Gwen Williams’ and Patricia Lynch’s Victorian terrace fuses the latest sustainable techniques and materials with inspiration from some iconic 20th century artists.
TEXT ALEXANDRA PRATT IMAGES FRENCH & TYE
To a passer-by, this three bedroom, terraced Victorian home appears no different to the others on its London street. Once inside, the transformation from a traditional home to an art-inspired space defined by simple forms, strong colours and geometric patterns becomes apparent. Yet this is not a gallery, but a much-loved home and a deserving winner at the British Homes Awards 2023.
“When I bought my house in 1999, I was delighted to find original features, such as cornicing and fireplaces,” recalls Patricia Lynch, a former furniture restorer. “I loved it from the beginning, but I didn’t have enough money to do more than decorate and do some DIY, which included installing a new kitchen myself.”
Patricia and her partner Gwen Williams, a former family law solicitor, are now both retired and this became a catalyst for asking themselves “What do we need?” Thinking about the future, they considered moving to a different part of the city, or even self-building, but realised that they already lived in the perfect location; close to transport, services and open spaces, ideal for walking their dog.
“Once you retire, you can have a great time doing all the things you don’t have time for when you work!” laughs Gwen. Their conclusion was to stay and “do up” the house to their taste, as well as futureproofing it in terms of energy efficiency. Some of the things Patricia and Gwen wanted to change included the lack of a guest bathroom, limited storage and a problematic ‘middle room’ between the front sitting room and the kitchen to the rear. One particular bugbear was the solid kitchen wall that blocked views of the garden. “Once we decided to stay, we thought ‘let’s make it as beautiful and as functional as possible,” says Patricia.
The couple began to look for an architecture practice to help them realise their ideas and, just before the first lockdown in 2020, they found Bradley van der Straaten. “We were looking for somebody to work with who was exciting and was able to create something special out of something ordinary. We had a fantastic experience,” says Patricia. “Ewald really ‘got’ us!”
“Ewald had lots of ideas and energy,” recalls Gwen. “The practice also had lots of experience transforming Victorian terraces and they aren’t too big a firm.” The aim to create a low-energy, visually appealing home essentially broke down the project into two parts: a loft extension and a ‘deep retrofit’ of the existing building, plus an art-inspired interior fit-out and decoration.
The sustainable approach included the reduction of waste by keeping the overall footprint of the existing house. Yet the project opened up the home, drew in light and increased the overall feel of spaciousness. Gwen and Patricia kept all the external walls, including the wall of the previous extension across the side return (completed in 2008), and added extra insulation. Some things were also reused, including rooflights now relocated to the new loft extension and the original bath, now in the guest bathroom on the top floor. “I love the loft bathroom; it doesn’t get enough attention!” says Patricia. “I love the square tiles, there’s so much light, too.”
Taking a fabric first approach to the renovation, the couple’s architect Ewald van der Straaten focused on making this double-brick-built home thermally efficient, without suffocating the structure and creating condensation. The solution was new breathable cork insulation on internal walls, finished with lime render. These products have lower embodied carbon (i.e. the carbon produced in their manufacture) than conventional foam-based insulation and they allow the old building to ‘breathe’. The lime was then finished in natural, water and clay-based paints to minimise toxicity and improve internal air quality.
The downside of this approach was a tiny reduction in the size of the rooms, but creating a more airtight building meant Patricia and Gwen could install an air source heat pump. “This extended the project by three months and took a huge amount of work, installing underfloor heating on the ground floor and in the new loft conversion, as well as new radiators on the middle floor,” says Patricia. “But we’re saving a huge amount of money. In the summer, we hardly spend anything. We were cold that first winter, as we hadn’t switched it on properly. Now, when you walk through the door, the house is warm.”
The costs of running the air source heat pump are also offset by the electricity generated by a new photovoltaic solar array on the roof, which allows Patricia and Gwen to sell some back to the grid. Including the newly replaced windows, Ewald has calculated that the structural changes have led to a 74% improvement in kWh consumed per sqm. Thanks to the decision to remove the gas boiler, the house also has zero in-use carbon emissions.
Insulation and technology were only part of the work done to this property, which was extended from a three bedroom, 111m2 property to four bedrooms at 138m2. This is thanks to the loft conversion, which was passed under permitted development rules. The extension is timber-framed and clad in glass-reinforced concrete panels (GRC).
A slightly unusual choice, this product uses glass reinforcement, is rated A1 for fire retardancy and offers both durability and strength. The textured panels have the appearance of wood with the strength of concrete, although they can be fragile and difficult to transport. The extension also makes the most of both the light and views across London with ultra-slim aluminium framed architectural rooflights from Maxlight.
Above the new stair access to the loft, there is also a visually striking and very clever ‘funnel’, which drops light from a carefully positioned rooflight down into the stairwell below at an angle designed to maximise the impact. This is further enhanced by the bright Delilah Pink paint colour used on the walls; a choice inspired by the work of Mexican artist Louis Barragan.
Colour choices have a real impact in this home, from the bespoke blue concrete on the new exterior overlooking the garden to the pale green sitting room or the pink and terrazzo kitchen. Gwen, who has lived in West Africa, owns a small collection of art from the continent. The use of colour in the work of African artist Ato Delaquis in particular has influenced some of her and Patricia’s decor choices.
Yet colour wasn’t something originally at the top of Patricia and Gwen’s list of must-haves.
“We let our architects have free rein, but there was a lot of discussion about colours,” recalls Patricia. “They were the architects and we trusted them. We were paying for their expertise. We wouldn’t have come up with anything as exciting.”
“Edi at Optimal Builders gave us the confidence to embrace the colours,” adds Gwen. “He said, ‘They’re the easiest thing to change,’ and we’ve been really happy.”
While colour was a new departure for Gwen and Patricia, the inspiration behind the interior design came entirely from them. Their brief to Bradley van der Straaten referenced architecture, furniture design and art, such as the Brutalist architecture of the Barbican, the iconic lobby of the Chrysler Building, the classic Eames chair, and the photography of Andreas Gursky. However, perhaps the most influential artist was Donald Judd, whose mid-century work was the catalyst for the unique curved ceiling fins in Gwen and Patricia’s kitchen. Cut from inexpensive MDF, they are positioned below the glazing over the former side return. Not only is the design appealing, but the fins create patterns of light and shadow in the space as the sun moves across the sky.
Playful patterns are found throughout the house adding depth and geometric interest. Nowhere shows this off better than the new kitchen and dining area (now opened into the previously unloved ‘middle room’). The kitchen island and the wall in the entrance hall are finished in tiles that are concave in shape, creating the look of Roman fluted columns. The splashback tiles are reversed; convex tiles add a finer and softer texture to the space. Fluting is also repeated in the blue concrete wall on the exterior, where it softens the impact of the material.
With an unusual bronze worktop, the island is the stand-out feature in the kitchen, which was built bespoke for the couple. The countertops elsewhere in the kitchen are terrazzo, which “is very beautiful and doesn’t show marks,” says Gwen. It was a fortunate choice, as both Gwen and Patricia found it difficult to choose materials during the frequent lockdowns and were frustrated they couldn’t touch tactile elements before selection.
The kitchen, which had to be adjusted to accommodate the water tank for the air source heat pump, is now genuinely the heart of the home, with birch ply wall covering and a beautiful window that frames views of their favourite tree, an acer. There is also a handy window seat built-in below from which to enjoy the precious new perspective on their garden. “We didn’t want patio doors,” says Patricia, “but that acer is beautiful all year round.”
Gwen and Patricia were particularly impressed with their architect’s attention to detail in the design, such as shadow gaps at the entrance to the loft bathroom, the kitchen island and the ceramic wall that wraps around from the entrance hall into the sitting room. “There are a lot of special details that not everyone will notice, but we love,” says Patricia. “We were willing to spend the money and be brave.”
There’s just one job left for Gwen and Patricia to tackle, and that is the window in the front sitting room. “We didn’t replace the original sash in the bay window,” says Patricia. “But we are planning on having it done this year. The front room is the coldest in the house; we really notice the difference.”
Now their project is (almost) complete, Gwen and Patricia have the opportunity to reflect on a project that didn’t just secure the building for another 200 years, but finally turned it into a space that genuinely reflects their tastes and their lives. “We have our storage, the middle room is integrated and it is easy to keep looking nice. It’s a very beautiful place to live,” says Patricia. “When people visit for the first time, they take a step back,” laughs Gwen. “From the outside, it looks like a standard Victorian terrace, but inside it’s like the Tardis. It brings me joy and we love living here.”