Tall light-filled spaces with views over park
Parkside House
A hard-working family home is opened up with lofty ceilings, big windows and an incredible garden view.
Sometimes a view is too good to waste
This Dulwich home has a long garden backing onto a large, leafy park. But for years the two spaces – indoors and out – were estranged.
The front door opened into a cramped entranceway and a tight, meandering route to the kitchen. We completely remodelled the entrance and created a clear line of sight through the heart of the house. Open the front door now, and the green of the garden beyond makes the first impression.
The garden itself is spacious but tapers gradually to a narrow point. By building a subtle kink into the new rear facade, we’ve ensured that the views from the house naturally follow the lines of the garden towards the park.
We took an early decision to drop the rear of the building to the level of the garden. This supported sight lines through the house and grew the height of the space to a heady four metres. Towering glass doors take full advantage of these new dimensions. When weather permits, the family can push them aside, turning the kitchen and patio into a single, sociable space.
The new layout creates opportunities for the whole family to live and work together without clutter building up. We’ve concealed handy storage options along the walls, and the new height creates space for squirrelling away more specialist kitchenware. An elegant wooden ladder sits ready for when the fondue set
A new study area for the family’s teenage son overlooks the kitchen and living area. This space is central enough for parents to keep an eye on but remains private thanks to switchable glass walls. These turn opaque at the touch of a button – perfect for when the garden view proves too distracting.
The parents have their own busy work lives, which they can now conduct from separate studies on the first floor. We designed other new spaces to make the most of the time left over between meetings and calls. This included repurposing some garage space into a fully equipped home gym, with easy access to a ground-floor shower.
At the end of each day, the owners can retreat to the main bedroom on the top floor, a relaxed, homely space that fits in smartly around the original eaves. In the bathroom next door, we’ve raised the bath onto a platform by the window. Now even there they won’t be deprived of that garden view.
Photos: Andy Stagg
