Stoke Newington House
A comprehensive refurbishment and reconfiguration of a mid-terrace Victorian house in Stoke Newington, North London, including rear and loft extensions. The brief was to transform a constrained and fragmented layout into a calm, light-filled family home, while retaining the character and proportions of the original building.
Prior to intervention, the house followed an inverted arrangement, with principal living spaces located on the upper floors in response to limited daylight downstairs. The rear of the ground floor — typically the most valuable and connected part of a terrace — was compromised by restricted head height and poor circulation, resulting in underused and secondary spaces. Reclaiming this relationship between house and garden, and restoring a clear spatial hierarchy, became central to the design.
The proposal re-establishes a more traditional organisation, with generous shared living spaces at ground level and private rooms above. A new double-height rear extension, enabled by an existing enlargement on site, forms the architectural anchor of the project. The extension introduces improved head height, light and spatial generosity, accommodating an open-plan kitchen and dining space that opens fully to the garden through slim retractable glazing. When open, the threshold dissolves, allowing the external material language to continue inside and creating a clear architectural dialogue between house and garden.
A restrained palette of materials — clay render, timber, concrete, exposed joists and plaster — is used throughout to give the new work a grounded, durable presence, while remaining quiet alongside the Victorian fabric. Structural interventions respond to inherited structural constraints which were resolved by incorporating them into the architectural fabric and showcasing the structure out of necessity rather than an arbitrary choice, allowing the architecture to feel resolved rather than overtly expressive.
The upper floors have been reconfigured to provide four bedrooms and a dedicated home office, with daylight introduced through a combination of rooflights, carefully positioned openings and a new mansard loft extension. Circulation spaces are treated with the same care as primary rooms, using light and proportion to create moments of pause and generosity throughout the house.
The result is a complete reinvention of the Victorian terrace: a home that feels calm, cohesive and robust, shaped by light, material and clarity of plan rather than excess.
Date appointed — February 2023
Date commenced on site — March 2024
Practical completion date — June 2025
Credits
Architecture — Name Architects
Structural Design — Geared Consulting Partnerships
Joinery — E Squared
Glazing — Fluid Glass
Finishes — Clayworks, Claybrook, Hittoak, ABI Interiors
Photography — Building Narratives
Styling — Nina Lilli Holden
Stoke Newington House
A comprehensive refurbishment and reconfiguration of a mid-terrace Victorian house in Stoke Newington, North London, including rear and loft extensions. The brief was to transform a constrained and fragmented layout into a calm, light-filled family home, while retaining the character and proportions of the original building.
Prior to intervention, the house followed an inverted arrangement, with principal living spaces located on the upper floors in response to limited daylight downstairs. The rear of the ground floor — typically the most valuable and connected part of a terrace — was compromised by restricted head height and poor circulation, resulting in underused and secondary spaces. Reclaiming this relationship between house and garden, and restoring a clear spatial hierarchy, became central to the design.
The proposal re-establishes a more traditional organisation, with generous shared living spaces at ground level and private rooms above. A new double-height rear extension, enabled by an existing enlargement on site, forms the architectural anchor of the project. The extension introduces improved head height, light and spatial generosity, accommodating an open-plan kitchen and dining space that opens fully to the garden through slim retractable glazing. When open, the threshold dissolves, allowing the external material language to continue inside and creating a clear architectural dialogue between house and garden.
A restrained palette of materials — clay render, timber, concrete, exposed joists and plaster — is used throughout to give the new work a grounded, durable presence, while remaining quiet alongside the Victorian fabric. Structural interventions respond to inherited structural constraints which were resolved by incorporating them into the architectural fabric and showcasing the structure out of necessity rather than an arbitrary choice, allowing the architecture to feel resolved rather than overtly expressive.
The upper floors have been reconfigured to provide four bedrooms and a dedicated home office, with daylight introduced through a combination of rooflights, carefully positioned openings and a new mansard loft extension. Circulation spaces are treated with the same care as primary rooms, using light and proportion to create moments of pause and generosity throughout the house.
The result is a complete reinvention of the Victorian terrace: a home that feels calm, cohesive and robust, shaped by light, material and clarity of plan rather than excess.
Date appointed — February 2023
Date commenced on site — March 2024
Practical completion date — June 2025
Credits
Architecture — Name Architects
Structural Design — Geared Consulting Partnerships
Joinery — E Squared
Glazing — Fluid Glass
Finishes — Clayworks, Claybrook, Hittoak, ABI Interiors
Photography — Building Narratives
Styling — Nina Lilli Holden