Belsize Park House

We converted a large detached Victorian house in Belsize Park from top to bottom, to suit the needs of a growing family. The ground and upper floors were carefully remodelled to provide bedroom, bathroom, study and living spaces.

The basement had been a warren of small rooms and needed new foundations and complex structural work to open it up and support the house above on just two steel columns. The basement floor extends out into the garden to create flowing kitchen, dining and family spaces. A new curved stair down to the basement, replacing a dark, narrow back staircase, seamlessly connects the two living floors.

We collaborated with Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek on the design of the kitchen and basement areas. The kitchen and dining table feature his trademark use of beautifully crafted found materials, and the underfloor-heated tiles are recycled from a demolished factory in Eindhoven. Floor to ceiling sliding glass walls create a seamless transition between inside and outside.

The steeply sloping garden was excavated and terraced to create a level paved patio next to the house and a raised sun deck further up the slope.