is a masterclass in how to combine a contemporary extension with an Edwardian house. Martin Gruenanger of Space Group Architects has carefully renovated the old property and added a new construction, celebrating the difference between the two styles of architecture.
The property contains a whole host of clever features, including an elevated bathroom that’s made room for an underground sauna and a fire pit in the master bedroom.
Find more photos of the Gesamtkunstwerk project
The Old Spratts Factory, Poplar
Head on over to Poplar E14 to visit another one of Space Group Architects’ projects. This cool home is located in a converted Victorian dog biscuit factory.
The team have brought the old warehouse up to date with a new layout to incorporate extra rooms, improved heating and lighting, and plenty of storage. They’ve also managed to highlight the character of the building by refurbishing original features and ensuring there’s plenty of natural and artificial lighting.
Check out the rest of The Old Spratts Factory
Head on over to Poplar E14 to visit another one of Space Group Architects’ projects. This cool home is located in a converted Victorian dog biscuit factory.
The team have brought the old warehouse up to date with a new layout to incorporate extra rooms, improved heating and lighting, and plenty of storage. They’ve also managed to highlight the character of the building by refurbishing original features and ensuring there’s plenty of natural and artificial lighting.
Check out the rest of The Old Spratts Factory
Vertically Detached House, Notting Hill
What do you do if your plot of land is too small for you to build a single house and garden? Well, if you’re a talented architect like Cezary Bednarski of Studio Bednarski, you build two houses instead.
In 2012, Cezary bought a 106 sq m sliver of land at the corner of a road of Victorian terraces, and cleverly constructed two houses, one on top of the other, each with their own separate entrances. The building is contemporary, but the long lines on its exterior replicate the shapes on the façades of its Victorian neighbours.
Inside you can see more of Cezary’s beautiful design, and find out how he managed to bring in light while maintaining privacy.
See more of the Vertically Detached House
What do you do if your plot of land is too small for you to build a single house and garden? Well, if you’re a talented architect like Cezary Bednarski of Studio Bednarski, you build two houses instead.
In 2012, Cezary bought a 106 sq m sliver of land at the corner of a road of Victorian terraces, and cleverly constructed two houses, one on top of the other, each with their own separate entrances. The building is contemporary, but the long lines on its exterior replicate the shapes on the façades of its Victorian neighbours.
Inside you can see more of Cezary’s beautiful design, and find out how he managed to bring in light while maintaining privacy.
See more of the Vertically Detached House
Scenario House, Stoke Newington
How to open up the interior of a Victorian property without losing its cosy feel? That was the challenge Maya Carni and Ran Ankory of Scenario Architecture set themselves when designing their family home.
Smart space planning has created a broken-plan home in which the family can view the back garden from their front room.
A tour around the property will reveal some ingenious features, including a floating reading nook, a beautiful herringbone staircase and a very clever storage and seating area under the stairs.
Read our Houzz Tour of Scenario House
How to open up the interior of a Victorian property without losing its cosy feel? That was the challenge Maya Carni and Ran Ankory of Scenario Architecture set themselves when designing their family home.
Smart space planning has created a broken-plan home in which the family can view the back garden from their front room.
A tour around the property will reveal some ingenious features, including a floating reading nook, a beautiful herringbone staircase and a very clever storage and seating area under the stairs.
Read our Houzz Tour of Scenario House
Montague Road, Hackney
Restoring a period property can be tricky, but a tour of this Victorian home will provide inspiration. Genevieve McGill and Phil MacMahon of interior architecture firm Foreign Bear Studio have painstakingly renovated this Victorian property to reveal its original features. In the process, they’ve created a beautiful family home.
Check out the stunning Victorian shutters and staircase, restored by carefully removing multiple layers of paint and varnish.
See more images of Montague Road
Restoring a period property can be tricky, but a tour of this Victorian home will provide inspiration. Genevieve McGill and Phil MacMahon of interior architecture firm Foreign Bear Studio have painstakingly renovated this Victorian property to reveal its original features. In the process, they’ve created a beautiful family home.
Check out the stunning Victorian shutters and staircase, restored by carefully removing multiple layers of paint and varnish.
See more images of Montague Road
Courtyard House, East Dulwich
When architect, Stephen Blowers of designcubed decided to build his own house, he knew he would face quite a few challenges. The small plot of land he’d purchased was tucked between three other houses, and previous developers had failed to get planning permission for their projects. Stephen secured permission for a single-storey building, and his aim was to get as much light into the space as possible.
The resulting design is an open-plan home, built around a central kitchen, with two courtyards at the front and rear of the property. The style is minimal, but the beautiful light and use of natural materials makes the space feel cosy and welcoming.
See more of the courtyard house
When architect, Stephen Blowers of designcubed decided to build his own house, he knew he would face quite a few challenges. The small plot of land he’d purchased was tucked between three other houses, and previous developers had failed to get planning permission for their projects. Stephen secured permission for a single-storey building, and his aim was to get as much light into the space as possible.
The resulting design is an open-plan home, built around a central kitchen, with two courtyards at the front and rear of the property. The style is minimal, but the beautiful light and use of natural materials makes the space feel cosy and welcoming.
See more of the courtyard house
The Green House, Waterloo
In 2017, architect Michael Johnson and interior designer Deborah Nagan of naganJohnson built a family home above their design studio. The contemporary extension sits on top of a Victorian warehouse, and features a huge roof garden and a beautiful glazed rooftop kitchen.
The couple are also opening up their downstairs studio over the weekend, where visitors can see an exhibition that details the design and build of their home. It includes handmade pottery by ceramicist Chris Prindl, who made bespoke fittings for the house.
Find out more about Open House London 2018
Combine your trip with a visit to the DreamHouzz – our fantastic pop-up experience where everything is shoppable. It’s open from 21 to 30 September.
Tell us…
Are you planning to look around any of these homes at Open House London this year? Do you have any tips for other visitors? Share your thoughts and advice in the Comments section.
In 2017, architect Michael Johnson and interior designer Deborah Nagan of naganJohnson built a family home above their design studio. The contemporary extension sits on top of a Victorian warehouse, and features a huge roof garden and a beautiful glazed rooftop kitchen.
The couple are also opening up their downstairs studio over the weekend, where visitors can see an exhibition that details the design and build of their home. It includes handmade pottery by ceramicist Chris Prindl, who made bespoke fittings for the house.
Find out more about Open House London 2018
Combine your trip with a visit to the DreamHouzz – our fantastic pop-up experience where everything is shoppable. It’s open from 21 to 30 September.
Tell us…
Are you planning to look around any of these homes at Open House London this year? Do you have any tips for other visitors? Share your thoughts and advice in the Comments section.
Need some ideas for your small space? A tour of the ground-floor extension that Davide di Martino and the team at Unagru built for a family of three should provide inspiration.
In a very tight space, and on a small budget, the architects created enough room for an open-plan kitchen-living area, replacing the old kitchen with an extra bedroom.
Look out for the bespoke furniture that provides brilliant storage and flow, and the cosy terrace, which feels like another room.
Take a closer look at the InsideOut courtyard house