Hideaway House
Studio McW’s latest project, Hideaway House, demonstrates how small interventions can unlock the true potential and value of a modern London home.
The four bedroom semi-detached Victorian property is located in West London, and has been extended and renovated for Stuart Allen and Rebecca Wilde-Allen and their two children. Relocating back to the United Kingdom following more than a decade living in the United States of America, the couple sought a renovation project to reacquaint themselves with London life. On first visit, the couple immediately connected with the generous volumes and proportions of the period property. Experienced renovators, Stuart and Rebecca had a clear vision for improvements, and sought a capable young architecture firm to help them blend traditional detailing of a quintessential late-Victorian house with their need for a modern, efficient and flexible family home.
The couple commissioned Studio McW to rethink the arrangement of the property to maximise the efficiency of the floor space on the tight urban plot. In addition to increasing usable floor space, the brief incorporated design inspirations including Philip Johnson’s wood-panelled Four Seasons Restaurant in New York, the Barragan House in Mexico City and the long clean lines of other modernist architecture.
The original ground-floor arrangement comprised a disconnected floor plan across four separate rooms. A long side-passage bordered a small rear kitchen with a very low ceiling height of just 2.1 metres. Tired internally and with clear structural issues, the existing kitchen connected to a leaky conservatory and had little connection to the rear courtyard garden.
Studio McW spotted an opportunity to use the full width of the property to transform its functionality while retaining the rear garden almost entirely. The existing conservatory was removed, and a second side extension added to the opposite elevation. The architects neatly apportioned highly functional everyday spaces – bike and bin store, WC, larder, utility room, work-shop – within a new 9 square metre extension built over the side passage. Removing these modern imposters to new, hidden spaces freed the generous original floorplan of the Victorian home. These two small spatial insertions wholly unlocked the usable space within, making way for a newly rebuilt open-plan kitchen and dining space. This space was further enhanced by dropping the floor level 75 centimetres, achieving a generous overhead volume that echoes the original grand proportions of the house.
Studio McW worked closely with Yorkshire-based workshop and long-term collaborator, Idle Furniture, to define the side extensions as integrated timber insertions. Both sections present as walls of richly-stained oak panelling, both concealing storage and services and camouflaging doors to the utility spaces. A niche of timber panelled seating adds a warm, informal bistro-like atmosphere to the kitchen, which also features a long custom dining-table designed in collaboration by the clients and Studio McW, and crafted by the team at Idle.
The south-facing space is gently lit through overhead glazing, the sun-light diffused by white timber fins, and a large glazed door opening to the rear courtyard. Although, to comply with challenging planning stipulations and preserve the privacy of neighbouring properties, the roof of the extension is constructed at a planning policy compliant 45-degree angle, this is cleverly concealed by the fins and joinery so that, from the interior, it appears as a clean, horizontal line.
The rear of the home has been reconstructed in London stock brick reclaimed from the demolished kitchen. A new guest bedroom and TV snug occupies the outrigger on the first floor, sitting neatly above the new kitchen space. The first floor also features the main bedroom suite, additional bedroom, and a new shower room. The second floor is home to a spacious new bathroom and further bedroom. Replacement glazing and reduced glazed sections along the south elevation improved both heat loss and gain, and greater insulation throughout enhanced thermal efficiency.
Stuart and Rebecca’s respect for design and focus on materials is evident in their home’s artwork and their furniture which includes a set of mid-century Paco Muñoz dining chairs carefully restored by Stuart. Materials that were robust enough to cope with London family life but that would patinate to complement the original wood, stone, lime and brick were key to the brief. The diligent couple sought to retain and reuse as much of the original building as possible, laboriously restoring original floorboards, fireplace and balustrades, to maintain the homes’ period character. Similarly, and mindful of the embedded carbon, Studio McW ensured that 85% of the existing bricks were reused to build the kitchen and side extensions.
Hideaway Home is a demonstration of considered restraint. It shows that small, sympathetic design choices can have an enormous impact. Studio McW’s approach reveals how building thoughtfully rather than building bigger, focusing on the efficient and creative use of the space available, better delivers a personal and practical home.
