On a leafy street in Clapham’s Old Town, just steps away from the vast open greenness of the common, is a Victorian villa – one of the only detached homes in the neighbourhood. It belongs to Giorgio, a luxury fashion executive, and Adina, a psychotherapist, and their two children. Before they even bought the house, they approached architectural firm DKN|JAMM to advise on how it could be adapted.
‘The house had good bones and some original features, but the existing rear and side extensions that had been bolted on were very disjointed and done without much consideration,’ says co-founder Jenn Jammaers.
Jenn and her team decided to start from scratch, completely demolishing the extensions and reconfiguring the downstairs footprint, opening up the rear of the ground floor to create the open-plan family living space that Adina and Giorgio craved. The new metal and glass extension sits comfortably with the older part of the building, subtly echoing the existing architecture through its materiality rather than attempting to mimic it overtly.
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‘The metal is a nod to the beautiful cast-iron balustrade at the rear of the property, which we mirrored on the Juliette balcony off the main ensuite.’ explains Jenn. The airy extension also creates beautiful sightlines to the wild garden designed by Jack Wallington.
She suggested involving Victoria Spencer-Eves from interior architecture studio Veves early on to collaborate on the project. ‘Jenn and I have an established short-hand having worked together for several years, and I fell in love with the house from the moment I saw it,’ says Victoria.
‘Adina and Giorgio were keen to create a fun family home filled with colour and playfulness,’ she adds, ‘whilst also providing respite from their busy lives. Both clients have a fantastic eye for design, but were very open with their vision, inviting us to challenge them throughout the design process, which made for a great collaboration.’
One such challenge Victoria threw down to her clients was painting the games room black. ‘Giorgio took some persuading she admits, ‘but the whole family says this is now one of their favourite spaces.’
‘Spatial planning is a bit of an obsession of mine, so I like working closely with architects while there is still room to play around with things,’ says Victoria. Once the layout was pinned down, the kitchen was her focus. Adina and Giorgio love to entertain and it was really important to them that the open-plan kitchen, dining and living space served as an the anchor for the rest of the house.
Victoria started with the large feature island as the main circulation and workspace, with many of the working parts of the kitchen hidden behind bespoke black oak doors, including a large pantry and a cocktail bar.
A monochrome floor palette of light and dark oak herringbone from Cheville Parquet runs throughout as a neutral, textural backdrop, marrying the period character of the existing house with the contemporary additions.
Upstairs, rooms were converted to bathrooms so that each kid had their own space, while guest accommodation and a gym were placed on the top floor under the eaves, with Victoria working closely with Adina to transform the main bedroom into a sanctuary-like space akin to something you’d see in a luxury hotel.
Joinery cleverly designed by Victoria separates the bedroom from the ensuite, creating an open corridor between the two so you can still enjoy the fire in the bedroom from the bathtub.
Jenn is thrilled by how happy the clients are with the finished result – a home that, quite simply, ‘makes their daily lives work and feel better!’ Victoria adds, ‘It truly reflects their personalities and they clearly enjoy sharing it with other people. It isn’t just a show home. So, for me, the biggest sense of satisfaction is feeling that as well as being beautiful, it really is a home.’ dknjamm.com; veves.co.uk
