Cale Street

Our clients approached us in 2003 with a brief to remodel and extend their 1840s town house in Chelsea. At the time, the house was in a very dilapidated condition and was the last remnant of a terrace which has been during the war.

Only the external walls now remain of the original house, and several new windows, with matching plaster mouldings, have been inserted into the side elevation, making the most of the corner location. The house has been completely rebuilt internally.

A new basement has been excavated beneath the entire footprint of the house, lit via a new structural glass skylight behind iron railings. This space houses the kitchen, dining area and ancillary accommodation, and frees-up the ground floor for an enlarged living room.

We worked closely with Mowlem & Co on the layout of the kitchen units and appliances, which feature a palette of white lacquer and wenge doors, reconstituted stone counters, and a mirrored extractor hood. Travertine floor slabs have been laid on piped underfloor heating.

The living room benefits from two new windows on the side elevation which are mirrored by two recesses on the opposite wall. The original window remains at the far end.

Oak architraves and reveals emphasise the symmetry that has been created and introduces a feeling of verticality in what is a relatively low space. The illusion of space and light is thereby increased.

A new oak staircase with a structural glass handrail runs up and down to all floors, and has been designed to allow as much daylight as possible to reach the rear of the house.

The family bathroom is located at first floor level and includes a freestanding bath located in front of an oak-lined recess.

The master bedroom is located at the top of the house. Once again, maximum use has been made of the available space by extending into the former loft area. A mezzanine dressing area has been created, reached via a cantilevered oak staircase with a structural glass balustrade.

The master shower room is lined with ceramic tiles, carefully set-out and incorporating niches in the shower area. These provide useful storage and contribute towards the mood lighting in the space.

A built-in medicine cabinet enables clutter to be kept out of the way; a feeling of spaciousness in this small room is enhanced by mounting the vanity cabinet and sanitaryware on the wall.

The culmination of the route up from the ground floor is a sunny roof terrace. This provides some good-quality amenity space, far more enjoyable than the original dank back yard which was infilled as part of the project.