James and Rachel Tilson saw an opportunity to create a 21st century home in this Victorian terrace with subsidence.
Any major build project or renovation is an act of creation that demands faith in the process and sometimes just sheer will. Yet Rachel and James Tilson not only completed this jaw-dropping remodel, but they did so with creativity and enthusiasm.
This couple are busy professionals with a young family, and they needed a new home in north London. They found a mid-terrace, four-storey Victorian property that needed more than a little TLC. Where other buyers played safe, James and Rachel saw an opportunity to redesign the building to their own needs and tastes; a home for the 21st century.
The house was in a generally poor condition. Dank and badly insulated, it suffered from a series of ill-conceived extensions that compromised the ‘flow’ and severed connection to the garden. Worse still, “it had some subsidence issues,” recalls James. “This scared off a lot of people, so it was cheaper, although we had to pay cash. We knew we were going to be doing a basement and would therefore need to completely redo the foundations. So actually, the subsidence made zero difference to us. We got a great price, so it was uniquely good.”
The couple worked with Andrew Mulroy of Mulroy Architects, a practice that excels at solving architectural puzzles. James came across them while searching for planning applications in the area. The couple’s brief to Andrew was a home filled with light, which is energy efficient and sustainable. They also wanted a flexible home for the family to grow and evolve. “The design was an organic process, and we were pretty involved. We weren’t scared,” says James. “We loved getting involved, and we had lots of enthusiasm.”
The design that emerged is fairly radical. Although in the original parts of the house, James and Rachel have chosen to respect the Victorian heritage, in the newly enlarged basement level and the rear extension on the ground floor, the style is far more contemporary. The house still has five bedrooms, but there are now additions, including a cinema and gym in the basement. While there are other changes to the layout, the most striking change is a russet-coloured steel staircase in a double-height atrium. This is a sculptural focal point at the heart of the home.
“We were thinking about a discreet staircase to maximise floorspace,” says James. “But that wouldn’t have been great to use, and we already had plenty of living space. We were working out how we wanted the building to look: utilitarian or stand out. We chose to stand out.”
Powder-coated in orange paint to appear like Corten steel (budgetary constraints ruled out using Corten itself), the staircase connects the ground floor to the basement. The couple sacrificed the former dining room to create
the void, but this was no real loss, as it had been a dark, internal room which added little usable space.
“By removing the floor, we created a bright and airy double-height space in the heart of the house,” says Tom Harris of Mulroy Architects. “The atrium helps the home feel more open and connected, celebrating the relationship between the old and new and forming a grand entrance to the basement, filled with natural light.”
From a design point of view, the creation of this new basement led to the idea of the atrium. It can be difficult to add a basement that isn’t dark and uninviting, and even harder to make the space feel like an integral part of the home. This double-height atrium solves those problems. The question of light is addressed by the clever alignment of an internal window between the atrium and the kitchen (the neighbouring room on the ground floor), with large rooflights in the rear extension.
“The alignment of the internal window with the rooflights means that natural light can filter down into the basement and, amazingly, you can stand in the basement and have a view of the sky,” says Tom.
To improve the light and ‘flow’, James and Rachel removed previous ill-thought-out extensions, which contained a poky kitchen and garden room. They replaced these rooms with a single, open-plan extension that is a kitchen, dining room and living room for the family. South-facing skylights flood the space with light, and glazed doors connect the living space to the garden.
Mulroy Architects specified a mixture of construction methods across the new levels. Where the extension sits over the basement, there is precast concrete beam and block. The remainder of the ground floor extension is a reinforced concrete slab, which offers good strength, stability and an even surface. Above this, the new walls and roof include a few steel beams to create the open spans. However, the rest of the extension is built using a 200mm deep softwood timber frame with Rockwool insulation.
“The timber frame offers more design flexibility… a high-performing thermal envelope, reduced embodied carbon and embeds our studio ethos of creating socially sustainable architecture into the very fabric of the building,” says Tom Harris.
There are other sustainable design features in the building, including a wildflower green roof on the extension, which provides lovely views from the upper floors, as well as fantastic insulation. “It was a planner-imposed
condition,” recalls James. “But we thought it was a great idea.”
Elsewhere, James and Rachel chose to insulate (internally) the outside walls of this original Victorian building. They also upgraded the roof, and installed underfloor heating. The couple also opted for an MVHR (mechanical ventilation and heat recovery) system in the basement, which ensures fresh, filtered air without heat loss. Together, these measures have significantly improved the home’s energy efficiency, raising its SAP rating from a band ‘F’ to a band ‘C’.
There is also the infrastructure for an air source heat pump, but the family has yet to move away from gas heating as, “there are restrictions on the location of the units, especially in conservation areas,” says James. “We plumbed it in in anticipation, but even with the house being well insulated, the air source heat pump may struggle.”
The basement also adds that all important flexibility. Although part of the main house, access via the new atrium creates the feeling of a separate zone that may be transformed in the future into a self-contained apartment for older children, or ageing parents. This level of forward-thinking ensures the home will remain functional as the family and their needs evolve.
In the basement, the couple embraced their passion for contemporary styling. Rather than echo the skirting boards and architraves of the Victorian house above, there are shadow gaps. In place of cornicing, there are clean lines.
Yet the house is not clinical. Materials are important and create an inviting, warm feel. The russet-coloured staircase sets the tone for both colour and texture elsewhere. Working with interior designer ALL&NTHXNG, James and Rachel embraced original, raw materials, such as the rough, exposed bricks of the fireplace. These share the same earthy tones as the staircase. Raw plaster adds texture and pinky colours, set against the cool grey minimalism in the rear extension. In the original parts of the house, the parquet flooring is golden in colour and “great from a design perspective,” says James.
In the kitchen and bathrooms, the floors are microcement, a fantastic, cost-effective option to a poured concrete floor. Microcement has a seamless finish that is water-resistant and easy to clean. It also works over underfloor heating and creates the stylish, high-end look James and Rachel wanted.
The kitchen itself was designed by ALL&NTHXNG and built by Sola Kitchens. The clean lines of the contemporary styling suit the Tilsons’ desire to have a practical and modern workspace. This open-plan space, designed by Mulroy Architects also has a modern oriel window, projecting into the garden. Sliding doors from the same company, Eurowindows (UK), connect the inside and outside, making the terrace an integral part of the living area for much of the year.
“The garden is a great, south-facing space,” says James. “Our old house had a north-facing garden, which was unusable. This one fits family life very well.”
The garden by Emily Allen connects cleverly to the architecture and interiors through the construction of a garden pergola. This – and the exterior wall of the extension – is finished in Corten-effect powder coating in ‘Sahara’ by Powdertech, echoing the finish on the staircase.
“The house and garden create a natural flow from inside to outside in a way that makes them feel inseparable,” says Tom Harris. “I’m most proud of the harmony in this home. Throughout, the original charm and character of the Victorian house is complemented by the clean, contemporary additions.”
There were a few challenges for the Tilsons, who enjoyed both the process and the results of the build. They were renting a property nearby during the project, so they were able to stay engaged, but the project did run over the expected time due to unforeseen problems with the existing foundations and party wall brickwork, which was frustrating and incurred additional rent payments.
“The last few months we were pretty anxious to get in there,” says James.
Now the family are enjoying their new life in the home, has it lived up to their expectations? The answer is a resounding ‘yes’.
“It’s great from a utility perspective,” says James. “It’s also provided great health benefits, both for the kids and us. Even the cinema and having the guest bedroom suite for the grandparents to help with the kids.”
Andrew Mulroy has relished the challenges presented by remodelling this derelict property. “At its core, this home meets the needs of the present, while planning for the future. Our design ensures it remains adaptable, comfortable and sustainable for years to come. By solving the puzzle of this Victorian home’s limitations, we’ve delivered a bespoke space that is not only functional but inspiring.”
The Tilson family’s home is a testament to how intelligent design can breathe new life into period properties, and this one is as dynamic and forward-thinking as the family that owns it.
“What was once a damp, cold and disjointed house is now a warm and highly functional home,” says James. “The basement, once an underused space, now benefits from plenty of light, making it an integral part of our
daily lives.”
Text: Alexandra Pratt | Images: Dan Glasser