Houzz Tour: Multifunctional Rooms in a Stylish Victorian House
This design is a masterclass in bringing both flexibility and light into a period home while retaining its character
Sarah Alcroft
19 February 2022
Houzz UK Editorial Team
The owners of this Victorian house wanted it to feel lighter and more open, but without losing the charm of its individual spaces, so the challenge for architect Kieran Hawkins of Cairn was to combine the two. “It was trying to resolve the fact that we love open-plan, light spaces, but also like being able to go into our own room and do our own thing; and having places with different character, so it doesn’t all feel the same,” he says.
Read on to find out how Kieran managed to tuck in a large office for both parents, two more bedroom spaces, a snug for the children, and a gorgeous bathroom/dressing room without compromising the character and layout of this period home.
Read on to find out how Kieran managed to tuck in a large office for both parents, two more bedroom spaces, a snug for the children, and a gorgeous bathroom/dressing room without compromising the character and layout of this period home.
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here? A fine art photographer, a creative director who makes electronic music in the evenings, and their two young children
Property A Victorian terraced house
Location Victoria Park conservation area, Hackney, London
Size Three bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus two flexible sleeping spaces
Architect Kieran Hawkins of Cairn
Photos by Peter Landers
In common with many terraced properties from this era, the house is on three levels, but with half floors between each, so Kieran was working with a complicated layout.
On the ground floor is a kitchen and living room. On the half landing between the ground and first floors is the family bathroom and a child’s bedroom. The first floor houses the couple’s bedroom (which can be seen here through the open door) and an en suite/dressing room. On the next landing is the new snug and a child’s room, from where stairs lead to the new loft room (behind the window, top right).
As well as creating the new spaces, Kieran was asked to refurbish the family bathroom and smarten the existing bedrooms and living room. “The owners wanted something thought through and unique to them,” he says.
Who lives here? A fine art photographer, a creative director who makes electronic music in the evenings, and their two young children
Property A Victorian terraced house
Location Victoria Park conservation area, Hackney, London
Size Three bedrooms and two bathrooms, plus two flexible sleeping spaces
Architect Kieran Hawkins of Cairn
Photos by Peter Landers
In common with many terraced properties from this era, the house is on three levels, but with half floors between each, so Kieran was working with a complicated layout.
On the ground floor is a kitchen and living room. On the half landing between the ground and first floors is the family bathroom and a child’s bedroom. The first floor houses the couple’s bedroom (which can be seen here through the open door) and an en suite/dressing room. On the next landing is the new snug and a child’s room, from where stairs lead to the new loft room (behind the window, top right).
As well as creating the new spaces, Kieran was asked to refurbish the family bathroom and smarten the existing bedrooms and living room. “The owners wanted something thought through and unique to them,” he says.
To add a home office and a guest bedroom, Kieran extended into the roof to create this multifunctional space.
On the dormer side is a large desk with wide drawers. “The idea of the built-in desk was that it can be used by either of the couple to do music or plan shoots and so on,” Kieran says.
The flooring in here is oak parquet, which echoes the oak boards in the house below.
On the dormer side is a large desk with wide drawers. “The idea of the built-in desk was that it can be used by either of the couple to do music or plan shoots and so on,” Kieran says.
The flooring in here is oak parquet, which echoes the oak boards in the house below.
Kieran left the old chimneys, simply painting the bricks white, to retain some of the feeling of the old loft, but lined most of the room in birch-veneered, fire-resistant panelling. “It has a warmth to it and an echo of the panelling in the room below, but in a more contemporary way,” he says.
He also painted the timber beams. “There would have been too many different woods going on otherwise,” he says.
This side of the room hides a secret…
He also painted the timber beams. “There would have been too many different woods going on otherwise,” he says.
This side of the room hides a secret…
Tucked into the eaves is a bed that can be rolled out for guests when necessary. “We rearranged the front structure to create a space big enough for the bed, as there were roof trusses in the way,” Kieran says.
The bed is on a frame with thick, rubber-tyred castors, so they don’t mark the floor. “It’s quite low tech,” Kieran says. “The door is heavy, though, so it has a pneumatic arm to help lift it.”
The wall between this room and the staircase is glazed in two sections, one looking inside and the other out. “It’s quite nice that the existing roof is cutting down diagonally, so you can read the thickness of it,” Kieran says. The bottom section is just one of the internal windows that allows light to flood through the centre of the house.
The wall to the right of the doorway contains storage drawers. The heater in the floor can gently generate heat or blow it upwards.
You might also enjoy How to Pack More Into Your Loft Conversion.
The wall to the right of the doorway contains storage drawers. The heater in the floor can gently generate heat or blow it upwards.
You might also enjoy How to Pack More Into Your Loft Conversion.
A cloakroom is useful both for overnight guests and anyone working up here. It has an internal window to the left of the basin (not seen) to allow light from the roof window into the stairwell.
Tiles, vintage.
Tiles, vintage.
The two rooms on the right – the flexible snug and a child’s bedroom at the back of the house – are on the half landing between the first floor and the loft; the front two rooms on the left – the couple’s bedroom and en suite/dressing room – are on the first floor.
Make the challenge of finding the right people for your project easier by searching the Houzz Professionals Directory.
Make the challenge of finding the right people for your project easier by searching the Houzz Professionals Directory.
While the couple wanted the loft to feel contemporary, they were keen that everywhere else felt like a Victorian house, so the palette and all the fixtures and fittings are sympathetic. “They bought the house when it was a bit of a wreck and they wanted to keep that character of it being slightly rough around the edges,” Kieran says.
This panelling (on the next floor down from the loft) could be an original wall, but in fact it hides a surprise…
This panelling (on the next floor down from the loft) could be an original wall, but in fact it hides a surprise…
Two wide sections can be swung back to reveal a snug. “This used to be a very poky room that no one ever really used,” Kieran says.
Now, when the doors are open, the room and corridor feel like one space. “This brings broken-plan flexibility into a Victorian house,” he says.
Now, when the doors are open, the room and corridor feel like one space. “This brings broken-plan flexibility into a Victorian house,” he says.
Kieran took out the low ceiling and put in a huge roof window, which makes it feel more airy and pulls yet more light into the centre of the house.
“The intention is that the wall will be open for the majority of the time and it will be a space where the kids can go and watch TV – or when they’re teenagers they can use it as a bolthole – but it’s still connected to the rest of the house,” he says. “The reason the walls shut is the couple could put down a guest bed in here.”
“The intention is that the wall will be open for the majority of the time and it will be a space where the kids can go and watch TV – or when they’re teenagers they can use it as a bolthole – but it’s still connected to the rest of the house,” he says. “The reason the walls shut is the couple could put down a guest bed in here.”
“The hidden bit – the hardest bit to solve – was making it all fireproof,” Kieran says. “The panels are made of standard fire doors clad in fire-rated wood.
“It has a magic box feel,” he adds. “You go in and you’re stopped in your tracks a little bit. A lot of thought went into it – even the proportions and placement of the wall panelling; there was a lot of back and forth to get that just right.”
Panelling painted in Sulking Room Pink, Farrow & Ball.
“It has a magic box feel,” he adds. “You go in and you’re stopped in your tracks a little bit. A lot of thought went into it – even the proportions and placement of the wall panelling; there was a lot of back and forth to get that just right.”
Panelling painted in Sulking Room Pink, Farrow & Ball.
To keep the panelling looking smart, everything is integrated. “The TV is hidden away and there’s storage within, so all that ‘stuff’ is very managed,” Kieran says.
Behind the snug at the back of the house is a child’s bedroom.
This and the first photo of the stairwell show just how much light Kieran has managed to pull into the space.
The couple’s bedroom is on the first floor at the front of the house.
The team mostly just decorated in here, but the flooring was restored.
“We took up the original floorboards throughout the house, sanded them, laid plywood, then put the boards back on top, which was time-consuming, but it means you get rid of all the squeaks and draughts while keeping the character of the original floor,” Kieran explains.
The door into the en suite/dressing room goes all the way up to the cornice and is a jib door, so when it’s closed, it’s hidden apart from the handle. “We were trying to indicate it’s not just an en suite to go to the loo in the night; it’s meant to be a special room, so it has a special door,” Kieran says.
“We took up the original floorboards throughout the house, sanded them, laid plywood, then put the boards back on top, which was time-consuming, but it means you get rid of all the squeaks and draughts while keeping the character of the original floor,” Kieran explains.
The door into the en suite/dressing room goes all the way up to the cornice and is a jib door, so when it’s closed, it’s hidden apart from the handle. “We were trying to indicate it’s not just an en suite to go to the loo in the night; it’s meant to be a special room, so it has a special door,” Kieran says.
The door leads into a ‘powder room’ that was originally a bedroom. “It’s a calm, grown-up retreat that’s part bathroom, part dressing room,” Kieran says.
Bespoke built-in wardrobes hold the couple’s clothes and shoes.
The colours in here are rich and cocooning. “The tiles have an amazing glimmer to them,” Kieran says.
Triangular tiles in Colour 1014, Zellige. Walls and woodwork painted in Jewel Beetle, Little Greene. Humber cast-iron bath with Raw Iron exterior, Drummonds. Armchair, vintage.
Triangular tiles in Colour 1014, Zellige. Walls and woodwork painted in Jewel Beetle, Little Greene. Humber cast-iron bath with Raw Iron exterior, Drummonds. Armchair, vintage.
The green of the walls is extended onto the fireplace, window frame and cornice for a saturated feel. “We wanted to be quite bold with the colours wherever we could,” Kieran says. “The effect we were going for was a room that took you outside of the craziness of everyday life into an escape. Having white cornices and window frames would have diluted that.”
Cabinet, vintage.
Cabinet, vintage.
The fireplace was already there; the team simply cleaned it up and gave it a new hearth.
The living room is on the ground floor at the front of the house. The team replaced doors and electrics, but the couple were essentially happy with how it looked.
The lights throughout the house are vintage. “I’ve never done a project before where every single light fitting was reclaimed,” Kieran says. “I wouldn’t be able to recreate this design, as every light was found from an auction site, vintage furniture site or eBay, then rewired to make it safe. The same with a lot of the door furniture.”
As well as making the home look unique, it’s less wasteful. “Where we can reuse things, it’s always nice to do so,” he says. “The owners didn’t want to feel they were living in a house that was shiny and new and it’s things like the lights, fixtures and fittings that make the difference; this feels like a comfortable house someone has lived in for years.”
The lights throughout the house are vintage. “I’ve never done a project before where every single light fitting was reclaimed,” Kieran says. “I wouldn’t be able to recreate this design, as every light was found from an auction site, vintage furniture site or eBay, then rewired to make it safe. The same with a lot of the door furniture.”
As well as making the home look unique, it’s less wasteful. “Where we can reuse things, it’s always nice to do so,” he says. “The owners didn’t want to feel they were living in a house that was shiny and new and it’s things like the lights, fixtures and fittings that make the difference; this feels like a comfortable house someone has lived in for years.”
Between the ground and first floors is the family bathroom for the kids and guests. “The owners wanted this room to have a fun feel, a bit of zing and energy,” Kieran says.
Advantage bath, Kaldewei. Carlton basin; Burley toilet, both Aston Matthews. Belgravia shower, Crosswater.
Advantage bath, Kaldewei. Carlton basin; Burley toilet, both Aston Matthews. Belgravia shower, Crosswater.
The bath is built into the alcove. “It’s meant to have a cosy feel,” Kieran says. “It’s a kids’ bath for having fun.”
He hasn’t wasted the opportunity to pour yet more light into the centre of the home: the slim window on the left channels light into the stairwell.
Drop Décor tiles from the Geometrica range, Domus.
He hasn’t wasted the opportunity to pour yet more light into the centre of the home: the slim window on the left channels light into the stairwell.
Drop Décor tiles from the Geometrica range, Domus.
The orange tiling is the star of the show. “The tiles are beautiful – they have a lovely character to them,” Kieran says.
Tiles in Orange Caviar, New Terracotta at Domus.
Tiles in Orange Caviar, New Terracotta at Domus.
The kitchen stretches across the back of the house and into the side-return extension, all done in an earlier renovation.
The owners are delighted with the results. “They wanted a house full of character, where you found nooks and crannies and little objects on shelves,” Kieran says. It’s safe to say their dream came true.
Tell us…
What do you like about this unique home. Share your thoughts in the Comments.
Tell us…
What do you like about this unique home. Share your thoughts in the Comments.
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The flooring throughout the original house - what was it varnished with?
Green & orange tiling is superb! Two of my favourite colours combined. Gorgeous.
I’ll buy it! What a gorgeous homely home!