Huxley Road, London, E10

A full refurbishment on a limited budget of a two bedroom maisonette in Leyton, London, emphasising the unusual characteristics of this Victorian terraced house type.

At ground level, two front doors provide access to separate flats — one at ground floor and one at first floor. This project concerned the upper maisonette, and the design sought to emphasise the inherent verticality created by the two staircases: one rising from the street into the flat, and the other descending from the kitchen to the private garden.

In the case of the garden stair, the enclosing walls were removed, bringing the staircase into the newly opened kitchen and dining space and strengthening the relationship between the interior and the garden below.

No additional structural alterations were undertaken. Instead, we used carefully designed internal joinery to bring coherence to the whole. Built-in storage is used to thicken walls and define rooms, while internal doors are removed where possible to create a more open fluid arrangement.

Some photographs courtesy of The Modern House.