Jimi House | Paul Archer Design

The project is the refurbishment of a Victorian terraced house in London’s East end for a gallery director and art collector and her family. The 3-bedroom house is located in close proximity to Victoria Park on a residential road adjacent to the Regent’s Canal. The refurbishment opens up the property, bringing in daylight and providing clear sight lines for the display of the couple’s art collection as well as opening up the house to the garden. The renovation takes advantage of the generous spaces stripping back unnecessary detailing to create spacious rooms for a growing family and expanding art collection. A conservatory building to the rear of the property has been removed and additional space has been created in a side return extension with glazed roof. The added space neatly accommodates a modern light filled galley kitchen with openings into a new spacious dining area. The expanded kitchen diner benefits from full height glazed sliding doors on to the garden, providing a seemless transition from satin sheen polished concrete floor to garden decking. The white Carrara marble worktop continues outside beyond the glazing, providing an al fresco worktop for summer dining. The rear façade has been carefully remodelled with Funton Old Chelsea Yellow brick to complement the rear elevation of the existing terrace. The brickwork is punctuated with an expansive circular window on the upper ground floor in a move which emulates the classic sculptural lines and pure abstract forms of renowned British artists Barbara Hepworth and Ben Nicholson. The window is a central feature of the master bathroom, providing expansive views of the lushly planted garden from reclining level in the elegant free-standing claw foot bath. The clean lines of the basement level continue throughout the property. All faux stuccoed period features have been stripped out, creating a minimalist backdrop for the display of midcentury furniture classics and a collection of contemporary art, including a Richard Tuttle wall sculpture and photographs by Collier Schorr and Ann Hardy, among others. The theme of St Ives continues inside in the detailing of the stair balustrade which has a minimal white handrail redolent of ocean liners. On the upper ground level a full height glazed pivot door and glass balustrade makes a visual connection to the new extension and opens up views to the garden from the lounge. Vitsoe shelving displays an extensive collection of books. Floorboards are painted Dulux Heritage "Pale Walnut" to lighten up the rooms and complement the crisp white walls whilst retaining the texture of the floorboards. The project has been shortlisted for a Don’t Move, Improve Award 2013 organised by New London Architecture.