This terraced house in Clapham, London Borough of Lambeth, has been fully refurbished with a large basement extension to create the perfect family home. 

Our client approached us while exploring whether to move or extend their family home in Clapham. Their property had an existing rear extension that didn’t make the most of the floor plan; the kitchen dining room took up the whole of the ground floor, and the master bedroom expanded over the entirety of the first floor over differing levels. The loft needed better use and generally, they needed more space for a growing family.

Ultimately, our client decided to improve their home rather than move. Their brief was to extend the property to create a larger home, adding a fifth bedroom, a study, a separate nanny suite, a gym, a utility room and a kids’ space. There was a cellar which needed enlarging, and, as always, storage was high up on the list of requirements. 

Our client appointed us for the full architectural and interior design service. As always, the starting point was to refine the brief to clarify what was required. This process enabled us to design a scheme that met all of their requirements, including adding a 120sqm basement extension to accommodate the majority of the additional requirements, including the gym, utility room, nanny suite, an extra WC and a large playroom that opens at half level to the garden – this brings in lots of light and adds a connection to the garden.

We rationalised the floor plans and floor levels at the ground, first and second floors to better use the house, including a large open-plan kitchen to the rear with a staircase linking it to the basement playroom below and a more formal living room to the front. We also reduced the size of the large first-floor master bedroom to create a more efficient but luxurious suite, including a bedroom, bathroom and dressing area. This change allowed us to create space for a new guest bedroom with an ensuite and a study. We raised the floor levels of the existing bathroom on the first floor and the bedroom on the second floor to achieve this layout; these complex changes were explored in 3D with our clients to help them visualise the positive impact of the scheme.

To get through planning, we utilised multiple planning applications to make the most of the house using full planning and permitted development routes. The basement works required working closely with the council, structural engineers and ground survey teams to demonstrate the design would not result in flood issues.

We were asked to tender the works and helped our clients find a suitable contractor – they ultimately appointed Strong Base Construction to deliver both the structural work and internal fit-out. Our interior team designed a lot of custom joinery that the Strong Base team could produce with their in-house joinery workshops, which included the kitchen.

The whole team enjoyed working with these discerning clients, who took on our advice and enabled the project to be realised to a high standard, even with most of the work carried out through lockdown.

You can read a short testimonial from our clients on this project here.