Anna and John's Story
"YellowDoor were the key to unlocking the potential in our house and transforming it into a stunning yet practical home for our family.
We had a tough brief to create a light, contemporary space in our poky, disjointed mid-terrace Victorian house - without losing some of the fantastic period features. We were demanding clients and had already parted ways with another leading residential architectural practice before finding YellowDoor.
From the very first meeting we were impressed by Helen’s cool, calm yet creative approach to architectural design and Joe’s deep, practical knowledge of the technical constraints - and possibilities – that there may be in our project. Over the course of a tricky design and build lasting 18 months those first impressions proved accurate.
Their vision and design for our side return extension is full of features which draw out the relationship between the old and new parts of the house in subtle and interesting ways. We particularly love the use of the London-stock bricks on the bulkhead above the kitchen island and the contemporary take on the traditional glass “fanlight” above the doorway between the lounge and side return. So far, everybody who has walked through that doorway for the first time has had a “wow” reaction.
YellowDoor are also superb on technical and project management issues. When, in the middle of the construction phase, we ran into challenges with the site and contractors, Joe’s skills and expertise were invaluable. His attention to detail, can-do approach to problem solving and dedication to getting things right for us as clients was first class. There were a number of points during the build where we nearly lost hope that we would ever achieve our vision but Joe did not and he was vital to keeping the project (and us) on track.
Renovation projects like ours are a big financial investment and can be an intense, demanding experience full of twists and turns. It’s vital to choose the right architects to guide you through the journey. The best decision we made about our build was to work with YellowDoor and we’d highly recommend them to others embarking on their own projects."
Photographs by Adelina Iliev
Refurbishment of a Victorian terrace in Newington Green, London
We reconfigured the existing disjointed, rear kitchen/dining extension into an open plan, bright kitchen/dining space which is now the heart of the home.
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Project brief
Location:
Newington Green - London
Structural Engineers:
Quorum Consulting Engineers
To convert the kitchen dining room in the rear outrigger and lean-to extension into an open plan full width kitchen dining room that visually connects to the rest of the house. The top floor loft conversion was converted from two children’s bedrooms to exclusive use of the eldest child in the form of a single bedroom and ensuite shower room.
Design
On the lower ground floor, we designed full height and width windows and doors in the rear extension that provide the feel of being outside whilst still protected from the elements. The bespoke rooflight to the side extension provides unobstructed views when approaching the extension from ground floor in the Victorian main house allowing ample light to penetrate into the sitting room whilst simultaneously flooding the new modern Scandinavian kitchen dining room in the extension. We also incorporated a WC into the design of the lower ground floor whilst rationalising the connection of the stairway access to the basement.
On the other upper three floors we designed and coordinated the complete renovation of the family bathroom, conversion of spare bedroom and WC to a new office and redesign of the existing loft conversion into a new bedroom and ensuite with bespoke joinery.