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Houzz Tour: A Victorian Terrace Gets a Period-sensitive Update
Existing features and traditional Italian style informed many of the decisions in this whole-house renovation
Two design-conscious homeowners with a love of Italy worked with like-minded designer George Bradley of Bradley Van Der Straeten to renovate this period home, extending rearwards and sideways, as well as converting the loft into a generous en suite and decoratively updating the whole house.
“It wasn’t a classic doer-upper; it was a place you could live in as it was – but very much a blank canvas,” George says. “There were some original features, such as the bay window with its original panelling, that were in very good condition.”
The couple who own the house very much wanted to respect its great bones, but adapt it to their style and needs. “They wanted someone who could work with the house and its existing features, not strip it all out,” George says. Both he and one of the owners have Italian heritage, which is significant in several of the details, especially in the kitchen. Check out before and after photos of the house below.
“It wasn’t a classic doer-upper; it was a place you could live in as it was – but very much a blank canvas,” George says. “There were some original features, such as the bay window with its original panelling, that were in very good condition.”
The couple who own the house very much wanted to respect its great bones, but adapt it to their style and needs. “They wanted someone who could work with the house and its existing features, not strip it all out,” George says. Both he and one of the owners have Italian heritage, which is significant in several of the details, especially in the kitchen. Check out before and after photos of the house below.
“It was a typical Victorian terrace with an outrigger [containing] a narrow kitchen at the back and a darkish alleyway outside,” George says of the original house, seen here.
Find the perfect local architect or building designer for your project in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Find the perfect local architect or building designer for your project in the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Inside, the owners had a clear idea of the aesthetic they wanted to achieve. The brief’s keywords were “rustic-orangery-farmhouse”. George adds that, for the rest of the house, it was about keeping things neutral and calming.
“The whole project had this thread running through it of Martina – who’s from a tiny town outside Venice – being Italian; she’d talk evocatively of her childhood – of her nonna making pasta on a marble counter. I’m also half Italian and we had a lot of the same references.”
Kitchen, Tekton Joinery. Sink; shelf brackets; pendant light, all DeVOL. Kitchen cabinet handles, Mark Lewis Interior Design.
“The whole project had this thread running through it of Martina – who’s from a tiny town outside Venice – being Italian; she’d talk evocatively of her childhood – of her nonna making pasta on a marble counter. I’m also half Italian and we had a lot of the same references.”
Kitchen, Tekton Joinery. Sink; shelf brackets; pendant light, all DeVOL. Kitchen cabinet handles, Mark Lewis Interior Design.
As such, the work surfaces are all marble. “In the UK, there’s this luxury thing associated with marble, but in Italy, it’s standard. It’s just a great surface for making food on,” George says. “Lots of clients worry about marble staining, but Martina (pictured) was very much, ‘It will age, it will develop a patina – and that’s a good thing.’”
The same goes for the pale flooring, which is real terrazzo (rather than terrazzo-look porcelain, for example). “It’s so common in Italy; you see it in cafés, shops, pavements,” he says.
Marble worktop, Mandarin Stone. Botticino floor tiles, InOpera Group.
The same goes for the pale flooring, which is real terrazzo (rather than terrazzo-look porcelain, for example). “It’s so common in Italy; you see it in cafés, shops, pavements,” he says.
Marble worktop, Mandarin Stone. Botticino floor tiles, InOpera Group.
At the heart of the kitchen is the oak pantry, made bespoke by a joiner. “It’s really simple,” George says. “The curtain is a classic English pantry thing and the grooved panelling adds texture,” LED lighting makes it practical after dark.
Another key detail is the orientation of the island, which is positioned so the cook can face the garden as they work. “The fridge, oven and sink are in one line and the working triangle is more about the pantry and the worktop than about the appliances,” George says. “It rotates a common layout – and it’s one we’ve come back to.”
Pine-framed windows top the side-return extension. “A lot that was guiding this design was keeping things simple, thinking about budget and using typical methods,” George says. “Both extensions are really typical lean-to roofs, and we’ve exposed the structure. The underside is just affordable tongue-and-groove slats that sit on top of the joists.”
Brick paver steps, echoing the patio, lead into the living room. The panelling adds more texture to the space and the cupboards on the right contain utilities such as the boiler and pipework.
Brick paver steps, echoing the patio, lead into the living room. The panelling adds more texture to the space and the cupboards on the right contain utilities such as the boiler and pipework.
The oak island, with its thin legs, reeded glass and marble top, was made bespoke by the project’s joiners and designed meticulously. The compartments are drawers. “Martina was into the idea of it being a piece of furniture that could move,” George says. In fact, it ended up being static and has a cable running through one of the legs for power, but the visual idea remains.
A supporting steel, seen here, is exposed and was painted black. “It seems more in keeping and feels older,” he says. Bare brickwork adds to that idea.
A supporting steel, seen here, is exposed and was painted black. “It seems more in keeping and feels older,” he says. Bare brickwork adds to that idea.
The range cooker features an induction hob. Open storage adds character and reinforces the sense of this very much being a working kitchen.
The cabinets have solid wood fronts. “It’s a very traditional way of making kitchens,” George says. “The fronts are vertical timber planks held together with horizontal planks. It’s a real craft.”
A downstairs loo, just behind the pantry and accessed from the hallway, was existing but has been refurbished.
The same view before works.
Here’s the kitchen looking the other way before the side-return extension was added.
When pushing out into the side return, George exposed the bricks of the original external wall. Outside, the brick pavers that form the new patio tie in.
The just-seen black supporting beam sits above the location of the former window.
A dining area echoes the salvaged look but, being in the new rear extension, features reclaimed bricks. George took the kitchen out by around 3m here.
The exposed brick theme continues here, with this original remnant of the house on show. “Martina talked about liking exposed old Roman walls,” George says. “The builder thought we were being idiots when we said we were keen to preserve this tatty old wall.” The bricks were sealed to prevent dust shedding.
A floor plan of the ground floor, post renovation, shows how everything fits together.
In the living room, George says, it was just about working with what was already there. “We redecorated, added the light fitting and revarnished the floor with a much waxier matt finish than the original, which was quite shiny,” he says. The hearth’s brick pavers were also added.
Pendant light, John Lewis & Partners.
Pendant light, John Lewis & Partners.
When building into the loft, George added this window to the new space and chose balusters that look as if they might always have been there.
In this ‘before’ photo, you can see the square window that’s at the bottom of the previous photo. George added a deeper sill and also changed the light fittings once the space had been extended upwards.
The new loft contains a bedroom, dressing room and large en suite.
Woodwork painted in Skimming Stone, Farrow & Ball. Walls painted in Stone, Bauwerk Colour. Tempo Vivace pendant light, Heal’s.
Woodwork painted in Skimming Stone, Farrow & Ball. Walls painted in Stone, Bauwerk Colour. Tempo Vivace pendant light, Heal’s.
“Lofts can often feel very white, very square, echoey and boxy. This is kind of the opposite,” George says.
The sloping ceiling was not levelled off, the en suite’s doors are arched, the wall on the left is curved, and there’s lots of texture in the bare wood, the lamp shade, and even the wall paint, which is a soft limewash finish.
A wall of bespoke wardrobes is just visible on the left.
Whinfell plank timber flooring from the Classic Tones Collection, Ted Todd. Bath and basin, Lusso Stone. Taps, Crosswater.
The sloping ceiling was not levelled off, the en suite’s doors are arched, the wall on the left is curved, and there’s lots of texture in the bare wood, the lamp shade, and even the wall paint, which is a soft limewash finish.
A wall of bespoke wardrobes is just visible on the left.
Whinfell plank timber flooring from the Classic Tones Collection, Ted Todd. Bath and basin, Lusso Stone. Taps, Crosswater.
About the curved wall, George says, “You can really see this in the plan: if it had been a sharp 90 degree corner, there would have been a lot less light. It really opens it up.”
At the end of the wardrobe run, tucked away, there’s a little floating dressing table beneath a window.
“The window seat [opposite the bathroom] is something Martina was very keen on. A big mistake people often make with lofts is putting in standard-size windows. It can make things feel very boxy. It also jars with classic Victorian proportions,” George says. This oak-framed window, however, is suitably tall and elegant – as well as deep – and is as generous with its joinery as a Victorian original might be.
And what did the couple think of the finished house? “They were overwhelmed at what a difference a place that’s personalised to you can make to your everyday life,” George says.
Tell us…
One of the owners’ favourite details is the beautiful pantry. What’s yours? Let us know in the Comments.
And what did the couple think of the finished house? “They were overwhelmed at what a difference a place that’s personalised to you can make to your everyday life,” George says.
Tell us…
One of the owners’ favourite details is the beautiful pantry. What’s yours? Let us know in the Comments.
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Who lives here? Martina Casonato, an interiors/food influencer, and her husband
Location Stoke Newington, north-east London
Property A Victorian mid-terrace house
Size Four bedrooms and two bathrooms
Designer George Bradley of Bradley Van Der Straeten
Project year 2022
Photos by French + Tye
The owners wanted to create more space on the ground floor, but without losing their Victorian home’s character. Together with George, their solution was to build a stepped extension. With this, a sense of the original floor plan remains, but now with added space and light.
The new side return is wider and has become a second terrace, while the wider section of the rear extension (closest to the original house) allows room for a chef-friendly kitchen with a walk-in pantry, and the longer, narrower section houses a dining area.